Data Analysis: Habitus and Adaptive Strategies for Enterprise Continuation

Building on the preceding chapters, this chapter explains the structuring effects of habitus on governance structure inside the units investigated. This effect came to bear on two sets of decisions that both implicated the authority figure (the owner): (a) routine decisions regarding the unit’s operations and (b) decisions regarding scale of production. The former could include such mundane issues as giving orders to workers and line managers, ensuring the timely delivery of raw material, first-hand supervision of the production process, taking orders and contacting relevant individuals outside the business, maintaining discipline and solving grievances, and small payments and making sure end-products are properly stored or delivered to customers. This were the typical managerial duties that were needed to sustain the productive activity and could be delegated. The second set of decisions pertained to the issue of scale, requiring larger expenditure. This could include purchase of new machinery, selling off assets, shifting the source of raw material or hiring (dismissing) labour in a way affecting scale, securing credit, and generally such areas regarding which decision-making could not be delegated—the authority figure had to be informed and be the person giving the final order as it was him/her who would incur the cost. Both these sets of decisions—taken with the effects of habitus—were related to how inside and outside the units, adaptive strategies developed for investment continuation.