This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by O'Connor, E. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Storied Business: Typology, Intertextuality, and Traffic in Entrepreneurial Narrative

Based on ten months of field research in a high technology start-up, and using ethnographic and grounded theory methodologies, this study identifies six basic narrative types (founding, visionary, marketing, strategy, historical, and conven tional) in three main categories (personal, generic, and situational) that are essen tial in founding and governing a new company. These stories enable founders to (a) justify the existence of the company; (b) convince others to devote funds and other key resources to the company; and (c) make key decisions in the short and intermediate term. Also described in the paper is the interaction of these narra tives, which in this case were often conflicting and even contradictory. The paper argues that a key competence of the founder and entrepreneur is not only the abil ity to develop narrative competence across the three categories but also to develop a command of their interactivity, or intertextuality.

Key Words: Narrative • Entrepreneurship • Storytelling

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. M. Boje and G. A. Rosile Life Imitates Art: Enron's Epic and Tragic Narration Management Communication Quarterly, August 1, 2003; 17(1): 85 - 125. [Abstract] [PDF]