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Overcoming constraints of collective imagination: An inquiry into activist entrepreneuring, disruptive truth-telling and the creation of ‘possible worlds’

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  • Dey, Pascal
  • Mason, Chris

Abstract

This article introduces ‘activist entrepreneuring’ to suggest a fresh understanding of entrepreneuring which foregrounds how constraints of imagination are removed through critical speech. Specifically, we link Michel Foucault's work on parrhesia, or courageous speech, and various literatures on (utopian) imagination to discuss ‘disruptive truth-telling’ as the generative mechanism of activist entrepreneuring whose transformative force resides in breaking free from existing limitations of collective imagination, or what we refer to as the ‘orthodox social imaginary’. We use the activist group Yes Men to develop a process model which throws into sharper relief how disruptive truth-telling is employed, on the one hand, to expose and problematize the boundaries of collective imagination, and, on the other, to create ‘possible worlds’ that prefigure ways of doing business that are consistent with broader societal interest. The three interrelated objectives of this article are: first, to make creative use of the humanities to emphasize how disruptive truth-telling actualizes possibilities for imagining future realities that seem impossible from the standpoint of dominant imagination. Second, to make the case for seeing changes of collective imagination as a genuine entrepreneurial accomplishment. And third, to identify boundary conditions that help us strengthen the explanatory power of our theorizing on disruptive truth-telling.

Suggested Citation

  • Dey, Pascal & Mason, Chris, 2018. "Overcoming constraints of collective imagination: An inquiry into activist entrepreneuring, disruptive truth-telling and the creation of ‘possible worlds’," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 84-99.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbvent:v:33:y:2018:i:1:p:84-99
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2017.11.002
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick Gregori & Patrick Holzmann & David B. Audretsch, 2024. "Sustainable entrepreneurship on digital platforms and the enactment of digital connectivity through business models," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 1173-1190, February.
    2. Lauri Laine & Ewald Kibler, 2022. "The Social Imaginary of Emancipation in Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(2), pages 393-420, March.
    3. Meyer, Camille, 2020. "The commons: A model for understanding collective action and entrepreneurship in communities," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(5).
    4. Patrick Gregori & Patrick Holzmann, 2022. "Entrepreneurial practices and the constitution of environmental value for sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3302-3317, November.
    5. Thorgren, Sara & Williams, Trenton Alma, 2023. "Progress without a venture? Individual benefits of post-disruption entrepreneuring," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(3).
    6. Albena Pergelova & Fernando Angulo-Ruiz & Leo-Paul Dana, 2022. "The Entrepreneurial Quest for Emancipation: Trade-Offs, Practices, and Outcomes in an Indigenous Context," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 481-503, October.
    7. Lori DiVito & Zita Ingen-Housz, 2021. "From individual sustainability orientations to collective sustainability innovation and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1057-1072, February.
    8. Gish, J. Jeffrey & Wagner, David T. & Grégoire, Denis A. & Barnes, Christopher M., 2019. "Sleep and entrepreneurs' abilities to imagine and form initial beliefs about new venture ideas," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(6).
    9. Fernhaber, Stephanie A. & Zou, Huan, 2022. "Advancing societal grand challenge research at the interface of entrepreneurship and international business: A review and research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(5).
    10. Paul Sarango-Lalangui & Jane Lucia S. Santos & Esther Hormiga, 2018. "The Development of Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, June.
    11. André Laplume & Kent Walker & Zhou Zhang & Xin Yu, 2021. "Incumbent Stakeholder Management Performance and New Entry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 629-644, December.
    12. Cyrine Ben-Hafaïedh & Claire Champenois & Thomas Cooney & Leon Schjoedt, 2024. "Entrepreneurship as collective action: The next frontier," Post-Print hal-04460045, HAL.
    13. Mazlina Manshor & Mohd Najib Saad, 2023. "Determinants of Sustainable Development among Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises: A New Conceptual Framework," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 15(1), pages 94-105.
    14. Branzei, Oana & Parker, Simon C. & Moroz, Peter W. & Gamble, Edward, 2018. "Going pro-social: Extending the individual-venture nexus to the collective level," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 551-565.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Activism; Entrepreneuring; Imagination; Social imaginary; Speech; Humanities; Truth-telling; Possible worlds;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • L31 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship

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