Written Communication Jan 2016

How Magnets Attract and Repel

Clay Spinuzzi The University of Texas at Austin ; Scott Nelson ; Keela S. Thomson University of California, Los Angeles ; Francesca Lorenzini The University of Texas at Austin ; Rosemary A. French ; Gregory Pogue ; Noelle London

Abstract

K6015, a South Korean firm seeking to commercialize its magnet technology in the US market, entered a technology commercialization training program structured as a competition. Through this program, K6015 (and others in the program) used several genres to progressively interest different sets of stakeholders. To understand how K6015 applied these genres, we analyze this case study in terms of interessement, a concept from actor-network theory, and standing sets of transformations, a related concept from workplace writing studies in which enacting a set of genres entails a controlled, progressive transformation of arguments. We examine the entire competition process, using K6015 and three other competitors to illustrate this process and to examine rhetorical transformations responding to different criteria. In enacting these standing sets of transformations, K6015 and other competitors transformed their innovations into commercialized technologies–and transformed themselves from innovators into entrepreneurs. Finally, we discuss implications for understanding entrepreneurship rhetorically.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2016-01-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088315614566
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research professional writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Spinuzzi et al. (2023)
    Linked but Desynched: An OODA Analysis of Associated Entrepreneurship Accelerat…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Read (2020)
    How to Build a Supercomputer: U.S. Research Infrastructure and the Documents Th…
    Written Communication
  3. Pihlaja (2020)
    Inventing Others in Digital Written Communication: Intercultural Encounters on …
    Written Communication
  4. Spinuzzi (2017)
    Introduction to Special Issue on the Rhetoric of Entrepreneurship
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Swarts (2016)
    Composing Networks
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (10)

  1. Read et al. (2015)
    Visualizing and Tracing: Research Methodologies for the Study of Networked, Soc…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Pigg et al. (2014)
    Ubiquitous Writing, Technologies, and the Social Practice of Literacies of Coor…
    Written Communication
  3. Du-Babcock et al. (2013)
    A Comparison of the Communication Behaviors of Hong Kong Chinese and Japanese B…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Swarts (2011)
    Technological Literacy as Network Building
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Spinuzzi (2010)
    Secret Sauce and Snake Oil: Writing Monthly Reports in a Highly Contingent Envi…
    Written Communication
Show all 10 →
  1. Swarts (2010)
    Recycled Writing: Assembling Actor Networks From Reusable Content
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Propen et al. (2010)
    Understanding Genre through the Lens of Advocacy: The Rhetorical Work of the Vi…
    Written Communication
  3. Schryer et al. (2009)
    The Trial of the Expert Witness
    Written Communication
  4. Teston (2009)
    A Grounded Investigation of Genred Guidelines in Cancer Care Deliberations
    Written Communication
  5. Ding (2008)
    The Use of Cognitive and Social Apprenticeship to Teach a Disciplinary Genre
    Written Communication
Also cites 10 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1142/S1363919602000550
     ↗
  2. 10.1142/S1363919602000562
     ↗
  3. 10.1177/0170840614530913
     ↗
  4. 10.1007/978-1-349-07408-2_2
     ↗
  5. 10.4135/9781452230153
     ↗
  6. 10.1016/B978-008044198-6/50050-4
     ↗
  7. 10.4324/9781315699035
     ↗
  8. 10.1007/s10961-009-9118-2
     ↗
  9. 10.1145/2775441.2775455
     ↗
  10. 10.1504/IJTM.2005.005997
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 15 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    “It's Hard to Show ROI When You’re Preventing Things from Happening”: How Impact Storytelling Frames Community Health Initiatives for Executive Audiences ↗
    Margaret Hsiao
    qualitative research multimodality technical communication professional writing multilingual writers
  2. College Composition and Communication Sep 2025
    Using the AI Life Cycle to Unblackbox AI Tools: Teaching Résumé 2.0 with Résumé Analytics and Computational Job-Résumé Matching ↗
    Huiling Ding
    qualitative research artificial intelligence professional writing multilingual writers
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2025
    Inhuman Rhetoric: Generative AI and Crisis Communication ↗
    Erick Piller
    qualitative research artificial intelligence professional writing
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2025
    Lessons from a “Scholar on Fire” for a World on Fire: A Framework to Position Technical and Professional Communication Scholars for Policy Impact ↗
    Heidi Willers
    qualitative research professional writing multilingual writers
  5. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 2024
    Using Generative AI to Facilitate Data Analysis and Visualization: A Case Study of Olympic Athletes ↗
    Emily Barrow DeJeu
    qualitative research artificial intelligence professional writing