Sources of enterprise success in Amish communities

Abstract

Purpose -This research project aims to investigate Amish small businesses in North America to determine their success rate and the factors that explain their vitality. Amish entrepreneurs have developed some 10,000 small businesses despite taboos on motor vehicles, electricity, computers, the internet, and education. A theoretical model consisting of five types of socio-cultural capital (human, cultural, social, religious, and symbolic) was conceptualized to explain and interpret the success of Amish enterprises. The model includes capital deficits that identify the hurdles that successful enterprises must overcome. Design/methodology/approach -The research employed qualitative ethnographic methods that included participant observation, face-to-face interviews with business owners in eight states, and document analysis. Findings -The paper finds that Amish businesses have a success rate above 90 percent, which is much higher than that of other American small businesses. Five types of socio-cultural capital (human, cultural, social, religious, and symbolic) account for the high success rate of Amish enterprises.Research limitations/implications -The qualitative methods do not permit quantitative analysis or tracking the performance of businesses over an extended period of time. Practical implications -Understanding the importance of socio-cultural capital assets and deficits for business success is critical for entrepreneurs, consultants, and scholars. Originality/value -The five concepts of socio-cultural capital assets and deficits are a significant expansion of traditional social capital theory. These concepts offer a rich resource for understanding small business failure and success and merit inclusion in future research. Religious and symbolic capitals are especially pertinent for understanding enterprise building in religious and ethnic communities.

The relationship between individualism and entrepreneurial intention – a Finnish perspective

“…According to Liñán and Fernández-Serrano (2014), cultural and entrepreneurial factors explain a large part of the variation in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita between European countries. Also, entrepreneurship among ethnic communities (Dana, 1995;Lindsay, 2005;Kraybill, Nolt and Wesner, 2011) and some gender-specific differences in entrepreneurship (Mueller, 2004) can be explained in relation to cultural values. Individualism is a key dimension of cultural values, however, previous studies on the topic have been inconsistent.…”

“…Singelis et al 1995), are also the entrepreneurial and promote entrepreneurial intentions. On the other hand, communality creates socio-cultural capital, which can be seen as a fruitful starting point for entrepreneurship (see for instance Kraybill, Nolt and Wesner, 2011). The material of this study is limited to Southern Finland in which there are neither Sámi people nor reindeer husbandry entrepreneurs.…”

“…The relationship between collectivism and entrepreneurship can also be studied from a community perspective (see for instance Dana, 1997). Entrepreneurship has been studied, for example, among Eskimos in Alaska (Dana, 1995), indigenous peoples in Australia (Lindsay, 2005), Amish communities in America (Kraybill, Nolt and Wesner, 2011) and Sámi people in Finland (Dana and Light, 2011). According to Kraybill, Nolt and Wesner (2011) the Amish community includes various forms of socio-cultural capital (human, cultural, social, religious, and symbolic), which support entrepreneurs' success.…”

The Role of Social Capital for Amish Entrepreneurs in Pursuing Informal Economic Opportunities

“…There has been little research on small business and social networks in this Amish community. Kraybill, Nolt, and Wesner (2011) interviewed 161 Amish business owners over a ten year period and utilized five forms of socio-cultural capital that explains the success of Amish entrepreneurs. They present a dichotomy between ethnic and non-ethnic networks of social capital, contrasting ethnic network strong ties to non-ethnic network weak ties.…”

Continuity and Change in a Southern Beachy Amish-Mennonite Congregation

“…One reason for the high employment rate is that most are self-employed or employed by fellow church members. Like a growing number of Amish (Kraybill, Nolt, and Wesner 2011), members have developed microenterprises with less than five employees and small businesses with between five to 30 employees. The largest small business owned and operated by a church member is Yoder's Deitsch Haus Restaurant and Bakery, which employs around 25, the majority of whom are part-time.…”