The Theories and Politics of Entrepreneurial Cities - A Theoretical Summing Up and the Next Step Forward
Year: 2004
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: How can theories about the entrepreneurial city contribute to our understanding of local politics? The theoretical framework of urban entrepreneurialism, as well as empirical studies thereof, occupy a rather marginal position within Swedish political science. Entrepreneurialism includes an emphasis on both the content and the organisation of local politics, highlighting how public officials adopt growth oriented policies and form partnerships with private actors to enforce them. The aim of my paper is to highlight the potential, as well as the shortcomings of the theoretical framework in mind. I will use the Swedish city of Malmö as an empirical illustration. This part of the paper will be structured around some key concepts within the perspective of organisational culture – identified as a perspective that can enrich theories of entrepreneurial cities. Central to my paper is that the entrepreneurial city must be conceptualized not as something neutral and apolitical, but as policy prioritizing specific ideas about the nature of the economy and the role of local government within. Entrepreneurialism will thus be approached as a narrative and connections will be made to the ideological dimension of globalisation, or globalism. In mapping the strengths and weaknesses of the theoretical framework under scrutiny, I will conclude that it could favourably be inspired by not only the notion of organisational culture but also discussions within contiguous traditions in urban theory. Using the concepts of narrative and globalism can be a fruitful way for further research to understand how the politics of entrepreneurialism is socialized, legitimised and implemented.
Author: Tove Dannestam
Language: English
Subfield: Urban Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2164957545