Are language models intelligent enough for entrepreneurial work? A language-centered perspective
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Ramoglou, Stratos
Shang, Liang
Chandra, Yanto
McMullen, Jeffery S
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Large Language Models (LLMs) are poised to fundamentally reshape entrepreneurial work, but it remains unclear whether this technology can support judgment-intensive entrepreneurial tasks. Prevailing skepticism holds that LLMs are inherently unreliable for such deep augmentation because, despite their language competence, they do not think. In contrast, we draw on Ludwig Wittgenstein and Alan Turing to advance a language-centered perspective on entrepreneurial work. Wittgenstein demystifies thought as linguistic activity and treats reasoning and understanding as linguistic abilities exercised in thinking. Extending this stance to the domain of machine intelligence, Turing grounds claims about intelligence in testable performances of language use. Together, they enable us to (1) conceptualize LLMs as an epistemic technology whose linguistic competence may suffice for the deep augmentation of entrepreneurship and (2) reorient research from skepticism toward fine-grained Turing tests of entrepreneurial work. We illustrate and support the language-centered perspective through two studies on crafting effective entrepreneurial narratives, a judgment-intensive task. Initially, we document that the LLM competently blends expert rhetorical strategies to create and refine narratives that effectively align with stakeholder needs. We then experimentally demonstrate that, when coupled with stakeholder-guided iterations, LLMs produce measurable improvements in narratives tailored to distinct stakeholder priorities. More broadly, our rethinking of entrepreneurial work through language-centered lenses helps theoretically support bold predictions about what entrepreneurs can accomplish with a nonhuman intelligence that has “only” mastered human language.
Date Issued
2026-05-01
Date Acceptance
2026-02-13
Citation
Journal of Business Venturing, 2026, 41 (3)
ISSN
0883-9026
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Business Venturing
Volume
41
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
106589
Date Publish Online
2026-02-22