Government discourses on entrepreneurship: issues of legitimization, subjugation, and power

Lew Perren, Peter L. Jennings

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The belief in market-driven ideology and the assumption that new business ventures create jobs and foster innovation has embedded entrepreneurship into political discourse. Academics have analyzed government policies on entrepreneurship, but they have tended to share the same underlying beliefs in the function of entrepreneurs within the economic machine. This article explores selected dimensions of the impact of those beliefs by using critical discourse analysis to show how government websites around the world portray entrepreneurs and their role in society. Discourses of government power and self-legitimization are revealed that manifest themselves in a colonizing discourse of entrepreneurial subjugation. The article concludes by challenging government rhetoric on entrepreneurship and questioning the motives underpinning the agenda of government involvement in supporting entrepreneurs.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)173-184
Number of pages12
JournalEntrepreneurship: theory & practice
Volume29
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2005

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