Pitch Perfect? A Critical Analysis of Entrepreneurship in Dragons’ Den

With the growing popularity of entrepreneurship in recent years, media organizations play a significant role in shaping the images and discourses surrounding this multifaceted phenomenon in society. Despite the urging of scholars more than two decades ago to examine how institutions produce and influence entrepreneurship, there is still a significant research gap in understanding how entrepreneurship is depicted on television. Business scholars have so far overlooked the impact of popular or mass media on the Dutch entrepreneurship ecosystem. The present study investigates how entrepreneurship is constructed and conditioned institutionally by the public broadcaster, examining the Dutch adaptation of the television show Dragons’ Den from 2007 to 2021. A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis was conducted to examine the interplay between different modes of communication. The analysis revealed that the normative model of entrepreneurship is depicted as a White heteronormative male character whose identity evolved from a wannabe entrepreneur to a legitimate aspiring entrepreneur. Although women are more successful in securing investments, the portrayals of female entrepreneurs are more stereotypical than male entrepreneurs. The (under)representation of women and ethnic diversity is constructed as a deviation from the White masculine status quo. Dragons’ Den functions as an etiquette guide as entrepreneurs must adhere to the moral standard to be granted success. The successful entrepreneur has agency granted; the wannabe entrepreneur does not. Entrepreneurship is depicted by its precarious conditions and the myth of the Western notion that hard work and morality lead to success. Consequently, the ethical dilemma between financial fortune and social impact drives gatekeepers to rethink the notion of success. Overall, the discursive developments demonstrate how entrepreneurship is a dynamic social construct. It serves as a reminder that the media construct mythic ideologies, and the discursive claim to the real must be called into question.