Never social and entrepreneurial enough? Exploring the identity work of social entrepreneurs from a psychoanalytic perspective
Abstract
Building on an analysis of interviews with 61 social entrepreneurs, the study offers a more fine-grained exploration of the identity work of social entrepreneurs from a psychoanalytic, particularly Lacanian, perspective. Specifically, it suggests that what defines social entrepreneurial identity work is the blurring of beatific and horrific aspects of fantasies and a desire for struggle and lack. This in turn creates an emancipatory space in which discursive movement enables alternative forms of market enjoyment and ethical agency. The latter unsettles macro-discourses of capitalism by demanding and amplifying their lack. The study contributes new avenues for exploring Lacanian concepts such as the traversal of fantasy as a product of discursive movement particularly relevant for transformative readings of identity narratives.
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Biographies
Michaela Driver researches alternative and psychoanalytic approaches to a wide range of organizational topics such as organizational identity and learning, trust, emotions, spirituality, corporate social responsibility, identity work, creativity, embodied subjectivity, and leadership. Journals in which Michaela’s work has been published include Organization Studies, Human Relations, Organization, Management Learning, Journal of Organizational Change Management, Academy of Management Learning & Education, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Management Inquiry. She serves on several editorial boards, including Organization, Management Learning, Organization Studies, and the Journal of Management Inquiry.
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Article first published online: November 2, 2017
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