Entrepreneurship as a community phenomenon: reconnecting meanings and place.

Anderson, Alistair R.; Gaddefors, Johan

Abstract

This paper explores entrepreneurship as a community phenomenon to establish the roles of entrepreneurship within the social and spatial boundaries of place. During the decade of studying this place through an entrepreneurial lens, we were able to identify processes that might normally be overlooked. One, albeit unusual, entrepreneurial event had worked to trigger these changes. We found a renewed sense of belonging and a stronger sense of place meaning that had revitalised this previously depleted community. Entrepreneurship had worked in and for the community by realigning the meanings and attributes of place. We argue that our novel unit for analysis, entrepreneurship in place, offers a broader, perhaps richer, view of entrepreneurship as a socialised phenomenon.

Citation

ANDERSON, A.R. and GADDEFORS, J. 2016. Entrepreneurship as a community phenomenon: reconnecting meanings and place. International journal of entrepreneurship and small business [online], 28(4), pages 504-518. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESB.2016.077576

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 9, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jul 6, 2016
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Sep 15, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 7, 2017
• Journal: International journal of entrepreneurship and small business
• Print ISSN: 1476-1297
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-8054
• Publisher: Inderscience
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 504-518
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJESB.2016.077576
• Keywords: Societal entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship for change; Longitudinal study; Rural entrepreneurship; Engagement; Sense of belonging; Sense of place; Context; Community phenomenon; Meaning
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1691