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Government Discourses on Entrepreneurship: Issues of Legitimization, Subjugation, and Power

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  • Lew Perren
  • Peter L. Jennings

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Lew Perren & Peter L. Jennings, 2005. "Government Discourses on Entrepreneurship: Issues of Legitimization, Subjugation, and Power," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(2), pages 173-184, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:29:y:2005:i:2:p:173-184
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00075.x
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    2. Veronica, Scuotto & Manlio, Del Giudice & Shlomo, Tarba & Antonio, Messeni Petruzzelli & Victor, Chang, 2020. "International social SMEs in emerging countries: Do governments support their international growth?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    3. O'Connor, Allan, 2013. "A conceptual framework for entrepreneurship education policy: Meeting government and economic purposes," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 546-563.
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    13. Tariq Ahmed & Ahmad Zahiruddin Bin Yahya, 2017. "Exploring the Role of Perceived Contextual and Environmental Motivators in Venture Creation: Survey in South Asian Context," Business and Management Research, Business and Management Research, Sciedu Press, vol. 6(2), pages 64-72, June.
    14. Malin Lindberg & Monica Lindgren & Johann Packendorff, 2014. "Quadruple Helix as a Way to Bridge the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: The Case of an Innovation System Project in the Baltic Sea Region," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 5(1), pages 94-113, March.
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