Entrepreneurial narratives for resource acquisition in the Italian creative industries. A qualitative study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7433/s98.2015.13Keywords:
manufacturing industry, resource acquisition, creative industries, storytelling, impression management, social networkingAbstract
Purpose of the paper: This paper explores how narratives help creative Italian entrepreneurs attract resources.
Methodology: Through the integration of the current literature on entrepreneurial narratives and resource acquisition with a case study (Project Officina Creativa), we have developed five arguments about the use of storytelling, impression management and social networking by an Italian creative entrepreneur.
Findings: Officina Creativa conveys narrative strategies through oral stories told by entrepreneurs (by means of direct relationships) and a few basic written texts (websites and presentations). Social networking strategies and storytelling are the most used narratives. Storytelling potentialities, especially those concerning future scenarios and developments, are not fully exploited. Impression management is also fairly neglected by Officina Creativa and is based on the partial communication of technical competences. As a result, informative signals addressed to resource holders are quite limited.
Research limits: The paper adopts a qualitative research approach and it is the first step of a large-sample research project which will combine qualitative and quantitative data.
Practical implications: The study develops propositions about which narrative strategies can be successful for an entrepreneur in the creative fashion business. In the meantime, the paper underlines which narrative strategies are under-exploited and could be effectively applied to Italian entrepreneurial experiences.
Originality of the paper: The study is the first attempt to understand how entrepreneurial narrative strategies are successfully implemented in the creative Italian industry.
References
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CZARNIAWSKA B. (1998), A narrative approach to organization studies, Sage, London.
DEETZ S. (2003), “Reclaiming the legacy of the linguistic turn”, Organization, vol. 10, n. 3, pp. 421-429.
DYER W.G., HANDLER W. (1994), “Entrepreneurship and family business: Exploring the connections”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 19, n. 1, pp. 71-84.
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GRANOVETTER M. (1985), “Economic action and social structure: the problem of embededness”, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 91, n. 3, pp. 481-510.
HELLMAN T., PURI M. (2000), “The interaction between product market and financing strategy: The role of venture capital”, Review of Financial Studies, vol. 13, n. 4, pp. 959-984.
HESMONDHALGH D. (2002), The Cultural Industries, Sage, London.
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HUMMEL R.P. (1991), “Stories managers tell: Why they are valid as science”, Public Administration Review, vol. 51, n. 1, pp. 31-41.
ISTAT (2011), “Ricerca e Sviluppo in Italia”, Statistiche e Report, ISTAT, Roma
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JOSSELSON R., LIEBLICH A. (1993), The narrative study of lives, vol. 1, Sage Publications, Inc.
KIMBERLY J.R. (1979), “Issues in the Creation of Organizations: Initiation, Innovation, and Institutionalization”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 22, n. 3, pp. 437-57.
LEARY M.R., KOWALSKI R.M. (1990), “Impression management: A literature review and two-component model”, Psychological bulletin, vol. 107, n. 1, p. 34.
LIEBLICH A., TUVAL-MASHOACH R., ZILBER T. (1998), Narrative research: Reading, analysis, and interpretation, Sage, Thousand Oak, California..
MARTIN J. (1992), Cultures in organizations: Three perspectives, Oxford University Press, New York.
MARTENS M.L., JENNINGS J.E., JENNINGS P.D. (2007), “Do the stories they tell get them the money they need? The role of entrepreneurial narratives in resource acquisition”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 50, n. 5, pp. 1107-1132.
MASTROBERARDINO P. (2010), “La governance del sistema impresa tra istituzionalizzazione e azione del soggetto imprenditoriale”, Sinergie, n. 81, pp.135-171.
MIGLIETTA A., PARISI E., PESSIONE M., SERVATO F. (2013), “Gli strumenti finanziari a supporto delle start-up innovative: le opportunità offerte dal CrowdFunding”, Atti del XXV Convegno annuale di Sinergie, Università Politechica delle Marche, Ancona, 24-25 ottobre, pp. 491-506.
MITROFF I.I., KILMANN R.H. (1978), Methodological approaches to social science, Jossey-Bass, London.
MORAN P., GHOSHAL S. (1996), “Bad for Practice: A critique of the Transaction Cost Theory”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 21, n. 1, pp. 13-47.
NEERGAARD H., MADSEN H. (2004), “Knowledge intensive entrepreneurship in a social capital perspective”, Journal of Enterprising Culture, vol. 12, n. 2, pp. 105-125.
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O’CONNOR J. (2004), “Storytelling to be real: Narrative, legitimacy building and venturing”, Narrative and Discursive Approaches in Entrepreneurship: A Second Movements in Entrepreneurship Book, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK.
PENNINGS J.M., LEE K., VAN WITTELOOSTUIJN A. (1998), “Human capital, social capital, and firm dissolution”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 41, n. 4, pp. 425-440.
POLKINGHORNE D.E. (1988), Narrative knowing and the human sciences, State University of New York Press, Albany.
RHODES C., BROWN A.D. (2005) “Narrative, organizations and research”, International Journal of Management Reviews, vol. 7, n. 3, pp. 167-188.
RIESSMAN C.K. (1991), “Beyond reductionism: Narrative genres in divorce accounts”, Journal of Narrative and Life History, vol. 1, n. 1, pp. 41-68.
RIESSMAN C.K. (1993), Narrative analysis, Sage, Newbury Park, California.
SARASVATHY S.D., WILTBANK R. (2006), “Business Angel Network”, in Hitt M.A., Ireland R.D., The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management: Entrepreneurship, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA.
SCHLENKER B.R. (1980), Impression management: The self-concept, social identity, and interpersonal relations, CA: Brooks/Cole, Monterey.
SCHUMPETER J.A. (1934), The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle (Vol. 55). Transaction Publishers.
SCOTT A.J. (2004), “Cultural products industries and urban economic development: Prospects for growth and market contestation in global context”, Urban Affairs Review, vol. 39, n. 4, pp. 461-490.
SHANE S. (2003), A general theory of entrepreneurship: The individual-opportunity nexus, Elgar, Cheltenham, U.K..
SHEPHERD D.A. (1999), “Venture capitalists’ assessment of new venture survival”, Management Science, vol. 45, n. 5, pp. 621-32.
SMITH R., ANDERSON A.R. (2004), “The devil is in the e-tale: Forms and structures in the entrepreneurial narratives”, in Hjorth D., Steyaert C. (Eds.), Narrative and discursive approaches in entrepreneurship, Elgar, Northampton, MA.
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STEVENSON H.H., GUMPERT D.E. (1985), “The heart of entrepreneurship”, Harvard Business, March-April, n. 184.
STUART T.E., HOANG H., HYBELS R.C. (1999), “Inter-organizational endorsements and the performance of entrepreneurial ventures”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 44, n. 2, pp. 315-349.
SYMBOLA (2011), L’Italia che verrà. Industrie culturali, Made in Italy e territori, I Quaderni di Symbola, Symbola - Fondazione per le qualità italiane e Unioncamere.
THROSBY D. (2001), Economics and Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
THROSBY D. (2007), “Modeling the creative/cultural industries”, paper at New Directions Research: Substance, Method and Critique, ESRC/AHRB Cultural Industries Seminar Network, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland, 11-12 January.
UNITED NATIONS/UNDP/UNESCO (2008), Creative economy report 2008, New York.
UNITED NATIONS/UNDP/UNESCO (2013), Creative economy report 2013 special edition, widening local development pathways, New York.
VOHORA A., WRIGHT M., LOCKETT A., (2004), “Critical junctures in the development of university high-tech spinout companies”, Research Policy, vol. 33, n. 1, pp. 147-75.
WRIGHT M., LOCKETT A., CLARYSSE B., BINKS M., (2006), “University spin-out companies and venture capital”, Research Policy, vol. 35, n. 4, pp. 481-501.
WITT P., SCHROETER A., MERZ C., (2008), “Entrepreneurial resource acquisition via personal networks: an empirical study of German start-ups”, The Service Industries Journal, vol. 28, n. 7, pp. 953-971.
WORK FOUNDATION (2007), Staying Ahead. The Economic Performance of the UK’s Creative Industries, The Work Foundation, London.
ZALD M.N. (1996), “More fragmentation? Unfinished business in linking the social sciences and the humanities”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 41, n. 2, pp. 251-261.
ZOTT C., HUY Q.N. (2007), “How entrepreneurs use symbolic management to acquire resources”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 52, n. 1, pp. 70-105.
AMIT R., SCHOEMAKER P. (1993), “Strategic assets and organizational rent”, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 14, n. 1, pp. 33-46.
BARON R.A., MARKMAN G.D. (2000), “Beyond social capital: How social skills can enhance entrepreneurs’ success”, The Academy of Management Executive, vol. 14, n. 1, pp. 106-116.
BERG B.L. (2004), Qualitative research methods for the social sciences, Pearson, Boston.
BOJE D.M. (1991), “The storytelling organization: A study of story performance in an office-supply firm”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 36, March, pp. 106-126.
BOJE D.M. (1995), “Stories of the storytelling organization: A postmodern analysis of Disney as “Tamara-Land””, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 38, n. 4, pp. 997-1035.
BOJE D.M. (2001), Narrative methods for organizational & communication research, Sage, London.
BOLINO M.C., TURNLEY W.H., BLOODGOOD J.M. (2002), “Citizenship behavior and the creation of social capital in organizations”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 27, n. 4, pp. 505-522.
BOSCHETTI C., GRANDI A., GRIMALDI R. (2003), “Risorse, competenze ed incubatori di imprese”, Sinergie, vol. 62, n. 03, pp. 328-329.
CHOMSKY N., HERMAN E.S. (2008), La fabbrica del consenso. Ovvero la politica dei mass media, Il Saggiatore, Milano.
CHRISMAN J.J., CHUA J.H., STEIER L.P. (2002), “The influence of national culture and family involvement on entrepreneurial perceptions and performance at the state level”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 26, n. 4, pp. 113-130.
CHUA J.H., CHRISMAN J.J., STEIER L.P. (2002), “The influence of national culture and family involvement on entrepreneurial perceptions and performance at the state level”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 26, n. 4, pp. 113-130.
CZARNIAWSKA B. (1998), A narrative approach to organization studies, Sage, London.
DEETZ S. (2003), “Reclaiming the legacy of the linguistic turn”, Organization, vol. 10, n. 3, pp. 421-429.
DYER W.G., HANDLER W. (1994), “Entrepreneurship and family business: Exploring the connections”, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 19, n. 1, pp. 71-84.
FLORIDA R. (2002), The Rise of the Creative Class: and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life, Basic Books, New York.
GAMBARDELLA A. (2014), “L’imprenditore innovatore come agente dello sviluppo tecnico, economico e sociale”, Sinergie, n. 93, Gennaio-Aprile 2014, pp.3-18.
GRANOVETTER M. (1985), “Economic action and social structure: the problem of embededness”, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 91, n. 3, pp. 481-510.
HELLMAN T., PURI M. (2000), “The interaction between product market and financing strategy: The role of venture capital”, Review of Financial Studies, vol. 13, n. 4, pp. 959-984.
HESMONDHALGH D. (2002), The Cultural Industries, Sage, London.
HIGGINS M.C., GULATI R. (2003), “Getting off to a good start: The effects of upper echelon affiliations on underwriter prestige”, Organization Science, vol. 14, n. 3, pp. 244-63.
HJORTH D., STEYAERT C. (2004), “Narrative and discursive approaches in entrepreneurship: a second movements in entrepreneurship book”, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership Historical Research Reference in Entrepreneurship, MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall.
HOWKINS J. (2001), The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas, Allen Lane, London.
HUMMEL R.P. (1991), “Stories managers tell: Why they are valid as science”, Public Administration Review, vol. 51, n. 1, pp. 31-41.
ISTAT (2011), “Ricerca e Sviluppo in Italia”, Statistiche e Report, ISTAT, Roma
JONES E.E., PITTMAN T.S. (1982), “Toward a general theory of strategic self-presentation”, in Suls J. (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on the self, vol. 1, pp. 231-262, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
JOSSELSON R., LIEBLICH A. (1993), The narrative study of lives, vol. 1, Sage Publications, Inc.
KIMBERLY J.R. (1979), “Issues in the Creation of Organizations: Initiation, Innovation, and Institutionalization”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 22, n. 3, pp. 437-57.
LEARY M.R., KOWALSKI R.M. (1990), “Impression management: A literature review and two-component model”, Psychological bulletin, vol. 107, n. 1, p. 34.
LIEBLICH A., TUVAL-MASHOACH R., ZILBER T. (1998), Narrative research: Reading, analysis, and interpretation, Sage, Thousand Oak, California..
MARTIN J. (1992), Cultures in organizations: Three perspectives, Oxford University Press, New York.
MARTENS M.L., JENNINGS J.E., JENNINGS P.D. (2007), “Do the stories they tell get them the money they need? The role of entrepreneurial narratives in resource acquisition”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 50, n. 5, pp. 1107-1132.
MASTROBERARDINO P. (2010), “La governance del sistema impresa tra istituzionalizzazione e azione del soggetto imprenditoriale”, Sinergie, n. 81, pp.135-171.
MIGLIETTA A., PARISI E., PESSIONE M., SERVATO F. (2013), “Gli strumenti finanziari a supporto delle start-up innovative: le opportunità offerte dal CrowdFunding”, Atti del XXV Convegno annuale di Sinergie, Università Politechica delle Marche, Ancona, 24-25 ottobre, pp. 491-506.
MITROFF I.I., KILMANN R.H. (1978), Methodological approaches to social science, Jossey-Bass, London.
MORAN P., GHOSHAL S. (1996), “Bad for Practice: A critique of the Transaction Cost Theory”, Academy of Management Review, vol. 21, n. 1, pp. 13-47.
NEERGAARD H., MADSEN H. (2004), “Knowledge intensive entrepreneurship in a social capital perspective”, Journal of Enterprising Culture, vol. 12, n. 2, pp. 105-125.
NESTA (2006), “Creating Growth: How can the UK develop world class creative businesses”, NESTA Research report, NESTA, London.
O’CONNOR J. (2004), “Storytelling to be real: Narrative, legitimacy building and venturing”, Narrative and Discursive Approaches in Entrepreneurship: A Second Movements in Entrepreneurship Book, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK.
PENNINGS J.M., LEE K., VAN WITTELOOSTUIJN A. (1998), “Human capital, social capital, and firm dissolution”, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 41, n. 4, pp. 425-440.
POLKINGHORNE D.E. (1988), Narrative knowing and the human sciences, State University of New York Press, Albany.
RHODES C., BROWN A.D. (2005) “Narrative, organizations and research”, International Journal of Management Reviews, vol. 7, n. 3, pp. 167-188.
RIESSMAN C.K. (1991), “Beyond reductionism: Narrative genres in divorce accounts”, Journal of Narrative and Life History, vol. 1, n. 1, pp. 41-68.
RIESSMAN C.K. (1993), Narrative analysis, Sage, Newbury Park, California.
SARASVATHY S.D., WILTBANK R. (2006), “Business Angel Network”, in Hitt M.A., Ireland R.D., The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management: Entrepreneurship, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA.
SCHLENKER B.R. (1980), Impression management: The self-concept, social identity, and interpersonal relations, CA: Brooks/Cole, Monterey.
SCHUMPETER J.A. (1934), The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle (Vol. 55). Transaction Publishers.
SCOTT A.J. (2004), “Cultural products industries and urban economic development: Prospects for growth and market contestation in global context”, Urban Affairs Review, vol. 39, n. 4, pp. 461-490.
SHANE S. (2003), A general theory of entrepreneurship: The individual-opportunity nexus, Elgar, Cheltenham, U.K..
SHEPHERD D.A. (1999), “Venture capitalists’ assessment of new venture survival”, Management Science, vol. 45, n. 5, pp. 621-32.
SMITH R., ANDERSON A.R. (2004), “The devil is in the e-tale: Forms and structures in the entrepreneurial narratives”, in Hjorth D., Steyaert C. (Eds.), Narrative and discursive approaches in entrepreneurship, Elgar, Northampton, MA.
STARR J.A., MACMILLAN I. (1990), “Resource cooptation via social contracting: Resource acquisition strategies for new ventures”, Strategic Management Journal, vol. 11, n. 5, pp. 79-92.
STEVENSON H.H., GUMPERT D.E. (1985), “The heart of entrepreneurship”, Harvard Business, March-April, n. 184.
STUART T.E., HOANG H., HYBELS R.C. (1999), “Inter-organizational endorsements and the performance of entrepreneurial ventures”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 44, n. 2, pp. 315-349.
SYMBOLA (2011), L’Italia che verrà. Industrie culturali, Made in Italy e territori, I Quaderni di Symbola, Symbola - Fondazione per le qualità italiane e Unioncamere.
THROSBY D. (2001), Economics and Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
THROSBY D. (2007), “Modeling the creative/cultural industries”, paper at New Directions Research: Substance, Method and Critique, ESRC/AHRB Cultural Industries Seminar Network, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland, 11-12 January.
UNITED NATIONS/UNDP/UNESCO (2008), Creative economy report 2008, New York.
UNITED NATIONS/UNDP/UNESCO (2013), Creative economy report 2013 special edition, widening local development pathways, New York.
VOHORA A., WRIGHT M., LOCKETT A., (2004), “Critical junctures in the development of university high-tech spinout companies”, Research Policy, vol. 33, n. 1, pp. 147-75.
WRIGHT M., LOCKETT A., CLARYSSE B., BINKS M., (2006), “University spin-out companies and venture capital”, Research Policy, vol. 35, n. 4, pp. 481-501.
WITT P., SCHROETER A., MERZ C., (2008), “Entrepreneurial resource acquisition via personal networks: an empirical study of German start-ups”, The Service Industries Journal, vol. 28, n. 7, pp. 953-971.
WORK FOUNDATION (2007), Staying Ahead. The Economic Performance of the UK’s Creative Industries, The Work Foundation, London.
ZALD M.N. (1996), “More fragmentation? Unfinished business in linking the social sciences and the humanities”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 41, n. 2, pp. 251-261.
ZOTT C., HUY Q.N. (2007), “How entrepreneurs use symbolic management to acquire resources”, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 52, n. 1, pp. 70-105.
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2015-12-30
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