Time narratives in international entrepreneurship

Our study of 16 entrepreneurial narratives of internationalising firms uses qualitative coding to identify six broad constructions of time. As Gartner (2007) acknowledges, stories are told for particular purposes, and studies have shown that creating and maintaining shared time-frames represents a key role for the entrepreneur in driving growth of the firm (Fischer, Reuber, Hababou, Johnson, & Lee, 1997). Use of the qualitative software program Leximancer demonstrates narrative trajectories in which entrepreneurs in smaller firms associate time with myriad activities while the concept is stable and relatively independent in larger firms. In conclusion we ask: if entrepreneurship is about creating differences, then why do entrepreneurial narratives seemingly converge towards a mean