The Imaginary Institution of the Entrepreneurial Society: An Inquiry into Rap Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship has always been associated with a powerful imaginary. Based on Castoriadis (1975), this article explores the role of the imaginary in the development and regulation of the entrepreneurial society. An autoethnographic account complemented by participant observation show the practices and narratives of rap entrepreneurship as grounded in the imaginary of hip hop. With the development of digital technologies, the instituted imaginary has been partly reformulated, albeit starting from the same imaginary. The instituting imaginary is described as a ‘magma’ that inspires and from which practices and institutions are created. From this perspective, we are invited to reflect on the instituting imaginary of the entrepreneurial society of which Audrescht and Thurik predict the advent, and on the instituted imaginaries that may emerge.