Entrepreneurs’ ‘Triadic Spatial Paradox’: theorising the hybrid home-based business workspace experience

Responding to literature calls to advance theoretical knowledge of the importance of space in entrepreneurship research, we develop ‘Triadic Spatial Paradox’ as a conceptual model emanating from the creative experiences of entrepreneurs operating home-based businesses (HBBs). Providing a theorised, nuanced unpacking of hybrid entrepreneurial home/workspace experiences, we contribute to entrepreneurship literature by enhancing empirically informed knowledge of neglected space-contexts where paradoxical tensions pervade the lived home/workspace experiences and perceptions of entrepreneurs. The conceptual model emerged from analysing in-depth evidence from entrepreneurs who intentionally set up hybrid home/workspaces. We extend paradox theory whilst embracing Lefebvre’s triadic frame (spatial practice; representations of space; spaces of representation), and advance knowledge about the multifaceted paradoxical experiences of self-regulating, autonomous, home-based entrepreneurs in their HBB hybrid workspace. Using their first-hand accounts and lived experiences of their relationship with their diverse HBBs, we reveal how imaginative engagement with their hybrid workspaces intersects with their perceived, conceived and lived everyday homespaces.