ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOK COVERS: A BARTHES SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS

Semiotics, or the science of signs, is based on a set of assumptions that allow for the systematic analysis of symbolic elements. Roland Barthes is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the field of semiotics. According to Barthes, a semiotic sign consists of two components: the signifier and the signified. The level of signifiers corresponds to the plane of expression, whereas the level of signifieds constitutes the plane of content. The signified is not a design or a physical object; rather, it refers to what is expressible—that is, the meaning understood by the user of the sign. The fundamental distinction between the signifier and the signified lies in the fact that the signifier functions as a mediating instrument. In this study, drawing on Barthes’s semiotic framework, 10 entrepreneurship books that appeared in the “best sellers” category on a popular online book sales platform over the past year were analyzed through the classification of sign, signifier, and signified. Subsequently, the book covers were examined through denotative and connotative analyses. The findings reveal that the covers emphasize themes such as the entrepreneur, the distinction between the entrepreneur and other business actors, the rise of the entrepreneur, and the entrepreneur’s global outlook. Although the literature includes semiotic analyses of book covers from various disciplines, the absence of studies focusing specifically on the covers of entrepreneurship books indicates that this research carries original value.