152interviewed for this study were themselves critical of the lack of science-based evidence in their own teaching. As an analogy, consider the field of medicine. This field underwent a radical transformation in the nineteenth century, when science-based approaches to medicine radically replaced approaches based on common sense or practical experience. Perhaps it is now time for the entrepreneurship industry to make a similar leap, before unsubstantiated cultural ideals crowd out better-substantiated efforts.

6

Conclusion

In recent decades we have witnessed the growth of an entrepreneurship industry in Sweden and elsewhere. The present study leverages explorative interviews to understand implicit assumptions about entrepreneurship as a cultural ideal within the industry: what this ideal entails, how it is produced, as well as its consequences. Emerging from this analysis is a critical perspective of the entrepreneurship industry, identifying how cultural ideals lead to problems of efficiency and discrimination. Undoubtedly, entrepreneurship has positive consequences both for individuals and society, as it contributes to economic growth and positive societal change. Undoubtedly, many skillful actors in the entrepreneurship industry are engaged in important value-creating activities. With this book chapter, I hope to offer an interpretative lens that helps entrepreneurs and their supporters realize that potential more fully.

Acknowledgments The author is grateful to Sebastian Maric for excellent research assistance and to VINNOVA and Ragnar Söderbergs Stiftelse for funding.

153Cultural Ideals in the Entrepreneurship Industry

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