The existential entrepreneur
Stop driving! (The gospel of Mister Jensen)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15626/ace.250105Abstract
This research note explores a possible bridge between entrepreneurship, existentialism, and music through the life of Jesus-Jensen, a fictional character in Vilhelm Moberg’s novel A Time on Earth (1963) whom we have musically and lyrically interpreted in the song “Stop Driving (The Gospel of Mister Jensen)”.
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