Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Entrepreneurship and mutuality
T2 - social capital in processes and practices
AU - McKeever, Edward
AU - Anderson, Alistair
AU - Jack, Sarah
PY - 2014/7/24
Y1 - 2014/7/24
N2 - Social capital, which offers the broader theoretical construct to which networksand networking relate, is now recognized as an important influence inentrepreneurship. Broadly understood as resources embedded in networks andaccessed through social connections, research has mainly focused on measuringstructural, relational and cognitive dimensions of the concept. While useful, these measurements tell us little about how social capital, as a relational artefact and connecting mechanism, actually works in practice. As a social phenomenon which exists between individuals and contextualized through social networks and groups, we draw upon established social theory to offer an enhanced practical understanding of social capital – what it does and how it operates. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Robert Putnam, we contribute to understanding entrepreneurship as a socially situated and influenced practice. From this perspective, our unit of analysis is the context within which entrepreneurs are embedded. We explored the situated narratives and practices of a group of 15 entrepreneurs from ‘Inisgrianan’, a small town in the northwest of Ireland. We adopted a qualitative approach, utilizing an interpretive naturalistic philosophy. Findings show how social capital can enable, and how the mutuality of shared interests allows, encourages and engages entrepreneurs in sharing entrepreneurial expertise.
AB - Social capital, which offers the broader theoretical construct to which networksand networking relate, is now recognized as an important influence inentrepreneurship. Broadly understood as resources embedded in networks andaccessed through social connections, research has mainly focused on measuringstructural, relational and cognitive dimensions of the concept. While useful, these measurements tell us little about how social capital, as a relational artefact and connecting mechanism, actually works in practice. As a social phenomenon which exists between individuals and contextualized through social networks and groups, we draw upon established social theory to offer an enhanced practical understanding of social capital – what it does and how it operates. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Robert Putnam, we contribute to understanding entrepreneurship as a socially situated and influenced practice. From this perspective, our unit of analysis is the context within which entrepreneurs are embedded. We explored the situated narratives and practices of a group of 15 entrepreneurs from ‘Inisgrianan’, a small town in the northwest of Ireland. We adopted a qualitative approach, utilizing an interpretive naturalistic philosophy. Findings show how social capital can enable, and how the mutuality of shared interests allows, encourages and engages entrepreneurs in sharing entrepreneurial expertise.
KW - Entrepreneurship
KW - Social capital
KW - Social context
KW - Community
KW - Ethnographic
KW - Qualitative
U2 - 10.1080/08985626.2014.939536
DO - 10.1080/08985626.2014.939536
M3 - Journal article
VL - 26
SP - 453
EP - 477
JO - Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
JF - Entrepreneurship and Regional Development
SN - 0898-5626
IS - 5-6
ER -