17041: “Fake It Till You Make It”? An Exploration of Deceptive Entrepreneurship

Saturday, July 26, 2025

10:00 - 12:30 CEST (GMT+2)

Location: Bella Center: Hall A- A1-m9

Session Type: PDW (workshop)
Orientation: Research
Shareable link: https://cdmcd.co/AB7bAD

Coordinator(s)

MM

Marie Madeleine Meurer

Rotterdam School of Management, Netherlands
MW

Matthias Waldkirch

EBS Business School, Germany

Organizer(s)

TR

Tim Risse

EBS Business School, Germany
FH

Felix Honecker

University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
DC

Dominic Michael Chalmers

U. of Glasgow, United Kingdom

Speaker(s)

YS

Yuliya Snihur

IESE Business School, Spain
MW

Matthew Wood

University of Oklahoma, United States
SD

Sean Maddison Dwyer

University of Oklahoma, United States
NP

Nelson Phillips

U. of California, Santa Barbara, United States

Since entrepreneurship involves communicating an uncertain future, the line between promise and exaggeration is often blurred. This ambiguity creates a fertile ground for deception, defined as the intentional concealment, distortion, or misrepresentation of information to gain an advantage, misleading others into believing something untrue. For example, Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the cryptocurrency platform FTX, misused billions in customer funds; and Charlie Javice, the creator of student loan assistance platform Frank, falsified customer data to secure a $175 million acquisition deal. These entrepreneurs, once celebrated in Forbes and other media outlets as visionary leaders, were later legally prosecuted, exemplifying how entrepreneurship can become deceptive. Through this multidisciplinary PDW, we aim to foster a critical conversation on the phenomenon of deceptive entrepreneurship, highlighting how the inherent ambiguity in entrepreneurial communication can create opportunities for deceptive practices. To accomplish these goals, the PDW will begin with an introduction to foundational concepts, setting the stage for understanding how entrepreneurial communication can lead to deception. It will feature presentations from leading scholars, offering diverse perspectives on cultural entrepreneurship, digital technologies, entrepreneurial framing, and misconduct. Subsequent interactive round table discussions will explore contemporary, real-world examples of entrepreneurship that blur the line between ‘faking it’ and ‘making it’, encouraging future research on this topic.