| Author: | Pan, Biwei |
| Title: | Winning-words : gender-specific metaphor strategies in venture capital pitches |
| Advisors: | Ahrens, Kathleen (ENGL) Huang, Chu-ren (CBS) |
| Degree: | DALS |
| Year: | 2025 |
| Department: | Faculty of Humanities |
| Pages: | 289 pages : color illustrations |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | What is the role of conceptual metaphor in reflecting gender stereotypes and reinforcing gender social norms? This thesis investigates gender-specific metaphor use in venture capital pitches and examines how these differences influence persuasion. The study is motivated by the prevalence of metaphorical language in the business domain, e.g., 'seed rounds' in venture capital, and how it influences decision-making. Common masculine-oriented metaphor patterns are attested in the business domain. Metaphors such as COMPETITION and WAR metaphors (Koller, 2004; Nicaise, 2013) are preferred among male-dominated business practitioners. It is not clear, however, whether this gender-based tendency in the use of metaphors corresponds to effectiveness in persuasion, or if it introduces biases into persuasion, and if there are contextual factors that influence this effect. The popularity and availability of pitch competitions provide shared empirical data to assess the strategies of metaphor use by men and women. The goal of this study is to (1) analyze the frequent source domains in pitches, (2) explore gender-specific metaphor use, (3) examine how metaphor use interacts with speakers' gender and contextual factors to persuade, and (4) explore the variations in metaphorical patterns and Mapping Principles. Adopting a quantitative, corpus-based approach, the first study explores frequently used metaphor source domains and differences between men and women in competitive contexts. The second study compares metaphor use strategies between winning pitches versus non-winning pitches to understand how gender-specific metaphor use impacts investor decision-making in pitches and the Q&A section. The third study employs the Conceptual Mapping Model (Ahrens, 2010) approach to conduct a replicable qualitative investigation of functioning Mapping Principles and the potential rationale underlying these principles based on the metaphorical keyword patterns. The results indicate that men and women commonly adopt masculine-oriented source domains, such as the COMPETITION and MACHINE source domains, while also maintaining the use of metaphors congruent with their gender according to contexts. There is a notable prevalence of the MACHINE, COMPETITION, and WAR source domains in winning pitches, suggesting a gender bias toward masculinity and reinforcing the perception of business as a male-dominated "arena" in the 21st century. The examination of metaphor uses in winners' pitches has significant implications as it contributes to comprehending a metaphor source domain's persuasive effect in the business field. Recognizing metaphor's potential to amplify persuasive impact provides a direction for entrepreneurs to refine figurative language in practices and business training. The strategic adaptation of ideas through gender-specific metaphorical language also provides a means to reshape perceptions and influence outcomes effectively. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8795.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 3.96 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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