Actor-Network Theory
Actor-Network Theory: Do Objects Have Agency in Entrepreneurship?
Actor-Network Theory (ANT), created by Bruno Latour, Michel Callon, and John Law, offers a radical way to look at how businesses are built. It describes a “material-semiotic" method of analysis that is distinct from mainstream network analysis.
The key difference? ANT argues that non-human objects (technology, money, prototypes, contracts) are nearly as important in a network as human actors.
The "Gun" Analogy: Understanding Hybrid Agency
To understand how an object can have "agency," we look to a famous example provided by Latour (1999) regarding a person holding a gun:
“You are different with the gun in your hand; the gun is different with you holding it. You are another subject because you hold the gun; the gun is another object because it has entered into a relationship with you.”
Korsgaard (2011) interprets this to mean that neither the gun nor the person kills alone. The action is executed by the combination of the person and the gun. Therefore, human agency is not merely a human phenomenon; it relies on non-human elements to be executable.
Applying ANT to Entrepreneurship
Korsgaard applied this theory to the study of startups. He argues that ANT is superior to the older Discovery Theories that have dominated entrepreneurship literature.
In the ANT view, opportunities are not "discovered" waiting in the world; they are constructed through the assembly of networks. Key characteristics of this view include:
- Agency is Distributed: Agency is an effect of the network, not a trait housed in a single "heroic" founder.
- Non-Linear Process: Actors follow an indeterminate path subject to continuous change.
- Temporary Markets: Entrepreneurship creates markets that are temporary. The market isn't "there" waiting; the entrepreneur mobilizes actors to create a temporarily stable network that acts as a market.
The Power of "Translation"
The core mechanism of ANT is Translation. This is the process through which a complex network of diverse elements comes to be represented by a single entity.
For example, Apple is a massive, messy network of software, hardware, factories, supply chains, and employees. However, Steve Jobs came to represent (translate) that whole network into a single voice.
Therefore, the goal of the entrepreneur is not just to have an idea, but to successfully shape a network involving both human and non-human elements to enable mobilization.
