Abstract

Entrepreneurial households have a central role in determining entrepreneurial choices, actions and outcomes. In this monograph we focus on the role of households in new venture creation and growth, arguing that our understanding of individual actions and firm level decisions becomes clearer if they are considered from the perspective of the household. A household perspective implies that the entrepreneur is viewed outwards from the context of their immediate family unit, and implicitly recognizes the blurred boundaries between the business sphere and the private sphere; business strategies and household strategies are interwoven, and business decisions are often made within the household. We review theoretical constructs of the household and examine the ways in which the household has been considered within entrepreneurship research. Not only is the household a vital component in fully understanding entrepreneurial actions, research attention should also be afforded to understanding the effects of entrepreneurship on business-owning households.

Households as a Site of Entrepreneurial Activity

Households as a Site of Entrepreneurial Activity explores the interactions between business activities and entrepreneurial households, demonstrating that new venture creation and growth often hinges on the household-business nexus, and that business decisions are influenced both by family circumstances and prevailing economic conditions. The household is the smallest social unit where human and economic resources overlap and household strategies can identify social factors underlying economic behavior. Hence, in examining the role of the household in new venture creation and growth, the authors explore contextual and processual aspects of entrepreneurship.

In this monograph, the authors argue that the household plays a fundamental role in the strategic decision-making of the enterprise. In focusing on the centrality of the household context to entrepreneurial choices, actions and outcomes, as well as the interactions thereof, this monograph explores the role and importance of the household dimension within entrepreneurship.

Households as a Site of Entrepreneurial Activity is divided into six sections. Following an introduction, the authors conceptualize the entrepreneurial household and define the term in Section 2, before considering theoretical constructs of households that have been developed within other subject domains and have evolved into the modern era in Section 3. Section 4 reviews existing analyses of the household in entrepreneurship research, focusing upon its influence upon the entrepreneurial process, but also considering the growth of home-based businesses and the home as an important asset in business development. Section 5 reviews the effect of business ownership on households and families. Section 6 concludes the monograph, reviews some of the implications of a household perspective on entrepreneurship and outlines a future research agenda.