Oral history and expert scripts: demystifying the entrepreneurial experience

Notes that because oral histories illuminate insider meanings, they can contribute valuable insights to the demystification of expert experiences. The world of expert entrepreneurs is often misunderstood because of its sensationalization and/or idealization. Sets out to narrow the gap between mythical and actual entrepreneur through the use of the qualitative analysis of entrepreneur oral histories. Analyses in‐depth interviews with 23 practising western US entrepreneurs about their venturing histories to identify the common “stories” and shared interpretations that form parts of the entrepreneurial “expert scripts” that explain responses to successes and failures. Salient portions of the histories cited contribute to sound attributions regarding entrepreneurial success and failure and to a more enlightened approach to venture creation.