Introduction to Special Issue on the Rhetoric of Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Suppose a software developer named Ada has an idea for a truly revolutionary app.This innovation could change the world.But many such innovations could; few actually do.And as Ada begins to think through how to get this innovative app to the people who might use it, she realizes that innovation was perhaps the easiest part.Now comes the hard part: Ada must persuade others to see the potential that she sees in the app.And that means being willing to change or iterate the innovation because there is no transportation without transformation (Akrich, Callon, & Latour, 2002a, 2002b; cf.Rogers, 2003).She must get people to invest in her idea, to provide support ranging from hard cash to word of mouth.She must persuade others to quit their jobs and work for her for the promise of potential future gains.She must figure out how the innovation will actually make money and from whom and how to get the innovation in front of them so they can start to believe in it too.And in the process, Ada must persuade herself to become something different and perhaps alien: an entrepreneur.

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