‘Salesman? Hell no!’ Identity struggles of nascent design entrepreneurs
Corresponding Author
Suna Løwe Nielsen
Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, The University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Correspondence
Suna Løwe Nielsen, Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, The University of Southern Denmark, Universitetsparken 1, 6000 Kolding, Denmark.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorBirgitte Norlyk
Department of Design and Communication, The University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorPoul Rind Christensen
Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, The University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Suna Løwe Nielsen
Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, The University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Correspondence
Suna Løwe Nielsen, Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, The University of Southern Denmark, Universitetsparken 1, 6000 Kolding, Denmark.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorBirgitte Norlyk
Department of Design and Communication, The University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorPoul Rind Christensen
Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, The University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
The present study offers new input to the discussion of how entrepreneurship education and training programmes can be tailored to suit design professionals. To a large extent, existing entrepreneurship teaching for creative people is based on a traditional administrative management logic that often results in a clash between entrepreneurial demands and creative identities. The paper is based on the following rationale: the better we understand designers' reasoning and their struggles concerning becoming entrepreneurs, the better we are able to design entrepreneurship learning experiences that meet their needs. Since designers' career-making tends to be highly driven by their strong sense of identity, the paper takes an identity perspective. The empirical foundation of the research is based on observation studies and phenomenological interviews conducted during an eight-week entrepreneurship training program. Twenty-five nascent design entrepreneurs with a professional background as designers participated in the voluntary programme. The paper offers novel and critical insights into designers' experiences of the entrepreneurial identity and reasoning as they participate in entrepreneurship training.
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