Discerning a mentor's role

PurposeThe central focus of this paper is the mentorship relationship of economist Fritz Machlup and his graduate student Edith Penrose, and specifically how that relationship contributed both to her development as a scholar and to her seminal work,The Theory of the Growth of the Firm.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative research on which this paper is based is the sociohistorical biographical approach, based on a close examination of published works and archival materials. Content analysis is used to draw inferences about Fritz Machlup's mentoring content, style, and impact on Penrose's methodology and argumentation as reflected inThe Theory of the Growth of the Firm,and the correspondence exchanged while Penrose was writingThe Theory of the Growth of the Firm.FindingsThe Theory of the Growth of the Firmmirrors Machlup's methodology and methodological framework. The arguments supporting Penrose's theoretic model of the growth of firms were discussed, debated and shaped by the exchange of ideas in the Penrose/Machlup correspondence.Originality/valueWhile Penrose's work has been acknowledged as “breakthrough” in the areas of entrepreneurship and firm growth, there has been little recognition of the role of her mentor in its creation. This study sets out to correct what would appear to be an historical oversight as well as to understand how Machlup practiced mentorship; how he perceived the roles of mentor and mentee; Machlup's contribution to his graduate students, and the extent to which his students incorporated the learning into their own work.