This paper explores how entrepreneurs engage in prototyping as part of the venture development process. We conduct a qualitative field study of 156 instances of prototyping across eight venture development processes. From a theoretical perspective, we build on alternative and complementary views of entrepreneurial action and their implicit modes of prototyping, emphasizing experimentation and transformation. Our findings identify three important themes in the prototyping process. These include purposes where the entrepreneurs use prototyping for either flexible experimentation or directed transformation. Further, the entrepreneurs predominantly engage in prototype recycling and skills bricolage when prototyping. Accordingly, the studied entrepreneurs carefully navigate purpose and resource investments in prototyping, making extensive use of their existing resource base of skills and prototypes. After noting the positive aspects of prototyping, we also discuss the potentially destructive outcomes of misapplied prototyping in the form of prototyping myopia and problematic path dependencies of the different ways of prototyping.

本文探讨了企业家如何将原型制作作为风险开发过程的一部分。我们对 8 个风险开发流程中的 156 个原型实例进行了定性实地研究。从理论角度来看，我们建立在创业行动及其隐含原型模式的替代和补充观点之上，强调实验和转型。我们的研究结果确定了原型设计过程中的三个重要主题。其中包括企业家使用原型进行灵活实验或定向转型的目的。此外，企业家在原型制作时主要参与原型回收和技能拼凑。因此，所研究的企业家仔细引导原型制作的目的和资源投资，广泛利用他们现有的技能和原型资源库。在注意到原型设计的积极方面之后，我们还讨论了原型设计误用的潜在破坏性结果，即原型设计短视和不同原型设计方式的路径依赖问题。