IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecanth/v5y2018i1p59-70.html

The Bumipreneur dilemma and Malaysia's technology start†up ecosystem

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah Kelman

Abstract

This article examines the emergence of a technology†based start†up ecosystem in Malaysia that is modeled on the tech economy of Silicon Valley and borrows a number of notions about value, capital, and merit. Malaysia is encouraging distinct forms of entrepreneurship as a tool for national economic development and for the socioeconomic mobility of Malay Muslims, who are the recipients of affirmative action–style benefits from the state. I propose that Malaysia's entrepreneurial ambitions have engendered a dilemma within the start†up ecosystem: Malays must utilize their special benefits while being viewed as lacking in entrepreneurial spirit for doing so. This dilemma is the result of the specific forms of cultural and financial capital that are needed to navigate a challenging economic landscape that is far from a meritocracy.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Kelman, 2018. "The Bumipreneur dilemma and Malaysia's technology start†up ecosystem," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 59-70, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecanth:v:5:y:2018:i:1:p:59-70
    DOI: 10.1002/sea2.12102
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12102
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sea2.12102?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Levine, Ross & Rubinstein, Yona, 2013. "Smart and illicit: who becomes an entrepreneur and does it pay?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121781, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Blanchflower, David G & Oswald, Andrew J, 1998. "What Makes an Entrepreneur?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 26-60, January.
    3. Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, 2015. "The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10581, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohammed Abrar Khan & Mohd Kamaluddin Sheikh & M. Bobo Singh, 2025. "Mapping the intellectual landscape of start-up ecosystem research: a bibliometric review," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Sarah Ruth Sippel & Moritz Dolinga, 2023. "Constructing agri-food for finance: startups, venture capital and food future imaginaries," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 475-488, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vladasel, Theodor & Lindquist, Matthew J. & Sol, Joeri & van Praag, Mirjam, 2021. "On the origins of entrepreneurship: Evidence from sibling correlations," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    2. Daly, Moira, 2015. "The long term returns of attempting self-employment with regular employment as a fall back option," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 26-52.
    3. Gumus, Gulcin & Regan, Tracy L., 2015. "Self-employment and the role of health insurance in the U.S," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 357-374.
    4. Martin Koudstaal & Randolph Sloof & Mirjam van Praag, 2015. "Are Entrepreneurs more Optimistic and Overconfident than Managers and Employees?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 15-124/VII, Tinbergen Institute.
    5. Audrey Light & Robert Munk, 2018. "Business Ownership versus Self†Employment," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 435-468, July.
    6. Peter Warr & Ilke Inceoglu, 2018. "Work Orientations, Well-Being and Job Content of Self-Employed and Employed Professionals," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 32(2), pages 292-311, April.
    7. Cowling, Marc, 2010. "The role of loan guarantee schemes in alleviating credit rationing in the UK," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 36-44, April.
    8. Rachel G. Childers, 2011. "Being One'S Own Boss: How Does Risk Fit In?," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 56(1), pages 48-58, May.
    9. Milo Bianchi, 2012. "Financial Development, Entrepreneurship, and Job Satisfaction," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 273-286, February.
    10. Werner, Arndt, 2008. "Do Credit Constraints Matter more for College Dropout Entrepreneurs?," MPRA Paper 11867, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Honjo, Yuji & Ikeuchi, Kenta & Nakamura, Hiroki, 2024. "Does risk aversion affect individuals’ interests and actions in angel investing? Empirical evidence from Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    12. Jan van Duppen, 2021. "Book review: The Botanical City," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(8), pages 1746-1750, June.
    13. Eriksson, Axel, 2025. "A critical note on binaries in tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    14. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00566139 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Hans K. Hvide & Benjamin F. Jones, 2018. "University Innovation and the Professor's Privilege," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(7), pages 1860-1898, July.
    16. Herz, Holger & Schunk, Daniel & Zehnder, Christian, 2014. "How do judgmental overconfidence and overoptimism shape innovative activity?," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 1-23.
    17. Flèche, Sarah & Lepinteur, Anthony & Powdthavee, Nattavudh, 2021. "The importance of capital in closing the entrepreneurial gender gap: A longitudinal study of lottery wins," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 591-607.
    18. Françoise Bastié & Sylvie Cieply & Pascal Cussy, 2013. "The entrepreneur’s mode of entry: the effect of social and financial capital," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 865-877, May.
    19. De Clercq, Dirk & Danis, Wade M. & Dakhli, Mourad, 2010. "The moderating effect of institutional context on the relationship between associational activity and new business activity in emerging economies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 85-101, February.
    20. Estrin, Saul & Guerrero, Maribel & Mickiewicz, Tomasz, 2024. "A framework for investigating new firm entry: The (limited) overlap between informal-formal and necessity-opportunity entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(4).
    21. Alexander Emile D'Aloia, 2024. "Circular Economies in an Unequal World: Waste, Renewal, and the Effects of Global Circularity," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 100(331), pages 583-585, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ecanth:v:5:y:2018:i:1:p:59-70. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=2330-4847 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.