Naslov
Entrepreneurial Tie Formation in a Transition Economy: The Case of Croatia

Autori
Škokić, Vlatka ; Lynch, Paul ; Morrison, Alison

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u zbornicima skupova, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni

Izvornik
34th The Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference, Sustainable Futures: Enterprising Landscapes and Communities / - Sheffield : ISBE, 2011, 1-13

ISBN
978-1-900862-23-3

Skup
34th The Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference,

Mjesto i datum
Sheffield, Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo, 09.11.2011. - 10.11.2011

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
small firm; networks; transition economy; qualitative methodology

Sažetak
Objectives: The objective of this paper is to explore formation of ties among small firms in a transition economy setting and to investigate when and why specific ties emerge. Prior Work: Small firm networking has received significant research attention within business and management literature (e.g. Aldrich and Zimmer, 1986 ; Hite, 2005 ; Shaw, 2006). However, the research conducted has mostly been oriented towards networking practices in Western economies, is quantitative in nature (Jack, 2010) and has given little attention towards the process of networking by which specific networks are established (Gulati and Gargiulo, 1999 ; Hoang and Antoncic, 2003). Approach: Our paper is based on an in depth study of small firm networks among tourism entrepreneurs in Croatia, as a former socialist economy. Framework analysis is employed as a main data analysis method. Results: The key findings emerging from the data can be summarised as follows. Firstly, entrepreneurs do not establish strong informal networks as demonstrated in majority of entrepreneurship literature, and this orientation did not differ in relation to business lifecycle stage. However, entrepreneurs do rely on a specific informal networking practice, ‘connections’, unique for transition settings (Xin and Pearce, 1996). Finally, entrepreneurs are strongly engaged with specific formal business organisations. The major identified reason is the lack of trust among entrepreneurs (Gulati, 1995) due to the significant influence of historical legacies and because formal networks are seen as a possibility to overcome barrier of ‘smallness’. Implications: The overall results are in contrast to previously accepted views and concepts of small firm networking practices. While it has been established that small firm networks are deeply embedded in a specific socio-economic context, this paper also indicates a crucial distinction between former socialist, and western developed economies. This strongly cautions against considering small firms, irrespective of context, as homogenised entities. Value: By focusing on the former socialist economy, this study clearly demonstrates the value of delving deeply into the particular contexts within which small firms are located. Moreover, inclusion of transition economies into the mainstream theoretical reasoning offers the potential to expand and even modify our theoretical understanding of small firm networks.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija

POVEZANOST RADA