Shifts in national entrepreneurial culture: The promise of linguistic cultural artifacts and machine learning analysis

Abstract

Research SummaryWe develop a dynamic view of national entrepreneurial culture by examining the linguistic evolution of media‐produced cultural artifacts—entrepreneurship‐related newspaper articles. Applying machine learning to 690,088 articles from 103 newspapers across the United States between 1996 and 2016, we identify a growing positivity bias toward entrepreneurship at the national level evidenced by rising emotional tone and declining analytical thinking. This bias varies by topic, with “entrepreneurial aspirations and journeys” driving the trend. Our analyses also suggest this bias may encourage the creation of new ventures but limit venture growth potential. We highlight theoretical and methodological contributions to research on national entrepreneurial culture and identify promising avenues for future research.Managerial SummaryWe examine how a country's cultural attitudes toward entrepreneurship change over time by studying relevant newspaper articles. We also consider if any changes in such attitudes may have implications for the quantity and quality of a country's new ventures. After analyzing 690,088 articles from 103 newspapers across the United States between 1996 and 2016, we find a growing positivity bias toward entrepreneurship evidenced by increasing rates of positive tone and decreasing rates of analytical thinking. This bias is largest when media articles discuss entrepreneurial aspirations and journeys. Our analyses also suggest this bias may facilitate the creation of new ventures but limit their growth potential. These findings have implications for understanding and measuring national entrepreneurial culture, and create opportunities for future research.