Prohibition and the American Dream: an analysis of the entrepreneurial life and times of Al Capone

Waata Hipango Jr., Robert Smith and Leo Dana
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Waata Hipango Jr.: University of Canterbury [Christchurch]
Robert Smith: RGU - Robert Gordon University

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Abstract: The iconic figure of Al Capone is arguably the most prominent figure of organised crime. Both biographers and scholars have analysed his life and behaviour. Hollywood has immortalised his character in film. Today, the name Capone remains synonymous with the word gangster. Although Capone owned businesses of a legitimate nature, illicit ventures and the spectre of the gangster-entrepreneur define his practice of entrepreneurship. In an attempt to understand Capone as an entrepreneur, this paper explores his entrepreneurial behaviour within an analysis of his resource profile, his Italian-American culture and the social context of the USA in the early 20th century.

Keywords: Al Capone; criminal entrepreneurship; gangsters; organised crime; Prohibition; American Dream; resource profile; culture; social context; USA; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Published in International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2014, 21 (1), pp.1-15. ⟨10.1504/IJESB.2014.057912⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02047739

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2014.057912

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