Commons and anti‐commons

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine Tongan businesses in New Zealand, bearing in mind that they have shared mixed success. Faced with the challenges of competition, compliance, and financial and operational management, these businesses are characterised by a relatively higher failure rate. Design/methodology/approach - A series of open‐ended interview‐type sessions calledtalanoawere carried out to study their business practices and how these were linked to sustainability. These data were then triangulated withtalanoasessions carried out with business advisers who had worked with many of those Tongan businesses. Further information was collected during individual and group sessions with members of the Tongan community regarding Tongan businesses practices from both a general and a customer perspective. Findings - The results of thetalanoasessions support a theoretical framework that suggests that an entrenched Tongan culture based on a “commons” mentality of sharing is partly responsible for a relatively high failure rate in an “anti‐commons” environment. The findings also suggest that certain aspects of the Tongan culture, in the form of social capital, support business sustainability. Research limitations/implications - The data gained from thetalanoasessions are based on a small number of Tongan businesses, Pacific business consultants and members of the Tongan community in New Zealand. The findings are therefore not statistically generalisable, although they do provide insights to guide further research in this area. Practical implications - The findings are likely to provide benefits to a number of key stakeholders including Tongan businesses, policy makers, Government business assistance programmes and the wider small business community. Originality/value - The research project introduces traditionaltalanoato qualitative business research. The findings are specific to Tongan business operating in a western commercial context and provide insights into the drivers of business success and failure for the growing Pacific business community in New Zealand.