Community ventures are likely to increase the well-being and attractiveness of local communities. Community entrepreneurs mobilize inhabitants to actively involve them in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Community ventures are likely to increase the well-being and attractiveness of local communities. Community entrepreneurs mobilize inhabitants to actively involve them in the development of the venture. To push local norms and practices, some entrepreneurs introduce external resources and impulses. Consequently, the resource mobilization process of community ventures is likely to involve a range of actors with different goals and demands. This study aims to play with four theoretical approaches to develop a multi-level, conceptual framework of the resource mobilization process. Moreover, the study discusses the role that gender may have in this process.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual framework is proposed by integrating the resource dependence theory, entrepreneurial orientation, social embeddedness and legitimacy approaches.
Findings
The author discusses how each of the four theoretical approaches can add new understanding to the resource mobilization process of community ventures. Integrating these approaches may enable the exploration of the role of community entrepreneurs, local communities and external environments in the resource mobilization process. Moreover, they enable the exploration of mechanisms that are likely to facilitate the process. The study also argues for including gender as a component of the framework and emphasizes a lack of knowledge about gender in community entrepreneurship research.
Originality/value
This study provides a conceptual framework to be used in further, empirical research into the resource mobilization process of community ventures. Moreover, the study suggests several questions for further research about the role of gender in community entrepreneurship processes.
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Ingebjørg Vestrum and Einar Rasmussen
This paper aims to build theory on the resource mobilisation process of nascent community ventures (CVs). CVs are a type of social enterprises set up with the aim of creating…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to build theory on the resource mobilisation process of nascent community ventures (CVs). CVs are a type of social enterprises set up with the aim of creating social wealth within the communities in which they reside. Guided by resource dependence theory, the paper analyses how CVs introduce new ideas and activities into conservative communities. In particular, the paper explores how emerging CVs mobilise resources from local communities and how the resource mobilisation process shapes these new ventures.
Design/methodology/approach
Longitudinal case studies were conducted on the emergence of two music festivals in rural communities in Norway.
Findings
In the early stages of the venture formation process, the nascent CVs had an asymmetric dependence relationship with local resource providers because they lacked legitimacy and resources. The CVs were seeking to introduce new activities, and they simultaneously implemented two strategies to access resources: they adapted to and altered their environment. Throughout the resource mobilisation process, the CVs developed a joint dependence relationship with local resource providers. In later stages of the process, the CVs implemented strategies to increase their embeddedness and engage greater portions of the local communities in the ventures.
Originality/value
The paper's longitudinal approach to the resource mobilisation process made it possible to reveal how entrepreneurs and local resource providers interact over time to create new CVs. Building on resource dependence theory, the paper provides an explanation for how CVs are able to become embedded in their local communities while introducing new ideas that depart from existing practices.
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Odd Jarl Borch, Anniken Førde, Lars Rønning, Ingebjørg Kluken Vestrum and Gry Agnete Alsos
This paper aims to focus on the role of the community entrepreneur and the process of community entrepreneurship. It seeks to emphasize the social context as critical for gaining…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to focus on the role of the community entrepreneur and the process of community entrepreneurship. It seeks to emphasize the social context as critical for gaining access to the resources needed by a community venture and elaborates on the action pattern of the community entrepreneur towards raising critical resources from the environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on a longitudinal field study of community entrepreneurs in four Norwegian rural municipalities. The data consists of interviews, observations, and documents.
Findings
Community entrepreneurs create local arenas and thereby facilitate cooperative entrepreneurial action, through bridging social capital. The actors are part of these community contexts and are involved in a range of reciprocal relations. Thus, the actors' creative practices toward the community have to run parallel with the resource configuration process.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies may provide a broader empirical platform in different communities, and take part in the process for a longer time period. One may also develop comparative studies focusing on the basic resource platform, the action pattern, and the performance of the different social ventures.
Practical implications
A major finding is that government support should be flexible and develop tools “tailored” to the characteristics of the rural communities. The combined resources of the entrepreneurs, social networks, and more formal institutions create more ambitious results.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the field of entrepreneurship by studying community entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial ventures. Further, an integration of a resource configuration approach and a practice‐oriented approach gives an increased understanding to the community venture creation process.
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Elisabet Ljunggren and Elisabeth Sundin
This paper introduces the special issue’s six articles with different approaches to investigating gender perspectives on enterprising communities. The papers’ approaches are…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper introduces the special issue’s six articles with different approaches to investigating gender perspectives on enterprising communities. The papers’ approaches are presented and discussed, and the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how they relate to the two main concepts of gender and enterprising communities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is conceptual.
Findings
Through the discussion of the articles, the concept of enterprising communities is found to be fuzzy and to contain a multitude of meanings. This paper elaborates on the community concept and its spatial and “of practice” dimensions.
Originality/value
First, the paper contributes by suggesting how the enterprising community concept could be delimited. Second, the research article contributes to gender perspectives on enterprising communities. It elaborates on what gendered enterprising communities are and how gender might influence enterprising communities.