ABSTRACT
As I have said, it could be argued that Oliveira’s story “fits” the classical notion of the entrepreneur. Oliveira questioned taken-for-granted assumptions about the shape of sewage ducts. As Van de Ven (1988) claims of innovators, he “paid attention” to problems that no one else seemed to think existed. When confronted with the damage caused by the flood, he did not behave as others did, ascribing the damage to the newly constructed sewage system to the forces of nature or blaming contractors for poor quality work. He did not immediately start calculating how much it would cost to replace the system. Instead, again as Van de Ven claims, he “perceived an incongruence and redefined the situation” by treating the duct shape as part of the problem. Furthermore, he was willing to act on his views despite his colleagues’ jokes about his “crazy” notion of questioning the round shape of the ducts. In this sense, he could be said to fit the archetype of Kirton’s (1980) innovator.
