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It`s all about whom you know: the meaning of networks for small entrepreneurial firms
Kristianstad University, School of Health and Society.
Kristianstad University, School of Health and Society.
2014 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

Networking among entrepreneurial firms is a widely researched and debated topic amongst academics; however, there are still research gaps. Most research is based on quantitative studies and researchers have called for more qualitative analysis to gain a deeper understanding in what impact networks have on entrepreneurial firms.

The purpose with this dissertation is to explore in what way networks are important (or not) for small entrepreneurial firms, and if this changes over the firms’ development. The study has an interpretive philosophy and an exploratory research design. To collect data eight semi-structured interviews, with entrepreneurs in Kristianstad and the nearby area, were completed.

The findings of this study are that networks look different for all entrepreneurial firms and the importance of different relationships changes over the firms’ life cycle. Informal relationships (family and friends) are important for the entrepreneur when it comes to encouragement and support, while formal relationships (suppliers, employees, customers and other entrepreneurs) contribute to the success of the firm by providing the entrepreneur with knowledge and advice. 

The conclusions, from the collected data, are that all relations are not of equal importance to all entrepreneurs. The importance depends on the entrepreneur’s personality and the industry the entrepreneur operates in. However, we found that the importance of talking to other entrepreneurs has grown and that the most important relationship seems to be with family and friends.

The demarcations of this study are that only entrepreneurs in one area of one country were interviewed, also that a qualitative method was used; therefore, we cannot show any statistical proof of the findings.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2014. , p. 51
Keywords [en]
entrepreneur, entrepreneurial firms, networking, formal relationships, informal relationships, relations
National Category
Social Sciences Business Administration
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hkr:diva-12334OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hkr-12334DiVA, id: diva2:732514
Educational program
Degree of Bachelor of Science in Business and Economics
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2014-07-10 Created: 2014-07-04 Last updated: 2014-07-10Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
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  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
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  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
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