Abstract

Mass communication majors are witnessing a host of opportunities to start their own enterprises, seizing upon technologies that allow them to do what previously would have required enormous resources. But the research on communication entrepreneurs is meager at best. This study examined diverse communication entrepreneurs from across the United States - those starting print, public relations, video, web or other enterprises, as well as a set of undergraduate majors in communication. The focus was on factors influencing decisions to become entrepreneurs and reports of success. Data were based on an online survey of 95 applied communication professionals from 25 states, the District of Columbia and Micronesia; and 172 students at two universities all in the United States of America. Results suggest that younger people are more likely to start video or film enterprises. This finding provides testament to the notion that these younger "digital natives" are oriented to an increasingly digitized visual culture. By contrast, those who began enterprises in interpersonal communication and communication research are the oldest and the most educated as they are more likely to have done post graduate work. Implications of study findings are explored in the context of the Theory of Planned Behavior as well as cultivation theory.

Key Words:  Entrepreneurship, Communication Professionals, Theory of Planned Behavior, Communication Networks, Creativity, Mentoring.

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 6, No. 2, October  2014, 93 – 120 

©Delmas Communications Ltd.

About the authors

Leo W. Jeffres, ⃰ ⃰Anup Kumar, ⃰  ⃰  ⃰Kimberly A. Neuendorf are in the School of Communication, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.  ⃰ ⃰ ⃰ ⃰ David J. Atkin is in the Department of Communication, University of Connecticut, 850 Bolton Road, Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America.     ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰ Kate McCall, ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰ Pennilane W. Carlisle, ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰  ⃰ Melanie Fisher, and ^********Jennelle Franz are also in the School of Communication, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America.

Full Article

Words: 10,555; Pages: 28