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Entrepreneurship, the informal economy and rural communities

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  • Colin C. Williams

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to evaluate whether early‐stage entrepreneurs and the established self‐employed in rural communities trade off‐the‐books and whether this tendency varies across deprived and affluent rural localities. Design/methodology/approach - Face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 350 households in both affluent and deprived rural communities in England. Findings - In both the affluent and deprived rural communities surveyed, wholly legitimate enterprises represent just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface is a large hidden enterprise culture of both registered businesses trading off‐the‐books and unregistered wholly off‐the‐books enterprises. However, the preponderance of both early‐stage entrepreneurs, as well as the established self‐employed to trade off‐the‐books is greater in deprived than affluent rural communities, intimating that deprived rural communities are perhaps relatively more enterprising and entrepreneurial than is currently recognised. Research limitations/implications - These findings are based on a small‐scale study of five English rural communities. Further studies are now required to evaluate whether similar findings are replicated elsewhere. Practical implications - The paper reveals that legitimising the hidden enterprise culture in deprived rural communities could be an important but so far untapped means of promoting enterprise and economic development. Originality/value - Evaluates the extent of informal entrepreneurship in rural communities and how this varies spatially.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin C. Williams, 2011. "Entrepreneurship, the informal economy and rural communities," Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(2), pages 145-157, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:jecpps:v:5:y:2011:i:2:p:145-157
    DOI: 10.1108/17506201111131578
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ruta Aidis & Friederike Welter & David Smallbone & Nina Isakova, 2007. "Female entrepreneurship in transition economies: the case of Lithuania and Ukraine," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 157-183.
    2. Peter Armstrong, 2005. "Critique of Entrepreneurship," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-55495-5, December.
    3. John Round & Colin C. Williams & Peter Rodgers, 2008. "Corruption in the post-Soviet workplace: the experiences of recent graduates in contemporary Ukraine," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(1), pages 149-166, March.
    4. Colin C. Williams, 2006. "The Hidden Enterprise Culture," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3948.
    5. Virgil Henry Storr & Bridget Colon, 2015. "Subalternity and entrepreneurship: tales of marginalized but enterprising characters, oppressive settings and haunting plots," Chapters, in: Laura E. Grube & Virgil Henry Storr (ed.), Culture and Economic Action, chapter 15, pages 337-354, Edward Elgar Publishing.
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    Cited by:

    1. Serge Francis Simen, 2018. "Dynamique de l'entrepreneuriat informel au Sénégal : caractéristiques et particularités," Post-Print halshs-01782037, HAL.
    2. Eunice Santos & Cristina I. Fernandes & João J. Ferreira & Carla Azevedo Lobo, 2021. "What Is the Impact of Informal Entrepreneurship on Venture Capital Flows?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 12(4), pages 2032-2049, December.
    3. Xiang Gao & Zhenhua Gu & Shuzhen Niu & Sunghan Ryu, 2022. "Effects of International Tourist Flow on Startup Financing: Investment Scope and Market Potential Perspectives," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.
    4. Esther Salvi & Frank-Martin Belz & Sophie Bacq, 2023. "Informal Entrepreneurship: An Integrative Review and Future Research Agenda," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(2), pages 265-303, March.
    5. Ligita Gasparėnienė & Rita Remeikienė & Colin C. Williams, 2022. "Unemployment and the Informal Economy," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, number 978-3-030-96687-4, October.
    6. Eunice Maria M. N. Dos Santos & João J. Ferreira, 2017. "Analyzing Informal Entrepreneurship: A Bibliometric Survey," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(04), pages 1-20, December.
    7. Traikova, Diana & Manolova, Tatiana & Möllers, Judith & Buchenrieder, Gertrud, 2014. "Bribing culture and rural start-up plans in transition: evidence from Bulgaria," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182794, European Association of Agricultural Economists.

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