Changing identities in changing societies: : A narrative for empirical research on entrepreneurial identity construction

The starting point for this article is the notion thatchanging societies imply re-definitions of socialidentities. A framework concerning the process ofidentity construction is presented as a basis forempirical studies on identity transformations inchanging societies. The suggested narrative isexemplified with people moving from unemploymentto entrepreneurship, i.e. situations where identitiesare assumed to be questioned and consequentlyre-defined. Notions on identities in differentsettings, such as gendered entrepreneurialidentities, are thus also being proposed. The articleputs forward the suggestion that identities can beempirically studied through narration. ln order tocarry out empirical research on identitytransformations, it is proposed that there are someparticularly significant focal points to consider.Hence, the article concludes with a proposal forhow to carry out empirical research on changingidentities