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Woman in love, artist or entrepreneur? The edifying, mystifying life of Coco Chanel

Elen Riot (Reims Management School, Reims, France)

Society and Business Review

ISSN: 1746-5680

Article publication date: 30 September 2013

3107

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to show the representation of entrepreneurship in movies (blockbusters) as a source of influence on popular representations.

Design/methodology/approach

The author uses semiotics to contrast dominant representations in popular movies about Chanel with the reality of her professional life as can be found in archives about the fashion world and couture workers.

Findings

The changes in the account of the entrepreneur's success may disregard important elements such as the importance of collective work and the role of social history on entrepreneurial ventures.

Practical implications

Is entrepreneurship really a source of information in the general representations of what it is to be an entrepreneur and what explains the success and failure of entrepreneurial venture when we observe that popular representations are so far away from what research can describe and interpret using primary data?

Originality/value

By displaying the discrepancy between entrepreneurship theory and popular representations, especially in the movies, one may be able to grasp some of the reasons why entrepreneurship needs more in-depth analysis of actors' representations in relation to the image of popular entrepreneurs in the public eye.

Keywords

Citation

Riot, E. (2013), "Woman in love, artist or entrepreneur? The edifying, mystifying life of Coco Chanel", Society and Business Review, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 281-313. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBR-12-2012-0054

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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