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Abstract

Research problem: This study investigates entrepreneurship as a rhetorical practice and seeks to illustrate how narratives of individuals from different cultures create a discourse of entrepreneurship. We offer theoretical and methodological considerations for comparative international analyses in entrepreneurship research. Research questions: (1) How do the stories that are told by entrepreneurs from different cultures reveal their values? (2) What can those stories tell us about entrepreneurship in different cultures? Literature review: An emerging stream of authors proposes to study entrepreneurship from individual narratives, but studies on entrepreneurship rhetorics are scarce, seldom use an international approach, and rarely cover the cultural aspects. Methodology: We collected entrepreneurial narratives in the US, Spain, and China, and deployed a novel two-fold method to retain cultural nuances and validate translation accuracy. Narrative data were studied based upon the coding, constant comparison, and memo writing used in grounded theory. Results and conclusions: We identify three core metaphorical devices used by participants to structure their entrepreneurial journeys (action and learning, autonomy and money, and exceptionalism and networks), and we suggest that the use of these metaphorical pairs varies both within and across cultures. These findings offer preliminary evidence, for the first time in the literature, that building a rhetorical understanding of entrepreneurship requires that we consider two axes: the individual and the cultural.

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... In selecting the keywords, we considered the diversity of entrepreneurial communication to obtain a comprehensive picture of this research stream. Thus, we considered entrepreneurial or startup communication (Godulla and Men 2022;Wiesenberg et al. 2020), impression management and self-presentation (Collewaert et al. 2021;Parhankangas and Ehrlich 2014), pitch presentations (Balachandra et al. 2021;Clingingsmith et al. 2022), investor relations (Moritz et al. 2015), public relations (Chen et al. 2021), storytelling (Chapple et al. 2021), rhetoric (Allison et al. 2013), and narrative (Martens et al. 2007;Williams et al. 2016). The following search terms emerged from these considerations: (entrepreneur* OR startup* OR "start-up*" OR "new venture*" OR "small firm*" OR founder OR SME OR "small enterpris*" OR "small enterpriz*") AND ("impression management" OR communicat* OR pitch* OR "self-presentation" OR "self presentation" OR storytelling OR rhetoric* OR narrativ* OR "public relations" OR PR OR "investor relations"). ...
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Entrepreneurial communication is vital for acquiring resources and building stakeholder relations in startups. This research stream has grown rapidly in recent years and has developed as a multidisciplinary field at the interface of communication and entrepreneurship. However, this rapid development and the plethora of associated perspectives have led to a diverse and fragmented research field with different foci and concepts, making structural overviews difficult. Against this background, we conducted a bibliometric analysis to uncover the hidden structure of previous entrepreneurial communication research and to guide scholars toward a future research agenda. First, we identified 383 articles via the Scopus database, published in 245 academic sources, that covered nearly 50 years of research. We then connected the results of previous research using co-occurrence analysis and a thematic map to highlight the intellectual structure of the field and offer insights into its research clusters. Our algorithmic historiographic analysis illustrates the development of the field over time and highlights upcoming topics. Overall, entrepreneurial communication is crucial, particularly for startups engaging in resource acquisition for employee and investor relations with venture capitalists and business angels.
... For example, new studies on value creation may consider not only written material, but also oral and visual devices, which are critical in the elaboration process of the pitch. Studies also may consider accessing participants' direct discourse via interviews of entrepreneurs (e.g., Williams et al. 2016), conducting detailed examinations of stakeholder comments in process documents (e.g., Jakobs & Digmayer, 2020), conducting entrepreneur autoethnographies (e.g., Belinsky & Gogan, 2016), or observing internal firm deliberations. ...
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How do start-ups create value through the language of their business pitches? In this article, we investigate that question by identifying the logics of justification they use, traditionally conceptualized as orders of worth. In this study of short written pitches in a 6-month Chilean accelerator program, we describe how we detected logics of justification through pitch language, and we identify (a) co-occurrence patterns among logics of justification, (b) associations between logics of justification and industry sectors, and (c) associations between logics and a firm’s customer segment (B2B, B2C). This study provides unique insights into how start-ups sometimes justify innovations by using specific patterns of language depending on a venture’s features.
... Capacities for opportunity vary depending on an entrepreneur's experiential, social, or technological resources. Hence, scholars have been interested in entrepreneurs' identity formation, including how they discuss risk or failure (Lauren & Pigg, 2016;Williams et al., 2016), and communicate this within and for entrepreneurial communities and networks (Fraiberg, 2017;Jones, 2017), which are often global (Fraiberg, 2021). Entrepreneurs usually have extensive knowledge in the area in which they are innovating and develop solutions through approaches like design thinking and user-centered design, using them to create and revise multimodal genres like pitch decks (Spinuzzi et al, 2015) or crowdfunding campaigns Vealey & Gerding, 2016). ...
... Finally, as mentioned above, future research could examine whether revision patterns correlate with the entrepreneurs' national origins, cultures, or industry sectors. This future research could draw on the existing literature regarding cross-cultural studies of entrepreneurship communication (e.g., [47]), shedding light on how entrepreneurship adapts to different cultural communication styles. ...
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Background: After a six-month training program in the Chilean public accelerator Start-Up Chile, entrepreneurs are asked to update a short pitch they wrote in the submission stage to appear in the program's online portfolio. Literature review: We reviewed relevant literature related to the pitch as well as research aiming to track changes within pitches. Research questions: 1. Which are the editing strategies used to change their pitch? 2. Do these strategies conform to specific discursive patterns? Research methodology: To answer the research questions, we designed an exploratory qualitative study to describe in depth the editing strategies used by two generations of startups, corresponding to 148 pairs of written pitches. In order to contextualize the results, we conducted two interviews with the program managers and analyzed the accelerator's official Playbook and Technical and Administrative Requirements. Results: We identified 10 editing strategies. Of those editing strategies, “Deleting technical descriptions” is by far the most common procedure. The identified patterns can be classified into two groups, those simplifying, hedging, and focusing on certain elements of the first pitch, and those adding and specifying information of the first version. Conclusions: We conclude by discussing the strengths of this methodological approach for understanding such edits and for supporting successful edits in accelerator programs, as well as the potential for better understanding entrepreneur coachability.
... Of the articles emerging from the specific focus on transnational work with human participants, three offered brief reflection while four were more substantive in their metacommentary. Sean Williams et al. (2016) studied entrepreneurship through narrative interviews with professionals in China, Spain, and the US. Translation was not an issue because each of the authors was fluent in the language of one of the three countries, and the authors noted that their positionings as cultural insiders supported their interpretations of the data. ...
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Technical and professional communication (TPC) has been a border-crossing field since its inception, and as globalization opens new avenues for research and practice, now is an opportune time to review what kinds of intercultural and transnational projects are being pursued as well as to consider how be ethical agents in these projects. After reviewing the fraught process of defining “transnational” and “intercultural,” this chapter describes a meta-analysis of articles published in major TPC journals during a five-year window (2014-2018). The analysis categorizes different types of project and seeks out advice emerging from these scholars’ experiences. This study reveals a wide range of transnational research settings which resist being easily delimited and determines that space in journal articles to reflect over cross-cultural complexities is scarce. Limited reflections from scholars in cross-cultural projects indicate that working in intercultural and transnational spaces requires persistent localization, ongoing adaptation, and a reflective, reflexive mindset. Taken together, these lessons point to ongoing (re)positionality at the center of successful intercultural work. Based on the results of this review, the author recommends the field develop a formal statement of ethics for transnational and intercultural research. That ethic should be human-centered and mindful of social justice principles.
... To explore the particular character of these three entrepreneurs, our exploratory case study [50] adapted narrative analysis techniques to explore the individual stories that our participants told (cf., [51], [52]). We chose this approach because narrative analysis reveals how individuals understand their lived experiences as they talk about them [53]. To capture cultural nuances in the participants' stories, our team included one native language speaker from each of our target countries-China, Spain, and the US-who led a 75 minute conversation in their native language about the entrepreneurs' experiences. ...
Article
About the case: Female entrepreneurs play a significant role in new business creation, yet women's entrepreneurship stories remain largely absent in professional communication research. Therefore, a need exists to “give voice” to female entrepreneurship stories, and this exploratory case examines the unique identities that three female entrepreneurs express in their narratives. This case asks how three female entrepreneurs reconciled the discourses of entrepreneurship, gender, and culture to construct a unique entrepreneurial identity in their reflective narratives. Situating the case: Professional communication has only recently begun to explore entrepreneurship communication, and little of that literature explicitly investigates women's experiences. This case, by comparison, uses three conceptual categories—entrepreneurial identity, gender identity, and cultural identity—to explore how three women negotiated their workplace identities. Methods: We recruited three women who self-identified as technology company entrepreneurs, each from a different culture, and recorded their oral narratives about their entrepreneurial journeys. Three raters independently coded data drawing on dimensions extracted from prior literature to build “identity curves” for each narrative. Results: Analysis suggests that each participant negotiated discourses of entrepreneurship, gender, and culture differently, with the greatest divergence appearing on cultural codes, and the least divergence appearing on gender codes. Conclusions: Based on these results, we suggest that future research should begin with the assumption that no single “entrepreneurial identity” exists for female entrepreneurs, and more broadly that professional communication research should foreground differences among individuals rather than attempt to aggregate individual experiences into homogenous characterizations.
... To explore the particular character of these three entrepreneurs, our exploratory case study [50] adapted narrative analysis techniques to explore the individual stories that our participants told (cf., [51], [52]). We chose this approach because narrative analysis reveals how individuals understand their lived experiences as they talk about them [53]. To capture cultural nuances in the participants' stories, our team included one native language speaker from each of our target countries-China, Spain, and the US-who led a 75 minute conversation in their native language about the entrepreneurs' experiences. ...
... Solutions presented in [2] should have a comprehensive approach and be addressed to the optimum use of renewable and non-renewable resources. Such innovative, processed solutions should provide income to the entrepreneurship in different types of software development, which should allow for sustainability in the short term. ...
Conference Paper
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Three orders of simulacra: 1. counterfeits and false images: from renaissance to industrial revolution, signs become mode of exchange, these signs are obviously flase. 2. Dominated by production and series: mass produced signs as commodities, signs refer not to reality but to other signs (money, posters). 3. Pure simulacra: simulacra mask over the idea that there is no reality, reality is an effect of simulacra (disneyland masks simulacra of LA, Prison masks nonfreedom outside the walls).
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In the beginning was the story Or rather: many stories, of many places, in many voices, pointing toward many ends.
Article
The contextual factors of entrepreneurship consist of social, political, and economic variables such as displacement, changes in markets, and government deregulation (Bird, 1988). Entrepreneurial intentions are further structured by both rational/analytic thinking (goal-directed behavior) and intuitive/holistic thinking (vision). These thought processes underlie the creation of formal business plans, opportunity analysis, and other goal-directed behavior. This paper further develops Bird's model of entrepreneurial intentionality by suggesting that individual self-efficacy, which has been defined as a person's belief in his or her capability to perform a task, influences the development of both entrepreneurial intentions and actions or behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Book
The ethnographic study performed by Bruno Latour engaged him in the world of the scientific laboratory to develop an understanding of scientific culture through observations of their daily interactions and processes. Latour assumed a scientific perspective in his study; observing his participants with the "same cold, unblinking eye" that they use in their daily research activities. He familiarized himself with the laboratory by intense focus on "literary inscription", noting that the writing process drives every activity in the laboratory. He unpacked the structure of scientific literature to uncover its importance to scientists (factual knowledge), how scientists communicate, and the processes involved with generating scientific knowledge (use of assays, instrumentation, documentation). The introduction by Jonas Salk stated that Latour's study could increase public understanding of scientists, thereby decreasing the expectations laid on them, and the general fear toward them. [Teri, STS 901-Fall; only read Ch. 2]
Book
Practical, applied, and up-to-the-minute,Writing for the Health Professionsteaches students, healthcare professionals, and professional writers the essential skills in medical and health communications.Drawing on her extensive experience as a nurse, cardio-pulmonary technician, medical writer, and writing teacher, Barbara Heifferon addresses the communications requirements of the healthcare professions and those who write in these high-tech fields. This comprehensive text covers writing situations and documents common in hospitals, clinics, HMOs, health insurance companies, public health campaigns, and other healthcare environments. Special attention is given to visual and electronic forms of communication, including web sites and multimedia productions.
Book
Interactive Case Studies in Health Communication covers a wide variety of health communication topics including nonverbal communication, family communication, telephone conversations, managed care, emotional issues, hostile patient or family members, the media’s impact on provider-patient communication, intercultural communication and end-of-life conversations. This book also highlights the importance of interpersonal communication and relationship-building for information sharing and collaborative decision-making. -- Publisher description.
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Within the social sciences narrative approaches have become more popular. In recent years ithas also been suggested that entrepreneurship research would benefit from the use of a narrative approach. Interest in this direction is now emerging. The purpose of this article is to illustrate and reflect upon how narrative approaches can contribute to entrepreneurship research. The article is focused on three areas: (1) The construction of entrepreneurial identities, (2) Entrepreneurial learning, (3) (Re)conceptualizing entrepreneurship. It is argued that a narrativeapproach contributes to the literature by enriching the understanding of what motivates individual entrepreneurs and the way they run their businesses. Storytelling is closely related to entrepreneurial learning and complements other approaches. Furthermore, storytelling and story-making serve as potential metaphors for conceptualizing and reconceptualizing entrepreneurship.
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The role of women in family business is relatively under-investigated. This article illuminates complex relationships in a family business context, putting the family at the heart of the research as opposed to an individual owner-manager. It draws on narrative accounts of establishing a family business, as told by the founders and by the succeeding generation in three family businesses. Some of the existing literature conceptualizes women in family business as marginalized through the forces of patriarchy or paternalism. The narratives presented in this article point to alternative gender discourses and practices, and to evidence of clear resistance to patriarchy. In so doing it begins to identify the conditions under which patriarchy might be challenged in family businesses.
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The teaching of qualitative analysis in the social sciences is rarely undertaken in a structured way. This handbook is designed to remedy that and to present students and researchers with a systematic method for interpreting qualitative data', whether derived from interviews, field notes, or documentary materials. The special emphasis of the book is on how to develop theory through qualitative analysis. The reader is provided with the tools for doing qualitative analysis, such as codes, memos, memo sequences, theoretical sampling and comparative analysis, and diagrams, all of which are abundantly illustrated by actual examples drawn from the author's own varied qualitative research and research consultations, as well as from his research seminars. Many of the procedural discussions are concluded with rules of thumb that can usefully guide the researchers' analytic operations. The difficulties that beginners encounter when doing qualitative analysis and the kinds of persistent questions they raise are also discussed, as is the problem of how to integrate analyses. In addition, there is a chapter on the teaching of qualitative analysis and the giving of useful advice during research consultations, and there is a discussion of the preparation of material for publication. The book has been written not only for sociologists but for all researchers in the social sciences and in such fields as education, public health, nursing, and administration who employ qualitative methods in their work.
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This research addresses three questions: (1) Why are some organizations more market-oriented than others? (2) What effect does a market orientation have on employees and business performance? (3) Does the linkage between a market orientation and business performance depend on the environmental context? The findings from two national samples suggest that a market orientation is related to top management emphasis on the orientation, risk aversion of top managers, interdepartmental conflict and connectedness, centralization, and reward system orientation. Furthermore, the findings suggest that a market orientation is related to overall (judgmental) business performance (but not market share), employees' organizational commitment, and esprit de corps. Finally, the linkage between a market orientation and performance appears to be robust across environmental contexts that are characterized by varying degrees of market turbulence, competitive intensity, and technological turbulence.
Article
The relationships between gender, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial intentions were examined for two sample groups: adolescents and adult master of business administration (MBA) students. Similar gender effects on entrepreneurial self-efficacy are shown for both groups and support earlier research on the relationship between self-efficacy and career intentions. Additionally, the effects of entrepreneurship education in MBA programs on entrepreneurial self-efficacy proved stronger for women than for men. Implications for educators and policy makers were discussed, and areas for future research outlined.