On this page, I present abstracts of work in review and from papers that have very recently published. This is to give some idea of the people I work with and the detail of what my work is about: complexity theory, innovation, new technology, social media, entrepreneurial identity. More details on where the work can be found is on the Publications page [or email me :>) ]
Creative methodologies for understanding a creative industry
Ted Fuller
Lincoln Business School, University of LincolnBrayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1522 886142
Email: tfuller@lincoln.ac.uk
Lorraine Warren
School of Management , University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
Email: l.warren@soton.ac.uk
Sally Jane Norman
Culture Lab, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Key words
Entrepreneurship; complexity; emergence; creative industry; methodology; value creating systems
Summary
The paper presents a conceptual framework for the identification and analysis of value creating and value capture systems within creative industry contexts based on theoretical and empirical studies.
Abstract
Objectives
The production of innovation or novelty in creative interactions is normally represented in research either as normative patterns of behaviour (being creative) or as post-hoc empirical objects (new firms, new products etc.) The structure of creative practices, i.e. what particular forms of interactivity produce successful novelty (i.e. which becomes ‘normal’ and not novel, which creates and captures value), is not well researched. This paper provides a ‘digital economy’ perspective of the creative industries as a micro-level example of a wider analytical problem, which is how society changes itself. The increasing level of innovation and creativity produces greater levels of instability in social structures (habits, norms etc.) Completely new industries can arise (and ‘creatively’ destroy old ones) as new stabilised patterns form, particularly where entry costs are tumbling, such as digital milieu.
Prior Work
The authors have undertaken a stream of research that utilises the field of entrepreneurship to study the emergence of novelty. This has been informed by entrepreneurship theories (e.g. effectuation), by complexity theory (e.g. emergence) by constructionist theory (e.g. patterning and identity formation) and by critical realism (morphological perspectives).
Approach
Observations of workshops over several days with creative groups, interviews with creative enterprises, literature reviews on creative industries, business models and value systems have informed the analysis and conceptualisation.
Results
We present a conceptual framework that we suggest can capture how novelty arises as emergent order over time. We have extended previous work that investigates the significance of emergence in theorising entrepreneurship into an exploration of how to articulate the creation and flow of value and effective ontology in a creative landscape
Implications
In the digital economy, the creative industries revolve around dynamic, innovative and often unorthodox collaborations, whereby numerous large, small and micro-businesses come together for the duration of a project, then disband and form new partnerships for the next project. Research designs must therefore address multiple contexts and levels presenting an analytical challenge to researchers.
Value
Methodologically, we suggest that the framework has analytical potential to support the collection of data: ordering and categorising empirical observations concerning how different phenomena emerge over time across multiple levels of analysis and contexts. Conceptually, the work broadens the notions of ‘business model’ to consider value creating systems and particular states reached by those systems in their evolution.
An emergence perspective on entrepreneurship: processes, structure and methodology [in review]
Professor Ted Fuller, Lincoln Business School, Lincoln University, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, tfuller@lincoln.ac.uk
Dr Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom, Tel: + 44 (0) 23 8059 8976, Email: l.warren@soton.ac.uk
Professor Friederike Welter, University of Siegen, School of Economic Disciplines, Hölderlinstr. 3, D-57068 Siegen, Germany, Email: welter@uni-siegen.de
This paper explores entrepreneurship from the perspective of emergence, drawing on literature in complexity theory, social theory and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is conceptualised as the production of emergence, or emergent properties, via a simple model of initial conditions, processes of emergence that produces emergent properties at multiple levels (new phenomena such as products, services, firms, networks, patterns of behaviour, identities). Conceptualisation through emergence thus embraces actors, context, processes and (structural) outcomes. This paper builds on previous work that theorises the relationship between entrepreneurship and social change. We extend that work by considering the methodological implications of relating processes of entrepreneurship to the emergence of new phenomena.
Keywords: emergence, entrepreneurship theory, processes of emergence; methodology
Rethinking Business Models for the Creative Industries in the Digital Economy
Dr Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom. Tel: + 44 (0) 23 8059 8976; Email: l.warren@soton.ac.uk (Corresponding author)
Professor Ted Fuller, Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS; United Kingdom, Tel: +44 (0) 1522 886142, Email: tfuller@lincoln.ac.uk
DRAFT ARTICLE SUBMITTED FOR REGIONS SPECIAL ISSUE
From innovation to market entry: A strategic management model for new technologies [in press, Technology Analaysis and Strategic Management]
V.D. Kunz(a) and L.Warren(b)
aSMA Solar Technology AG, Sonnenallee 1, 34266 Niestetal, Germany, email: vdkunz@netscape.net
bUniversity of Southampton, School of Management, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK, email: lw4@soton.ac.uk
In this paper, we introduce a new framework that generates a list of strategic actions to support successful management of the innovation process as new technologies are taken to market. The framework links different stakeholders inside and outside the organisation to obtain an holistic view of the requirements necessary to develop the new technology. It integrates and synthesises existing frameworks into an inclusive set of guidelines. The framework is then tested in a case study located in a mid-size semiconductor organisation currently seeking new business opportunities in the emerging photovoltaic market. We conclude by reflecting on the usefulness of the model. Theoretically, the paper contributes to the literature on the management of the introduction of new technologies; in addition, the framework provides a normative tool for practising managers.
Keywords: innovation; new technology; commercialisation; strategic decision-making;
Using Web 2.0 in education: privacy and integrity in the virtual campus [in review]
Charlotte Carey, Birmingham City University
Lisa Harris, University of Southampton
Kelly Smith, University of Huddersfield
Lorraine Warren*, University of Southampton
* Corresponding author, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, +44 (0) 2380 598972, Email: lw4@soton.ac.uk
Recent developments in modes of social interaction facilitated by Web 2.0 technologies have the potential to shift the traditional boundaries between educators and their students. Social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Ning, Basecamp and blogs promise to enrich university educational activities through their capability to support communication, groupwork, networking and project archiving. When combined with ‘traditional’ tools such as Blackboard (or other course support platforms) and email, a complex ‘virtual campus’ can be established that offers potential for different modes of social interaction between staff and students. New roles, structures and activities can thus be enabled, possibly reducing social distance over time and place, engendering new forms of creativity and increasing the availability of and extent of access to information.
While the use of the Web as an effective teaching and learning medium is a widely researched area, issues which have received less attention by researchers to date are the emerging ethical debates associated with classroom use of social media, for example the revealing of excessive personal information, the blurring of the boundaries between professional and personal lives, and the behaviours of teacher and learners in online environments. In this chapter we examine some of these challenges in the context of our own recent experiences as tutors in higher education. We begin by examining the disruptive potential of new technology in education and critique the notion of the ‘digital native’ student, before drawing upon our individual case studies to focus on what we consider these related developments really mean for the ways in which we interact with students and each other.
Small steps across the chasm: ideas for embedding a culture of open education in the university sector [in review, In Education]
By Lisa Harris, Lorraine Warren, Jean Leah and Melanie Ashleigh, School of Management, University of Southampton, UK
A draft of this paper was presented at OpenEd09 in Vancouver, August 2009, http://openedconference.org/archives/537
We critique the commonly accepted notions of ‘digital native’ students and the widening generation gap between them and ‘technophobic’ faculty. Our case studies from UK higher education demonstrate that attempts to introduce new models of learning are inhibited by 1) prevailing structure and culture within universities and 2) expectations (or even a stated preference) for traditional delivery and assessment of knowledge by the students themselves. We recommend a strategy for more systematic integration of social technologies and new learning styles into the curriculum to help ensure that Universities remain relevant and add value to learners and employers in the digital age.
Towards Developing Digital Competence in Postgraduate Students [in review]
Lisa Harris, Lorraine Warren, Jean Leah
There is evidence that employers in a global market place seek high-level skills of communication and networking in potential employees. Increasingly, this may well extend to online methods of engagement, such as social media, blogs, wikis and mobile communication through smartphones, as such tools become more widely used. The idea of the digital native suggests that students will be able to use such tools effectively and efficiently, having grown up with new technology. Our previous research suggests that this may well be a myth, particularly for cultures that have less open access to communication platforms such as the internet. This may well present a competence gap that involves micro and meso level factors – the need to raise aspirations for individuals and the need to provide training for institutions. This chapter reports an exploratory study to investigate this issue. We intend to report the outcomes of a digital skills competence survey of over 500 largely international Masters students to be carried in induction week to identify their skill levels, and further, their attitudes towards digital working. Thus we will provide insight into the barriers and the enablers for improved digital competence in our students.
Sensory Threads is a pair of interlinked experiences, which explore the way in which sensing can give us insight into how our bodies are a part of their wider environment.
Sensory Threads seeks to investigate what happens when wearables move beyond being technologies designed for individuals and are transformed into tools of ‘collective sensing’. It aims to stimulate participants’ behaviours through their own emergent and unpredictable actions in an environment, not by pre-defined choices determined in advance by the project’s makers or by ‘interesting’ geographic sites.
This article describes the design of this artwork, which is currently in prototype form.
Sally Jane Norman, Culture Lab, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK s.j.norman@ncl.ac.uk
Alan F. Blackwell, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge. J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FD, UK. afb21@cam.ac.uk
Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. lw4@soton.ac.uk
Kirk Woolford, Dept of Media and Film, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RG, UK. k.woolford@sussex.ac.uk
Gesture and Embodied Interaction is a five-month practice-led scoping project which explored motion capture development perspectives from artistic, technological and business innovation standpoints. It convened an interdisciplinary community from the arts, sciences and business studies, experienced in practice-driven collaborative research. Effort was focused on two prototyping workshops in Newcastle and Cambridge, bridged by an interim work session to optimize collaboration. A final creative industries seminar in Cambridge allowed debate with a wider stakeholder community. This paper provides an overview of our activities, findings and future directions.
Key words: motion capture; patterns of behavior; value creation, capture and transfer.
RETHINKING BUSINESS MODELS AS VALUE CREATING SYSTEMS [Leonardo Transactions]
Professor Ted Fuller, Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS; United Kingdom, Email: <tfuller@lincoln.ac.uk>
Dr Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom Email: l.warren@soton.ac.uk,
Sarah Thelwall, Arts Consultant, sarah@sarahthelwall.co.uk,
Fizza Alamdar, Lincoln Business, School, University of Lincoln, Brayford, Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS; United Kingdom, Email: falamdar@lincoln.ac.uk
Professor David Rae Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS; United Kingdom, Email: drae@lincoln.ac.uk
CAPTURING THE DYNAMICS OF CO-PRODUCTION AND COLLABORATION IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY [Leonardo Transactions]
Dr Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom. Email: l.warren@soton.ac.uk
Professor Ted Fuller, Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS; United Kingdom, Email: tfuller@lincoln.ac.uk
In the digital economy, the creative industries revolve around dynamic, innovative and often unorthodox collaborations, whereby numerous large, small and micro-businesses come together for the duration of a project, then disband and form new partnerships for the next project. Research designs must therefore address multiple contexts and levels presenting an analytical challenge to researchers. In this project we extend work that investigates the significance of emergence in theorising entrepreneurship into an exploration of how to articulate the creation and flow of value and effective ontology in a creative landscape.
Developing the Knowledge Economy through University Linkages: an Exploration of RDA Strategies through Case Studies of Two English Regions [International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation]
Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ Tel: 02380 598972, Email: lw4@soton.ac.uk
Fumi Kitagawa, Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE), Lund University, PO Box 117, Lund, 22100 Sweden; University of Bristol, Bristol, Email: fumi.kitagawa@circle.lu.se
Marc Eatough, GENECON, Joseph’s Well. Hanover Walk. Leeds, LS3 1AB Tel: 0113 245 2200, Email: marceatough@genecon.co.uk
Since their inception in 1999, England’s Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have played a significant and growing role in realising the potential benefits of the UK science base. This paper explores the innovation strategies being delivered by two RDAs, the North East of England and the South East of England, which have faced contrasting challenges in delivering improved innovation performance. We conclude with an agenda for future research concerning the development of regional triple helix systems, based on contrasts drawn.
Extended Abstracts for EUNIP Workshop on the Role of Academic Research in Territorial Economic Development Processes
Networks and Spatiality of University Incubators: Global and local links amongst SETsquared Spin-out/-in firms at Universities of Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey in England
Stefanos Marangos,* Lorraine Warren* and Fumi Kitagawa**
* School of Management, University of Southampton
** Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol
In many countries, the need to connect knowledge from universities to wealth creation has become an increasingly important policy agenda. However, despite growing interest among academics and policy makers worldwide, there are a number of gaps in the understanding of university-industry linkages, appropriate incentive mechanisms and organizational forms, and particularly, the implications for regional development within the increasingly globalizing economy. In the UK, since the late 1990s, a range of national initiatives have been introduced to facilitate greater collaboration and interaction between universities and business, industry and public services, exemplified by the introduction of the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) in England. The development of university spin-off companies has been seen as a favoured route by the government for commercialisation of knowledge from universities in the so called knowledge-based economies. However, the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration in 2003 criticised that there have been too many spin-outs of low quality, and there is a concern that spin-outs are being given ‘undue prominence in consideration of university performance in research commercialisation’ (Minshall and Wicksteed, 2005). Recent works have emphasised the importance of the rigorous process of spin-out creation (Savage, 2006) and the intangible qualities of incubators such as business support, access to networks and the development of management teams (Patton et al., 2009).
The focus of the present paper is a yet under-researched area in university incubation processes – the quality and character of the networks and the spatiality of incubators. Although policy efforts focus on the local and regional level, the notion of establishing a geographically defined cluster is seen as problematic (Sunley and Martin, 2003). As Casper (2007) and Gilding (2008) note the mechanisms by which technology clusters emerge and become sustainable are not well-understood and further, may be highly specific and difficult to predict. In this paper we begin to address this gap by analysing the networks of firms, both spin-outs and spin-ins, at a structural grouping of university incubators in the UK. Specifically, we study the SETsquared Partnership, a collaboration between four universities (Universities of Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey) funded under the HEIF. SETsquared Business Acceleration supports not only academics to create university spin-outs, but helps new businesses which come from local business communities (spin-ins).
Drawing on a network visualisation method, our analysis involves studying patters of organisational collaboration and clusters among SETsquared firms (Bath, Bristol, Southampton and Surrey) at local, national and international levels, and identifying networks and spatiality of university incubators. The paper asks the following principal questions:
- At which spatial levels (local, national and international) do SETsquared firms collaborate most?
- What are the implications for territorial/regional economic development?
- What are the implications for policy and support for universities and the academic research commercialisation?
The paper first illustrates the institutional contexts of SETsquared incubators at the universities. Secondly, we analyse the networks and collaboration patters between SETsquared firms. We conclude by arguing that there is a need for policy makers at both regional and national levels to recognize the complexity of interactions between the local, national and global levels including firms, universities and ventures, and the institutional multi-level dimensions and co-evolution of science and innovation policy.
Technology-based Entrepreneurship Education - Meeting educational and business objectives
[International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation]
Grahame Boocock, Senior Lecturer, Business School, Loughborough University,
LE11 3TU, UK; J.G.Boocock@lboro.ac.uk
Dr. Regina Frank, Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Business School, Loughborough University, LE11 3TU, UK; R.Frank@lboro.ac.uk
Dr. Lorraine Warren, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, School of Management, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK; L.Warren@soton.ac.uk
The UK Government’s ‘Third Mission’ for Higher Education (2000) encourages universities to teach entrepreneurship to ‘STEM’ students (those studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in part to support the technology transfer agenda. Technology-based entrepreneurship education (TEE) incorporates the key elements of entrepreneurship education (EE) focusing on the creation of economic value from technological change.
We begin the paper by outlining the key challenges associated with EE and TEE. We claim that the way to meet these challenges is through a systematic process that takes a technology from initial idea in the laboratory to full commercialisation of a high growth firm. The ‘Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation (TEC) Algorithm’, developed at North Carolina State University, offers such a framework for multidisciplinary teams, including STEM and business students and researchers. We describe its adaptation for use at LU, present its structure and content and set out the educational and business objectives of the Programme. We then evaluate the value of this Programme by discussing the practical issues involved in running such a programme, and explore the extent to which its objectives have been achieved.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, technology evaluation, technology commercialisation, new venture creation
Intangible Elements That Underpin High-Tech Business Incubation Processes
[Journal of Technology Treansfer]
Dr. D. Patton, Senior lecturer, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus Tel: 44 (0)2380 598976, Fax 44 (0)2380 593844 E-mail: dap1@soton.ac.uk
Dr L. Warren, Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton, lw4@soton.ac.uk
D. Bream, Incubator Director, University of Southampton, d.bream@soton.ac.uk
The UK government’s emphasis upon knowledge as a key competitive differentiator has led to the establishment of incubators within universities to support the commercialization of ideas; however our understanding of the process by which research ideas are commercialized is limited. The findings in this paper, based on a case study of the high-tech incubator at the University of Southampton, suggest that some of the salient factors that strengthen the incubation process include; a steady flow of new ideas, an empathy with founders, the creation and maintenance of internal and external networks and appropriate/functional exit strategies for firms leaving the incubator.
Knowledge acquisition processes during the incubation of new high technology firms
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Management [in review]
Dr L. Warren, Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton, lw4@soton.ac.uk
Dr. D. Patton, Senior lecturer, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus Tel: 44 (0)2380 598976, Fax 44 (0)2380 593844 E-mail: dap1@soton.ac.uk
D. Bream, Incubator Director, University of Southampton, d.bream@soton.ac.uk
High technology incubators have been funded in universities by the UK government as part of the ‘third mission’ for higher education (DTI 2000a). The provision of such facilities is premised on the notion that new technology firms achieve success at least in part from the benefits of incubators as rich networked environments where specialist knowledge acquisition can occur. This paper presents a exploration of how this process takes place, based on a case study of the high-tech incubator at the University of Southampton. The paper shows that firm founders adopt different approaches to the networked environment provided by the incubator; in this case the shift from Directorial support to that embedding in external networks was significant as firms grew. Taking account of this process should enable incubator managers to develop practices that ensure firms gain maximum advantage from the available resources.
Incubation; knowledge acquisition; entrepreneur; technology; networks
Constructing narratives of enterprise: Clichés and entrepreneurial self-identity.
[International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research]
Simon Down, University of Newcastle Business School, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK, Email: simon.down@ncl.ac.uk
Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield campus
Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK, Email: l.warren@soton.ac.uk
Purpose: To extend the repertoire of narrative resources relevant in the creation and maintenance of entrepreneurial identity, and to explore the implications for understanding entrepreneurial behaviour.
Methodology/Approach: The empirical research is based on a two and a half year ethnographic study of a small UK industrial firm.
Findings: The study describes how clichés used by aspirant entrepreneurs are significant elements in creating entrepreneurial self-identity. In contrast to entrepreneurial metaphors, the study of which has highlighted and revealed the extraordinary components of an entrepreneurial narrative identity, examination of the clichés provide us with a means by which to understand the everyday and ordinary elements of identity construction in entrepreneurs.
Research limitations/implications: Further qualitative research in other entrepreneurial settings will be required, exploring the generality of cliché use amongst entrepreneurs.
Practical implications: Applying the implications of our findings for pedagogic and business support uses is not explored and will need further development; we do however suggest that narrative approaches that make sense of entrepreneurship as an achievable aim may have some practical use
Originality/value of paper: The application of cliché as a distinctive linguistic feature of entrepreneurial self-identity construction is highly original and reflects analogous work on entrepreneurial metaphors. Because of its ethnographic data, the paper develops empirically and conceptually rich insights into entrepreneurship.
Key Words: entrepreneurial identity, narrative resources, cliché, metaphor, ethnography.
Fraternity, Legitimacy and (His)Story: The Collective Presentation of Entrepreneur Stories as Excess
[Tamara]
Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, Tel: 44 (0) 2380598972, lw4@soton.ac.uk
Robert Smith, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen, AB 10 7QE. r.smith-a@rgu.ac.uk
This paper is about an entrepreneurial fraternity and its role in reworking and reframing entrepreneurial excess. We achieve this through considering how the historical presentation of the entrepreneur as an isolated individual, a maverick, can be mediated through the adoption of historical modes of organisation that have been appropriated to provide conformity, legitimacy and a sense of belonging. To achieve the purpose of our paper we examine the website of the Memphis based society of entrepreneurs (www.societyofentrepreneurs.com). Through examining the stories on the website, we show how the conservativeness of the stories presented may play a key role in creating a entrepreneurial identity that counters the rebellious and recklessness of the young turks. We suggest that while these modes of organisation may initially seek to curb entrepreneurial excess, in time, they have the potential to be abused, and thus, in themselves, become a form of excess.
ENTREPRENEURIAL IDENTITY, CAREER TRANSFORMATION AND THE SPIN-OUT PROCESS
[Volume VII of the New Technology-Based Firms in the New Millennium series Ed. Ray Oakey, Manchester Business School.]
Purpose
This paper examines the nature of identity work carried out by a newly qualified PhD engineering researcher working in the university spin-out (USO) domain in the UK. The development of different aspects of his professional identity is tracked as he works towards shifting career goals in different learning settings. The focus is entrepreneurial identity, and the extent to which entrepreneurs shape and manipulate their identity as part of venture creation and growth.
Methodology
This is a qualitative case study analysing data collected over a three-year period during multiple interactions with the engineer commencing with his role in a USO initially, then as founder of his own high technology firm.
Outcomes
The importance of maintaining engineering identity during the transition from engineer to entrepreneur is established, though more positive associations with entrepreneurial identity become more apparent over time. Most significantly, the case demonstrates how a complex reworking of what it means to be an entrepreneur and what it means to be an engineer takes place that is enormously significant in this career transition.
Originality
This paper brings the dimension of entrepreneurial identity to the debate on university spin-out (USO) formation and extends the entrepreneurial identity literature to the careers of scientists/engineers.
Practical implications
Better understanding of the subtleties of identity work can be used by educators and support staff in classroom settings and in incubators to improve performance of new high technology firms.
Keywords
Entrepreneurial identity, identity work, career, university spin-out, engineer, high technology firm
The entrepreneur as hero and jester; enacting the entrepreneurial discourse [in review]
Lorraine Warren, School of Management, University of Southampton, Highfield campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK, Tel: 44 (0) 2380 598972, Email: l.warren@soton.ac.uk
Alistair R Anderson (corresponding author), Centre for Entrepreneurship, Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, Kaim House , Garthdee Road , Aberdeen, AB10 7QE, Tel: +44 (0)1224 263883, Email: a.r.anderson@rgu.ac.uk
Employing a social constructivist 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 which present an entrepreneurial identity. But identity has two facets, the general, identified as “what” and the individual identity as “who”. We explore the identity play of one flamboyant entrepreneur, Michael O’Leary to show how he employs the entrepreneurial discourse to establish a unique entrepreneurial identity that is used to strategic advantage.
Keywords: entrepreneur; discourse; narrative; entrepreneurial identity; media; creative destruction
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