the promise of relational modes of inquiry for….docx

The promise ofr elational modes of inquiry for entrepreneurship Denise Fletcher and Paul Selden University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg denise.******@ Relational forms of analysis have e increasingly widespread and significant in social theory. This is evidenced in the frequent use of terms such as‘ relational thinking ’,‘ relational concerns ’,‘ relational inquiry ’, the ‘ relational turn ’,or‘ relational frameworks of analysis ’- allof which are terms used in the social sciences to emphasize the inter-relatedness of individuals, identities, discourses, artifacts, actions, networks, structures and technologies 1. All of this is evidence that ‘a broader relational perspective has been simmering for the past three decades ’(Mische ’ s,2011, 2) leading to the emergence ofa‘ comprehensive family of analytical strategies 3’(Emirbayer, 1997, ) for social science research. Given the different foci being addressed in relational research (identities, practices, discourses, objectivities, subjectivities, interactions, structures), however, a key challenge ishow to distinguish various lines of inquiry in relation to the defining characteristics of relationality. This task is made more difficult by the fact that, as Mische (2011, ) points out, various ‘ intellectual hubs ’ have germinated relational perspectives (from science and technology; work theory; the new mobilitie