Researchers at the Centre for Cultural Policy Research (CCPR) at the University of Glasgow are investigating how business and entrepreneurship are presented by television programmes.

The two-year project, entitled 'Public understanding of Business: Television, Representation and Entrepreneurship', is being funded with £158,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

It aims to establish how popular factual entertainment television programmes, such as the BBC’s Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice, shape knowledge and understanding about the cultural and economic position of entrepreneurship in contemporary British society.

The research will involve interviews and focus groups in Glasgow and London and will examine the range of representations of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs on British television, seeking to identify the key shifts in both the television industry and the wider economy that account for these changing representations.  

The project also aims to enhance understanding of the role played by entertainment-driven television in creating particular ideas about entrepreneurship – and business more generally – and how they enter and circulate in wider public discourse.

Dr Raymond Boyle, who is leading the research, said: “During this time of massive financial and economic upheaval, the research is interested in looking at the role that television plays in influencing public opinion about what is meant by entrepreneurship and the role that business gurus and entrepreneurs play in our society and economy.  Are these programmes simply viewed as entertainment or are they also providing role models and information for aspiring entrepreneurs? Also to what extent are these programmes viewed differently by people in say Glasgow or London?
 
“Despite the wide range of research on television and issues of representation, little has focused on business culture and entrepreneurship. This study will map the narratives of entrepreneurship that television constructs and will also investigate how the television audience engages with such programmes.” 

Among the key television programmes that will be studied are BBC television’s The Apprentice, Dragons’ Den, Mary Queen of Shops, Channel 4’s Risking it All, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, Property Ladder and The Secret Millionaire.

For more information, contact Stuart Forsyth in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 4831 or email s.forsyth@admin.gla.ac.uk

CCPR: Dr Raymond Boyle ( r.boyle@ccpr.arts.gla.ac.uk ) or Dr Lisa W Kelly ( l.kelly@ccpr.arts.gla.ac.uk ) or call 0141 330 3806.

First published: 12 January 2009

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