Edward Elgar Publishing Entrepreneurship across Generations: Narrative, Gender and Learning in Family Business

Entrepreneurship across Generations examines dimensions of identity, gender and learning to understand the complex fabric of family business. An interpretation of narratives from two generations in five families constitutes entrepreneurship as an inherently social, rather than individual, phenomenon. This enriching book explains how entrepreneurial capacity is shared between generations, showing how learning is embedded within everyday social practice in the family and the business. It explores patriarchal practice and gendered entrepreneurial identities in family business. The author challenges dominant discourses of entrepreneurship. She argues that entrepreneurial identities are mediated by narrative and subject to constant negotiation within and across generations. With a new perspective on entrepreneurship, this insightful study will be essential and supplementary reading for students and practitioners within the field of entrepreneurship and family business. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Foundations for Understanding Families in Business 3. Researching Family Business: Towards Narrative 4. Temporality and Narrative Identity 5. Gender Identities Constructed in Narratives of Family Business 6. Entrepreneurial Learning Across the Generations 7. Solace and Suffering: The Entanglement of the Family and the Business References Index