Institutional myths are taken-for-granted ideals that are widely held and collectively rationalized. In this paper we explore how entrepreneurs challenge one of the most prevalent institutional myths of our time – growth. To do so we conducted a qualitative study of entrepreneurs seeking to implement and design degrowth into their ventures. Drawing on social-symbolic work, institutional work and the effectuation literature, we theorize the multi-level forms of work required to challenge growth as an institutional myth. Our findings reveal that entrepreneurs generated cognitive and embodied reflexivity through awareness work, and then engaged in disruptive self-work to disentangle growth from their sense of self. We also discovered the importance of effectuating work, which we define as the design of opportunities to disengage from an institutional myth and create an alternative imaginary. We unpack these findings and contribute to the literature on institutional work, entrepreneurship, and degrowth.
