History matters in economics as well as in the social sciences generally. In his study of the entrepreneur, Schumpeter has shown, in opposition to neoclassical economics, that the economic system faces ongoing disturbances and that it does create these itself. Furthermore, he insisted that the capitalist system requires these disturbances, caused by entrepreneurial activity, in order to expand. With this conception Schumpeter has been one of the main references for evolutionary economic theorists. They, likewise, are interested in economic processes and in the forces of disruption and emergence. And like Schumpeter, they claim that in order to explore these phenomena there are other tools necessary than those applied by neoclassical theories.

This dissertation shows, in the first part, how Schumpeter’s investigation of the entrepreneur has been connected with evolutionary economic concepts up to the present. In this part there are raised also some questions about suitable frameworks for evolutionary economic research. The second part introduces a sociological frame, the social world perspective, which emphasises likewise processes and emergence within social aggregates. It is shown the similarity of this approach and suggested a connective relation to evolutionary economics. The third part will discuss this connection in detail by raising questions about the current empirical state of the evolutionary economic framework and the potential contribution of the social world perspective during this state. An explanatory case will serve as empirical data in order to reinforce the argument. The dissertation closes with some discursive reflections on existing frameworks of evolutionary economics as well as on potentially applicable frameworks for forthcoming research.