Classification and systematization of approaches to the definition of technology entrepreneurship

Technology entrepreneurship (technopreneurship) is a source of economic development that requires theoretical comprehension to form a unity of understanding. Based on the analysis of the literature, the historical development of the definition is shown and functional approaches are classified: organizational, investment-project, innovative, digital, technocratic. All approaches are the development of the “pioneer” concept of J. Schumpeter, to whom one can even ascribe the first definition of technology entrepreneurship, although he did not use such a term. Following the Schumpeterian logic, the organizational approach is what can be called the function of an entrepreneur by a combination of things and forces, including collective work. The addition of an investment component is a kind of modern perception of credit for the creation of novelties. The innovative aspect is the conjunction of the functions of an entrepreneur and an inventor. Technocratism is an emphasis on untested technological capabilities, while digitalization is a new reading of the reform and revolutionizing of production. The emergence of other approaches is assumed: institutional (the same foundation of institutions and technologies), cultural (introduction of technologies provides a cultural shift) and biological (natural dependence of entrepreneurial qualities). Within the framework of the technocratic approach, three kinds of entrepreneurship are distinguished: technocentripetal – the sale of its own technologies; technocentrifugal – the sale of products manufactured using its own technology; and technomix – the sale of both technology and products. Systematization of approaches made it possible to construct a scheme and identify the elements of technology entrepreneurship, designated as “6I”: idea, invention or imitation, interaction, investment, informatization, income-generation. The mechanism of its functioning includes two stages. An entrepreneurial idea (project) consists in turning a new or adopted technology into a product, and then into value through the sale of the technology itself or the goods or services in which it is embodied. This occurs during the joint work, including the future consumer, investment and digitalization at both stages. The different proportions of participation of these six elements forms the uniqueness of each business and the value it creates. Thus, technocentripetal, technocentrifugal and technomix differ in the specifics of generating income from the technology. The scheme confirms the viability of all definitions involved in the classification and touching on one or more elements of technology entrepreneurship. The scheme and classification will be useful for the authors to choose their point of view on this topic.