ABSTRACT
Beyond the diversity of an entrepreneur’s activities, this chapter discusses how different public and/or economic actors help to shape “entrepreneurship” and “entrepreneurial work,” developing programs to support entrepreneurial activities, and formulating moral judgments to qualify (or disqualify) some of these activities. Drawing on three national cases (Germany, France and Ethiopia) it sheds light on the relations between the national and the supranational levels where these categories are conceived and implemented. Focusing on those dominant visions of “entrepreneurial work” and “entrepreneurship” that are nurtured and disseminated by international institutions – eager to promote the so-called entrepreneurial spirit as a desirable future of work – this chapter examines how these visions are operationalized into public policies in Ethiopia, France and Germany. It argues that this translation always implies a moral dimension that contributes to distinguish between “good” and “bad” entrepreneurs, a terminology that is reappropriated by the entrepreneurs themselves to defend their position and support their entrepreneurial work.
