Conversation Analytic Approach: Questions and Answers between Entrepreneurs and Venture Capitalists in Entre-tainment Settings

This research aims to examine the interactional sequences between entrepreneurs seeking investment from venture capitalists in the popular culture domain of reality television. This genre of reality television has been... [ view full abstract ]

This research aims to examine the interactional sequences between entrepreneurs seeking investment from venture capitalists in the popular culture domain of reality television. This genre of reality television has been categorized as “entre-tainment” which is defined as a “televisual media that stage and perform entrepreneurship for entertainment purposes” (Swail et al, 2014, p. 859). The international popularity and pervasiveness of this television genre is evidenced by thirty-eight countries have formally purchased the Dragons’ Den format from Sony Pictures Television, for which additional replicas of this television plot, in which entrepreneurs pitch their business idea to a panel of venture capitalists, exist. This is an interdisciplinary study that contributes to research in Business Communication, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing and Communications. Conversation Analysis will be applied to approximately 20 hours of interactions between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists as aired on television, with current focus on English speaking versions from USA, UK, Canada, and the Caribbean. This paper is a work in progress from ongoing early PhD research, which examines the themes in the question and answer sequences that occur between entrepreneur and potential investor. Research in the entre-tainment context has previously focused on the entrepreneurial pitch (e.g. Daly and Davy, 2016; Ward, 2015), with extensive literature generated on this practice (e.g. Coughter, 2012; Cunningham, 2010; Clark, 2008). This study will add to the conversation analysis body of work on question and answer sequences in studies of institutional interactions. Expected findings include trends in accounts as related to investment offers, identities in interaction, expertise, and advice-giving. Expected contributions include deeper insight as to what negotiators (entrepreneurs-venture capitalist) do as opposed to who they are. Practical implications of this research can allow for development of pedagogical training materials which can be used in business start-ups or in tertiary education modules on entrepreneurship and media.