Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Ethics: Understanding Ai Weiwei as an Entrepreneurial Parrhesiastes

Daniel Hjorth; Robin Holt

Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Ethics: Understanding Ai Weiwei as an Entrepreneurial Parrhesiastes

Daniel Hjorth
, Robin Holt

University of Liverpool

Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › Research › peer-review

Abstract

In the wake of calls for enterprise-led recovery amid Western economies, we critically investigate the enterprise discourse. Specifically, we challenge the association of enterprise and entrepreneurial activity. Using Foucault’s concept of parrrhesia - an ethical condition of brave speech - we argue that for many entrepreneurs the expressive creation of new organizational forms is itself sufficient as a rationalising logic, without association to the trappings of enterprise such as brand, profit or venture growth. We illustrate our argument using the case of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Original language	English
Publication date	2014
Number of pages	30
Publication status	Published - 2014
Event	The 5th Latin American and European Meeting on Organizational Studies. LAEMOS 2014 - Havanna, Cuba Duration: 2 Apr 2014 → 5 Apr 2014 Conference number: 5 http://laemos.com/index.html

Conference

Conference	The 5th Latin American and European Meeting on Organizational Studies. LAEMOS 2014
Number	5
Country/Territory	Cuba
City	Havanna
Period	02/04/2014 → 05/04/2014
Internet address	http://laemos.com/index.html

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Cite this

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title = "Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Ethics: Understanding Ai Weiwei as an Entrepreneurial Parrhesiastes",

abstract = "In the wake of calls for enterprise-led recovery amid Western economies, we critically investigate the enterprise discourse. Specifically, we challenge the association of enterprise and entrepreneurial activity. Using Foucault{\textquoteright}s concept of parrrhesia - an ethical condition of brave speech - we argue that for many entrepreneurs the expressive creation of new organizational forms is itself sufficient as a rationalising logic, without association to the trappings of enterprise such as brand, profit or venture growth. We illustrate our argument using the case of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.",

author = "Daniel Hjorth and Robin Holt",

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AU - Hjorth, Daniel

AU - Holt, Robin

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PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - In the wake of calls for enterprise-led recovery amid Western economies, we critically investigate the enterprise discourse. Specifically, we challenge the association of enterprise and entrepreneurial activity. Using Foucault’s concept of parrrhesia - an ethical condition of brave speech - we argue that for many entrepreneurs the expressive creation of new organizational forms is itself sufficient as a rationalising logic, without association to the trappings of enterprise such as brand, profit or venture growth. We illustrate our argument using the case of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

AB - In the wake of calls for enterprise-led recovery amid Western economies, we critically investigate the enterprise discourse. Specifically, we challenge the association of enterprise and entrepreneurial activity. Using Foucault’s concept of parrrhesia - an ethical condition of brave speech - we argue that for many entrepreneurs the expressive creation of new organizational forms is itself sufficient as a rationalising logic, without association to the trappings of enterprise such as brand, profit or venture growth. We illustrate our argument using the case of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

M3 - Paper

Y2 - 2 April 2014 through 5 April 2014

ER -