Hidden in Plain Sight: Untapped Riches of Meso-Level Entrepreneurship Mechanisms

Entrepreneurial action is embedded within a variety of complex social structures, not all of which can be as easily defined or measured as macro-institutional or micro-individual characteristics, but collectively hold rich insights into the actual causal mechanisms influencing action. To address this problem, we call upon researchers to broaden their levels of analysis and direct their focus to mesolevel structures. Although meso-level social structures are widely studied independently, these intermediate levels are seldom integrated into existing multi-level models. We argue that meso-level structures offer untapped riches for enhancing multi-level entrepreneurial mechanisms and discuss how social groups, associations, and other collectives operating at a meso-level can play a more distinct integrative role in between the two ends of the institutional spectrum. To provide practical guidance for pursuing such investigations, we adapt Coleman’s Bathtub model to form a robust framework that integrates micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis. Our framework helps alleviate the shortcomings produced by an overdependence on either solely macroor micro-level entrepreneurial mechanisms and brings the hidden intermediate level into plain sight.