Contesting Entrepreneurial Imperialism: Reimagining Popular Narratives Towards Inclusive Entrepreneurialism

Widening economic inequality has been identified as a moral challenge that constitutes a global impediment to socioeconomic well-being. While incongruities exist within any dynamic system, a sustained unequal value distribution can lead to social and economic obstructions for individuals and communities. Entrepreneurship has been identified as a force for good and subsequently funded as an institutional methodology to disburse well-being by democratizing economic empowerment. Current popular approaches are institutionalized in wealthier Western contexts, encapsulated in linear narratives, and aggressively exported to new, foreign environments. Due to the often-unrecognized philosophical assumptions underlying these narratives, current approaches tend to limit the benefits of entrepreneurship to specific audiences and position the promoting institutions as entrepreneurial imperialists, creating an economic hegemony as they reinforce current power dynamics and save the most valuable entrepreneurial exchanges for those with access and resources, often benefiting the institutions economically. While much has been written on removing the impediments to current entrepreneurial approaches, this dissertation prioritizes practical utility by proposing the need for a refreshed philosophical approach, a new entrepreneurial narrative, and dynamic institutional networks that prioritize autonomy towards more effectively engaging a favorite of current entrepreneurial narratives: the rising generation.