A tale of two gladiators: 'Reading' entrepreneurs as texts

One approach to exploring the context-particular, experiential knowledge of entrepreneurs is to treat their narrative explanations of how their firms have developed as quasi texts containing implicit, personal theories of managerial action. By drawing on cognitive and literary concepts, their personal theories are modelled as multi-element scripts that evolve and change, yielding rich and informative interpretations. It is suggested that this approach is relevant not only for entrepreneurs, but that it can also be used in both ethnographic and clinical studies.