A contextualisation of entrepreneurship

Abstract

Purpose - To explore and critically analyse entrepreneurship theories and concepts within the context of the small family tourism business, and the extent to which owner-managers and their enterprises can be classified as entrepreneurial. Design/methodology/approach - A model has been developed and applied to support a "drilling down" approach that moves from a surface understanding of entrepreneurship as a process through to an industry setting, to penetrate the organisational context and consequential entrepreneurial socio-economic outcomes. Findings - It has been demonstrated that understanding of the entrepreneurial process, as it interplays with family business, is best served by reference to the cultural, industry setting and organisational context within which entrepreneurs are embedded. Originality/value - The tourism industry has been deliberately selected as an illustrative context due to the low degree of entrepreneurial behaviour that it has traditionally exhibited. Through the application of the model explanations are provided for this, and conclusions are drawn that do classify small family tourism businesses as a manifestation of entrepreneurship as broadly conceived. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Entrepreneurial behaviour, firm size and financial performance: the case of rural tourism family firms

“…Rural tourism and entrepreneurship Rural tourism is characterised by small family firms (Getz & Carlsen, 2000, 2005Horobin & Long, 1996;Peters & Buhalis, 2013), which are often embedded in specific regional settings that require individual entrepreneurial behaviour to perform well (Morrison, 2006;Polo-Peña, Chica-Olmo, Frías-Jamilena, & Rodríguez-Molina, 2015). Rural tourism was traditionally developed using existing properties (e.g.…”

“…While financial performance forms a basic goal (Altinay & Altinay, 2006;Getz & Petersen, 2005;Tinsley & Lynch, 2008), entrepreneurial behaviour is more complex (Weiermair, Peters, & Schuckert, 2007). Previous research shows that the motivations of entrepreneurs in this industry are often lifestyle-related (Ateljevic & Doorne, 2000;Carlsen, Morrison, & Weber, 2008;Getz & Petersen, 2005;Peters, Frehse, & Buhalis, 2009), social or sustainable (Morrison, 2006;Weiermair & Peters, 2012), family driven (Carlbäck, 2012;Peters & Kallmuenzer, 2015) and affected by regional settings (Morrison, 2006). Concerning the influence of the family on entrepreneurial behaviour, family business research shows that family related interests affect decision-making structures in family firms (Alsos, Carter, & Ljunggren, 2014;Habbershon & Pistrui, 2002;Kallmuenzer, 2016;Nordqvist, Habbershon, & Melin, 2008).…”

Missing the Point? Finding Contextual Detail in Entrepreneurship and Small Firm Scholarship

“…Scholars are increasingly recognising that sections of entrepreneurship research have failed to adequately account for context in a theoretical and empirical manner (Morrison, 2006;Ucbasaran, Westhead, & Wright, 2001;Welter, 2011;Zahra, 2007). Zahra (2007) identifies ongoing tensions between the theorization and contextualisation of research by explicating difficulties inherent in utilising ÔborrowedÕ models that are grounded in assumptions often reflecting other phenomena.…”

Lifestyle entrepeneurship in technology start-ups: the case of "piri" mobile application

“…Lifestyle entrepreneurs can be defined as "individuals who own and operate businesses closely aligned with their personal values, interests and passions" (Marcketti et al, 2006, p.241). According to Morrison (2006), "the primary concern (of a lifestyle entrepreneur) is to provide a sufficient and comfortable living to maintain a selected way of life ' (p.198). Opposite to growth-oriented entrepreneurs, lifestyle entrepreneurs primarily start their businesses to undertake an activity they enjoy or to perform an economic activity to provide adequate income (Peters et al, 2009).…”

“…Research shows that, in recent decades entrepreneurship has occurred at significantly higher rates and entrepreneurship has become a suitable career identity for many people (Gartner and Shane, 1995;Thornton, _________________________________________________________________________________________________ DOI: 10.17261/Pressacademia.2017.489 272 1999. Although a significant body of existing literature focuses on the economic determinants and benefits of entrepreneurship, non-economic determinants of entrepreneurship such as legitimacy, social mobility or psychological factors have increasingly been considered in recent research (McKay, 2001;Morrison, 2006). These studies posit that a growing number of individuals establish new ventures to suit their own lifestyle.…”