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The entrepreneur as hero and jester: enacting the entrepreneurial discourse

The entrepreneur as hero and jester: enacting the entrepreneurial discourse
The entrepreneur as hero and jester: enacting the entrepreneurial discourse
Employing a social construction perspective, we argue that entrepreneurs are uniquely empowered by entrepreneurial discourse to bring about creative destruction. Analysis of the representation of entrepreneurship in the media suggests that entrepreneurs have a distinctive presence in society that is shaped by cultural norms and expectations. These images create and present an entrepreneurial identity. Yet identity has two facets; the general, identified as “what” but also a distinctive individual identity as “who”. We explore the identity play of one flamboyant entrepreneur, Michael O’Leary, to show how he deploys the rhetoric and rationality of the entrepreneurial discourse but shapes it through emotional games to establish his unique entrepreneurial identity. We explain how this is used for strategic advantage.
entrepreneur, discourse, narrative, entrepreneurial identity, media, creative destruction
Anderson, Alistair R.
3e65fdfb-0916-433c-9ec9-f0b2f1e98531
Warren, Lorraine
1ec8193d-f90f-48f6-9205-041dcf89121d
Anderson, Alistair R.
3e65fdfb-0916-433c-9ec9-f0b2f1e98531
Warren, Lorraine
1ec8193d-f90f-48f6-9205-041dcf89121d

Anderson, Alistair R. and Warren, Lorraine (2010) The entrepreneur as hero and jester: enacting the entrepreneurial discourse. Author's Original. (Submitted)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Employing a social construction perspective, we argue that entrepreneurs are uniquely empowered by entrepreneurial discourse to bring about creative destruction. Analysis of the representation of entrepreneurship in the media suggests that entrepreneurs have a distinctive presence in society that is shaped by cultural norms and expectations. These images create and present an entrepreneurial identity. Yet identity has two facets; the general, identified as “what” but also a distinctive individual identity as “who”. We explore the identity play of one flamboyant entrepreneur, Michael O’Leary, to show how he deploys the rhetoric and rationality of the entrepreneurial discourse but shapes it through emotional games to establish his unique entrepreneurial identity. We explain how this is used for strategic advantage.

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More information

Submitted date: May 2010
Additional Information: Now accepted for 3* journal subject to minor revisions
Keywords: entrepreneur, discourse, narrative, entrepreneurial identity, media, creative destruction

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 152779
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/152779
PURE UUID: 1a0874fe-5ced-4ced-a030-695e4b0acc34

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Date deposited: 17 May 2010 11:38
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 01:24

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Contributors

Author: Alistair R. Anderson
Author: Lorraine Warren

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