Withdrawal of status respect theory of entrepreneurship

What is the withdrawal of status respect theory of entrepreneurship?

Everett E. Hagen was a political scientist and economist writing at MIT in the 1950s and 1960s. He sought to explain how traditional societies changed into those with continual technological progress and hence rising incomes. Here we discuss Hagen's (1963) theory of entrepreneurship.

Hagen argues that a process eventually leading to entrepreneurship is triggered when a social group loses status in relation to other groups in a society. When members of a given social group perceive that they are given their due respected by the dominant groups in society, it triggers a creative spark that encourages entrepreneurial behaviors (Dana, 1995).

Some examples of "withdrawal of status respect" include when: 1) a formerly higher status group is displaced by a new group; 2) a social group's symbols are insulted by the dominant group; 3) a group's symbols become unaligned with their actual economic reality (e.g., elders stories reflect a more favorable past); and 4) a group's status is lowered due to migration to a new place (see misfit theory).

Hagen explains that a lowering of status may take generations before leading to the development of anxiety and the rejection of traditional values, leading to creativity and authoritarianism, as in the case of Henry Ford who was the self-made progeny of migrants to the U.S.

A lowering of status is met by different reactions. An entrepreneur may acquiesce, or continue to work without hope of improvement. Or they may rebel against the system by trying out innovations. 
 
Hagen used examples like the Samurai community of Japan, which had traditionally enjoyed a high status, but it was lowered when they were defeated by other groups with superior weapons. To regain their status, the Samurai pursued entrepreneurial development and contributed to the fastest growing Asian economy. Similarly, when the Russian tzar (1650s) adopted Greek practices to attain diplomatic ends, it undermined the Orthodox church and its members, triggering change processes that eventually led to revolution.

Hagen's theory emphasizes a process that generations to unfold and tends to be more dynamic than other cultural theories of entrepreneurship. The theory also looks to the personality of the figureheads, relating to a larger class of psychological theories of entrepreneurship.

In a way, Hagen's theory is similar to Christensen's theory that neglected stakeholders are the early target markets for disruptive innovations. In this case the stakeholders are those individuals who feel they are locked out of real advancement and who use entrepreneurship to get ahead--a means of social mobility.