Capitalising on disruption: Evolving Entrepreneurial Discourse in the Business Press

This paper asks how the use of the word “disruption” in the business press changed over the second half of the twentieth century to examine broader transformations in the discourse of entrepreneurial capitalism. To gain insight into these changes, the study conducts an in-depth historical analysis of editorials published in The Wall Street Journal between 1950 and 2019 that feature the word “disruption”. By focusing on this specific term, the research aims to bridge a research gap in the understanding of how language evolved within the context of entrepreneurial capitalism. The purpose of this paper is to uncover patterns, shifts, and nuances in the portrayal of disruption, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the evolving narrative around entrepreneurialism and its implications for societal values and norms.