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Temporality and Meaningful Entrepreneurship

Author

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  • Sandrine Frémeaux

    (Audencia Business School)

  • François Henry

    (Icam Lille)

Abstract

Temporality is an under-researched area in entrepreneurship and business ethics, even though entrepreneurs are particularly affected by a fast-paced work environment. How do they position themselves in relation to the acceleration of time in order to construct meaning for their activity? We draw on fifty-four semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs to outline the different ways in which they perceive a faster pace of work. We show how the meaning they give to their activity varies according to whether they accept or resist the acceleration of time: (1) By claiming to accept a high work rate, entrepreneurs may see work as a way of keeping busy, having fun, forgetting, or achieving efficiency; (2) by asserting that they resist the acceleration of time, they view work as a way of setting ethical goals, doing their job better, experiencing unexpected encounters, or being creative. These two different perspectives on time and meaning are not incompatible: It is possible that achieving a harmonic balance between periods of acceleration and deceleration of time may foster the construction of meaningful entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandrine Frémeaux & François Henry, 2023. "Temporality and Meaningful Entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(4), pages 725-739, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:188:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-023-05502-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05502-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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