A mídia de negócios e o entendimento dos estudantes de graduação em Administração sobre empreendedorismo

Abstract

The interest in entrepreneurship has increased significantly and the entrepreneurial culture is disseminated by the business media, which uses life stories, heroic deeds of motivated entrepreneurs. The content conveyed by the business media does not always have an academic basis, and may even generate ambiguous premises. In this sense, the present research sought to answer the following problem: the understanding of undergraduate Business Administration students at a University located in the south of Minas Gerais about entrepreneurship converges with what is portrayed by the business media? In order to be able to answer the research problem, the general objective of this study is to understand the understanding of undergraduate Business Administration students at a University located in the south of Minas Gerais about entrepreneurship, identifying possible convergences with what is portrayed by the business media. Specifically, it was intended: a) to indicate which media are used by students to obtain information about entrepreneurship, as well as the content consumed by them; b) describe and analyze students' understanding of entrepreneurship; and, c) to identify possible convergences between the students' understanding of entrepreneurship with what is conveyed in the business media. Theoretically, it was discussed how the understanding of entrepreneurship is linked to the capitalist system, in addition to discussing the management industry and the business media. The research was of a qualitative nature, characterized as descriptive. Data collection was carried out through a semi-structured interview, conducted with 18 students from that University and using saturation to define the optimum interview point. The data were analyzed by content analysis. The results respond to the proposed objectives. Regarding the first objective, among the media used to obtain information on entrepreneurship, there is a predominance of YouTube and Instagram. It was identified that the content consumed by students is related to business administration and management; motivational content; and, the promise of financial gains. Regarding the second objective, it was found that the definition of entrepreneurship presented, refers to the opening of a company; entrepreneurial characteristics; the combination between the opening of a company and the characteristics of the entrepreneur; and, an understanding where entrepreneurship goes beyond these two spheres mentioned. In addition, it is equally important for the entrepreneur to have entrepreneurial characteristics and knowledge about running a business. With regard to the third objective, the convergences identified were: to call everyday activities as entrepreneurship; individual accountability, disregarding the context; entrepreneurial activity is favored to the detriment of other occupations; guidance for an “entrepreneurial spirit”; irrelevance of academic training; the presence of renowned entrepreneurs; and, the life story. Even though the interviewees consume this content and it is possible to identify convergences between the media and the speeches presented, criticisms are made regarding the entrepreneurial content that is conveyed by the business media. The study contributes academically by filling the identified research gap. It presents practical contributions, as can be used by teachers who teach the discipline of entrepreneurship, minimizing mistakes, in case of misalignment with the theoretical proposal of the field of study.