The identity strategies used by the interviewees and the key tensions of identity dilemmas in different narratives
| Narratives | Identity strategies | Key tensions of identity dilemmas |
|---|---|---|
| Counter-narrative of sustained superiority | Align with entrepreneurial norms (confidence, success, skill) except youth | Sameness vs. difference; resisting age stereotypes while leveraging maturity |
| Justifications for deviation from entrepreneurial norms | Defend legitimacy despite age | Agency vs. undergoer; legitimacy via explanation; balancing ageing with recognition of continuous competence |
| Counter-narrative of leaving a legacy | Present entrepreneurship as mission-driven and socially valuable rather than profit-seeking | Continuity vs. change; turning business into a legacy; turning ageing into a resource |
| Counter-narrative of productive ageing citizenship | Present oneself as an active, capable citizen beyond entrepreneurship | Agency vs. undergoer; active and successful ageing; social contribution |
| Excuses for adopting the declining process of ageing | Self-critical acknowledgement of reduced capacity; frame narrator as less capable entrepreneur when ageing identity dominates | Agency vs. undergoer: age-related exclusion tension; moral order of decline narrative overpowers counter-narratives at times |
| Narratives of gendered and aged entrepreneurship | For women: negotiate the combined demands of age, entrepreneurship, and gender | Sameness vs. difference; additional gendered tensions, e.g. appearance/competence and motherhood/business ambitions; navigating male-dominated entrepreneurial norms |
| Narratives | Identity strategies | Key tensions of identity dilemmas |
|---|---|---|
| Counter-narrative of sustained superiority | Align with entrepreneurial norms (confidence, success, skill) except youth | Sameness vs. difference; resisting age stereotypes while leveraging maturity |
| Justifications for deviation from entrepreneurial norms | Defend legitimacy despite age | Agency vs. undergoer; legitimacy via explanation; balancing ageing with recognition of continuous competence |
| Counter-narrative of leaving a legacy | Present entrepreneurship as mission-driven and socially valuable rather than profit-seeking | Continuity vs. change; turning business into a legacy; turning ageing into a resource |
| Counter-narrative of productive ageing citizenship | Present oneself as an active, capable citizen beyond entrepreneurship | Agency vs. undergoer; active and successful ageing; social contribution |
| Excuses for adopting the declining process of ageing | Self-critical acknowledgement of reduced capacity; frame narrator as less capable entrepreneur when ageing identity dominates | Agency vs. undergoer: age-related exclusion tension; moral order of decline narrative overpowers counter-narratives at times |
| Narratives of gendered and aged entrepreneurship | For women: negotiate the combined demands of age, entrepreneurship, and gender | Sameness vs. difference; additional gendered tensions, e.g. appearance/competence and motherhood/business ambitions; navigating male-dominated entrepreneurial norms |
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