Co-explorers of the imaginary: How fictional framing legitimates radical novelty by connecting entrepreneurial imagination to stakeholder possibilistic thinking

Abstract

The importance of entrepreneurial framing for legitimating novelty is well established, but the distinct challenges of legitimating radical novelty have received less attention. We articulate these challenges and propose fictional framing—the strategic and imaginative construction of a narrative world that blends the real and the imaginary using the practices of fictionalizing—as a means for addressing them. Drawing on literary theory, narratology, and the psychology of fiction, we theorize how fictional framing can engage stakeholders in co-imagining through specific imaginative impacts. We further theorize how stakeholder co-imagining fosters possibilistic thinking, changing their evaluative logic from focusing on likelihood and fit to what could be possible. Our framework extends the entrepreneurial framing toolkit by theorizing the distinct mechanisms for legitimating radical novelty through fictional framing. When entrepreneurs pursue radically novel ventures, from space habitation to de-extinction, conventional framing strategies that emphasize fit with existing knowledge and market categories are often ineffective. We propose that entrepreneurs can instead use fictional framing—the strategic and imaginative construction of a narrative world that blends the real and imaginary using fictionalizing practices. Unlike hype, which inflates expectations, fictional framing invites stakeholders to co-imagine possibilities and evaluate radically novel projects based on their transformative potential rather than their probability of success. Leveraging the power of fiction to transport, support mental simulation, and prompt audiences to envision themselves acting within the imagined world, we propose how entrepreneurs can turn stakeholders into co-explorers of the imaginary—active participants in co-imagining and co-creating consequential futures.