Frames of entrepreneurship: 30 years of field evolution in the entrepreneurship industry

This study explores the evolution of the entrepreneurship industry (EI) and the role of frames in shaping this field. Based on a longitudinal topic modeling analysis of 4473 newspaper articles spanning 33 years (1990–2023), we identified 15 distinct frames of entrepreneurship. By examining how these frames—including portrayals of entrepreneurs, their goals, and the surrounding actors—shifted in dominance over time; this paper details three distinct phases in the evolution of the EI: EI 1.0 (small business era), EI 2.0 (Silicon Valley era), and EI 3.0 (grand challenges era). Each phase is characterized by frame stability, while transitions between phases are characterized by fluidity, altering both frame dominance and associations between frames. Since 2015, we have observed a declining public interest in entrepreneurship as a field. Also, as the field matures, the entrepreneur has transformed from being the central agent in the EI into an increasingly peripheral role, subjected to global political initiatives. Our study contributes to the literature on the EI literature by theorizing the role of frames in reshaping actor positions, meanings, and power relations within the EI over time. It also answers calls for more holistic research on field change and frames by conceptualizing frame fluidity as a key mechanism through which institutional fields transform.