DEBATE: The problem is that entrepreneurship has become an industry

“Many actors benefit from entrepreneurship being promoted as a means of self-fulfillment.”

Researchers, entrepreneurs and policy makers often talk about ecosystems, innovation systems, support systems and education systems. We talk about the importance of supporting entrepreneurs and encouraging entrepreneurship. But we miss the fact that entrepreneurship has also become a ‘product’ that is both sold and consumed. Like the tourism industry that emerged in the 1970s by bringing together the transportation, hotel and restaurant industries, the entrepreneurship industry has grown into a global multi-billion dollar arena that brings together consultants, trainers, entertainers and event companies that offer their support to aspiring entrepreneurs in various ways. In other words, you could say that an industry has grown up around entrepreneurship. An industry where entrepreneurship is packaged, marketed and sold in the form of books, conferences, inspirational lectures, magazines, TV series and training packages. If we try to see entrepreneurship as an industry – not just an organically grown ecosystem or a public support system – we might better understand some of the phenomena that currently baffle many of us. For example: why is it that so many people feel called to entrepreneurship, even though for the vast majority it pays so much less than traditional career paths? What can we learn from all the “inspirational entrepreneurs” who sell lectures and online courses on “how to be successful like me”? Why does the City of Helsingborg choose to call its city fair in 2022 “Sweden’s largest innovation show”? Why does Danske Bank choose to reorganize into “Tribes” and “Squads”? Why is there such a huge range of entrepreneurial breakfast seminars and hackathons? Why do so many aid organizations choose to set up innovation hubs, incubators and accelerators?

There could be many explanations. One may be that there is a wide range of actors who all benefit from entrepreneurship being marketed as a means of self-realization. Another explanation could be that entrepreneurship has become a label that sells and that entrepreneurship has been packaged as the savior story of our time, a story we are happy to buy. When news about war, climate change, and violence in society is often negative, it’s nice to read about positive and energetic people who want to create something new and better, and who encourage us that we can do it too. There may be other explanations, some of which we will explore in our new research project ‘The Entrepreneurship Industry’.

However, we would like to raise a few words of caution. It is good that society invests large sums in entrepreneurship and innovation, but it is important that the money is spent where it will do the most good. If people start businesses because they are attracted by a culture rather than for financial reasons, this could conceivably increase the risk of unhealthy businesses that are unable to stand on their own two feet and survive over time. If private innovation efforts result in surface without substance, there is also a risk that established companies and other organizations will encounter an innovation theatre dominated by inspirational lectures, whiteboards and creative meetings. Activities that in the long run undermine, rather than support, new development. Anna Brattström, Associate Professor at the Sten K Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship, Lund University and Associate Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics

anna.brattstrom@fek.lu.se

Mickaël Buffart, Assistant Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics
Mickael.buffart@hhs.se

Karl Wennberg, Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics
karl.wennberg@hhs.se

Ongoing study
In the fall of 2022, Anna Brattström, Mickaël Buffart and Karl Wennberg have started a major research project, “The Entrepreneurship Industry”, which will study entrepreneurship as an industry buoyed by strong cultural ideals. Understanding the subculture at a deeper level will be part of understanding why people want to become entrepreneurs and why organizations invest in entrepreneurial activities. The first results of the project can be read here:
An exploratory case study on cultural ideals in the entrepreneurship industry (2022)
A critical analysis of storytelling in entrepreneurship research (2022)

Read ESBRI article on cultural ideals in the entrepreneurship industry (with Anna Brattström)