Linking the Entrepreneurship Discourse to its Context - the Development of Entrepreneurship in Germany in the Years 1997-2001

Because newspapers are believed to have the potential to influence the entrepreneurial spirit in Germany, the public discourse on the entrepreneurial spirit, and its relationship to economic activities and infrastructure, are analyzed. A total of 146 articles covering the notion of "entrepreneurial spirit" were identified in a major German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) from the years 1997-2001.As well, data on business start-ups and trends in entrepreneurship policies and support were compiled to provide a context. At the macro level, the focus of the articles was categorized as economic, political or cultural.More than half of the articles discuss entrepreneurship as an economic phenomenon. Between 1997 and 2001, the focus on political or cultural aspects decreased from 52% to 34% of the articles.A decrease in entrepreneurial activity also occurred during this period, suggesting a possible lack of social embeddedness of the discourse -- i.e., to reach the desired goal of increasing entrepreneurial activity, influences such as the public discourse may need to grow. An analysis on the country focus of the discourse shows that the discourse has an international dimension, with the United States showing great entrepreneurial spirit and Germany lacking. At the meso level, the discourse on entrepreneurial spirit is discussed in terms of grammar. For example, verbs indicate what the entrepreneurial spirit does -- 'creates jobs,' 'acts self-dependently.'From these findings, different streams in the discourse can be identified:(1) the entrepreneurial spirit as a medium of entrepreneurial behavior, (2) success stories of individual entrepreneurs representing the entrepreneurial spirit as a learnable trait, and (3) the connection of the entrepreneurial spirit to regions or countries.Additionally, there seems to be a gap between the public discourse on entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurship research results.(NEE)