The Graceful Warrior
Vorst, Laura van de
Social entrepreneurs propose an alternative logic to the dominant logic of the system.
However, their ability to implement envisioned change depends on the social approval, access
to resources and market opportunities granted by the institutionalized system. Dominant
institutional logics constrain entrepreneurial action. The flipside of these dominant logics also
enable entrepreneurial action, since opportunities of change can be found in the contradictions
of these logics. Both sides of the same coin present an interesting institutional paradox.
This study advances cultural entrepreneurship research on the rhetorical microstructures used
by social entrepreneurs that exploit this institutional paradox to generate organizational
legitimacy. The data are collected through elaborate qualitative interviews with twelve
socially and/or environmentally motivated entrepreneurs, whose answers are categorized and
cross-analysed. Their social enterprises envision a sustainable transformation of the fashion
industry. The aim of this multiple case study is to understand how rhetoric is employed at the
entrepreneurial level when addressing a challenge such as sustainability at the system’s level.
It was found that institutional vocabularies draw on institutional contradictions, invoking
either positive or negative meta-narratives that establish protagonist or antagonist identities.
Interestingly, two types of antagonists appeared that are situated at opposite ends of a
spectrum: the institutionalized system (antagonist I) versus previous failed attempt to change
the system (antagonist II). Moreover, different rhetorical devices either functioned to distance
the protagonist from antagonists or to bridge the protagonist with antagonist I.
The dual necessity to communicate both the differentiation and assimilation has been
previously identified in cultural entrepreneurship literature, but has not been reflected in the
theoretical frameworks of microstructures. It is therefore that this paper introduces an adapted
microstructure model. ‘The Graceful Warrior’ model better reflects the extensive rhetorical
manoeuvring of a social entrepreneur between emphasizing its common grounds with ‘what
is’ and emphasizing the uniqueness of its envisioned ‘what could be’.
The cultural dimension of entrepreneurship is a relatively under research field. How to
effectively communicate envisioned change holds relevance for both innovation and social
entrepreneurship literature. Moreover, as the planet’s environmental and social resources are
exhausted, there is a call for entrepreneurs who challenge the economic growth paradigm.
‘The Graceful Warrior’ rhetorically distances from previous failed attempts to change the
system, whilst building bridges with the institutionalized system. The social agenda is
softened with a comfortable layer that frames change in such a way that it becomes an
attractive proposal for the masses. Since change of the system is crucial for their success,
social entrepreneurs are recommended to implement these rhetorical microstructures into their
strategies, which will prepare them to fight their wars with grace and win.