Written Communication Oct 2023

The Topoi of Small Business Entrepreneurship

Emily Barrow DeJeu Carnegie Mellon University

Abstract

Despite students’ growing interest in entrepreneurship education (EE), the small body of research exploring rhetorical strategies for proposing new business ventures has focused only on the argument strategies that startup entrepreneurs use when delivering oral pitches to investors. This study, by contrast, explores the topoi, or lines of argument, that small business entrepreneurs use in written business plans created for bank lenders. Small business entrepreneurs use nine topoi in order to accomplish two rhetorical goals: justifying their ventures, via the creation of stability-focused value propositions, and establishing their entrepreneurial credibility. Ultimately, I argue that small business entrepreneurs use these topoi to frame their ventures as low-risk and stable, which contrasts with startup entrepreneurs’ arguments that their ventures are innovative and disruptive. In addition to learning strategies for highlighting innovation and disruption, EE students would likely benefit from learning rhetorical strategies for minimizing risk and emphasizing stability.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2023-10-01
DOI
10.1177/07410883231171866
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. DeJeu (2024)
    A Rhetorical Approach for Reimagining Business Writing Instruction in the AI Age
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

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