Leveling the Playing Field? Generative AI and Entrepreneurial Storytelling

Cultural entrepreneurship research emphasizes the importance of storytelling and other cultural skills, yet recent work suggests that generative artificial intelligence (AI) levels the playing field for entrepreneurs lacking such skills. In this conceptual article, we challenge this view by outlining how the widespread use of AI tools likely leads to systematic changes in the institutional norms and expectations that shape entrepreneurial storytelling. Anchored in evidence-informed assumptions about average entrepreneurs’ use of AI, our theorization suggests that widespread AI adoption will lead to a homogenization in entrepreneurial storytelling—creating an evaluative environment that may require even greater cultural skills to navigate.