Date of Award
1-1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Business Administration
First Advisor
Maria Berns
Second Advisor
Clay Dibrell
Third Advisor
John Berns
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
This dissertation investigates how entrepreneurial storytelling is shaped by and shapes its material and cultural context, extending the Theory of Cultural Entrepreneurship (TOCE). While TOCE highlights storytelling as a mechanism through which entrepreneurs construct legitimacy and secure resources by drawing on culturally resonant narratives, prior research has largely overlooked the constraining and enabling role of material resources in this process. This dissertation addresses this gap by examining how context functions, not merely as a backdrop but as a constitutive force in entrepreneurial storytelling. Using ethnographic methods, two studies were conducted at a regenerative farm and processing facility in rural Mississippi. The first study explores how material circumstances constrain or enable the adoption and adaptation of shared cultural narratives. The second study extends this by examining how the material properties of products and production processes influence entrepreneurs’ ability to bridge niche and dominant market logics. Together, the findings demonstrate that entrepreneurial storytelling is co-constituted by both cultural and material resources, which influence the credibility, flexibility, and resonance of entrepreneurial narratives. The dissertation contributes to a more holistic understanding of entrepreneurial action as embedded in dynamic configurations of cultural and material context, challenging assumptions that stories can be readily adapted without consequence. It advances TOCE by integrating materiality into the storytelling process, offering a richer framework for analyzing how entrepreneurs make meaning, create value, and navigate institutional complexity.
Recommended Citation
Rogers, John J., "Storytelling in Context: How Resources Enable and Constrain the Stories Entrepreneurs Tell" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3371.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3371