Title: 5. Entrepreneursp in context II: Entrepreneurship and farms
15. Entrepreneursp in context II Entrepreneurship
and farms
25. Entrepreneursp in context II Entrepreneurship
and farms
- A. Farms and the changing rural small business
- B. Policy frames in the farm sector
- C. Entrepreneurship and farmers
- D. Entrepreneur identity and entrepreneurial
agency among farmers - E. Entrepreneurial skills and the adoption of
entrepreneurship discourse?
3A. Farms and the changing rural small business
- Structural change in acriculture globalisation
free markets competitiveness social, regional
and ecological concerns in EU-politics - Finland Member of the EU since 1995
- Decline in the number of farms
- 1994 103 000
- 1995 95 600
- 2000 77 900
- 2005 69 000
- 2009 63 700
4A. Farms and the changing rural small business
- Growth in the average size
- 1995 23 ha arable land
- 2009 35 ha
- Growth in the overall productivity in 2009 the
same amount of input yielded 21 more output than
in 1992 - Agricultural income 1995 1,549 million 2009
845 million - Support payments represent 43 of the total
return on agriculture and horticulture (1.9
billion/4.6 billion)
5A. Farms and the changing rural small business
- Employment
- Agriculture 1995 140 000 2009 90 000
- Trade of agricultural inputs 20 000 (2009)
- Food industry 1995 45 000 2009 35 000
- Food trade 50 000
- Restaurant catering services 1995 46 000
2009 66 000 - Food sector in all almost 300 000
6A. Farms and the changing rural small business
- Rural small businesses
- Basic agriculture farms
- 200058 000 2007 50 150
- Diversified farms
- 2000 21 800 2007 23 200
- Other rural small firms (less than 20 persons)
- 2000 56 600 2007 69 400
7A. Farms and the changing rural small business
- Diversified activities (2007)
- Primary prod. (other than agriculture
forestry) 1500 farms - Industry 4700 (food wood processing,
handicraft, peat energy production, metal
products) - Construction 1000
- Trade 1300
- Services 14 500 (tourism, machine contracting,
care services, transportation, horse husbandry
services)
8B. Policy frames in the farm sector
- Potter Tilzey 2005 Agricultural policy
discourses in the European post-Fordist
transition neoliberalism, neomercantilism and
multifunctionality - Phillipson et al. 2004 Treating farms as firms?
The evolution of farm business support from
productionist to entrepreneurial models.
Environment and Planning C Government and Policy
2004, volume 22, pages 31 54.
9Agricultural restructuring and related policy
discourses?
- There is neoliberalism but also discourses that
can be (and have been) associated with
entrepreneurship (multifunctionality,
neomercantilism)
10Entrepreneurship discourses and the farm context?
- Phillipson et al. (2004) Treating farms as firms?
The evolution of farm business support from
productionist to entrepreneurial models.
(Environment and Planning C Government and
Policy 2004, volume 22, pages 31 54.) - Throughout the European Union (EU) farming
enterprises have traditionally operated within a
very different political and economic environment
from their nonagricultural counterparts.
Agricultural activities have been governed by a
separate set of policy objectives, political
institutions, and support agencies. - However, this agricultural exceptionalism' is
being challenged via the liberalisation of
markets, reform of government institutions, and
demands for the closer and more strategic
integration of farming within wider local and
regional development initiatives. (p. 31)
11Potter Tilzey 2005, 587 (Agricultural policy
discourses in the European post-Fordist
transition neoliberalism, neomercantilism and
multifunctionality)
- While traditional family-farming constituencies,
particularly those of neomercantilist and social
protectionist persuasions, do continue actively
and with varying degrees of success to defend
state assistance in one form or another, the
emergence of nonproductive fractions of agro-food
capital such as processors, distributors and
retailers as key and influential players in a
form or another, the last 20 years has meant that
agricultural market liberalization and the
accelerated dismantling of state support now has
strong support as a policy project (Cafruny,
1989 Hart, 1997 McMichael, 2000 Josling, 2002).
12Potter Tilzey 2005, 589
- However, while it may be true that the WTO
negotiations created a frame within which
neoliberal interests could advance, a deeper
understanding of the formative influences is
required in order to explain why a neoliberal
agenda for reform now began so strongly to
emerge. Many of these derive from the
restructuring of agriculture and the emergence of
an agro-food industry composed of processors,
distributors and retailers increasingly aligned
to the interests of corporate capital. - While these 'nonproductive fractions of
agro-capital may not exhibit all the
characteristics of vertically integrated,
transnational sectors such as electronics,
clothing or automobile production (Goodman,
1997), they are now sufficiently disembedded from
national and regional contexts and geared to the
supply of world markets to be described as global
in outlook and orientation (Josling, 2002). - This has eroded the coherence of the
agricultural policy community, challenging
corporatist models of policy governance and
introducing new discourses into the agricultural
policy debate which emphasize international
competitiveness and improved overseas market
access (McMichael, 2000).
13Potter Tilzey 2005, 589
- Competing discourses
- -multifunctionalism
- -neomercantilism
14Multifunctionalism
- The concept of multifunctionality has its roots
in a social welfare justification for state
assistance which dates from the earliest years of
the CAP (Potter, 2004). Since the mid-1980s,
policy-makers have gradually acknowledged the
need to diversify the income base of family farms
by capitalizing on agriculture's ancillary
functions such as biodiversity, landscape and
cultural heritage.
15Multifunctionalism
- Thus, advocates of strong multifunctionality
position their case firmly within what Reiger
(1977) has called 'the moral economy of the
European Community' (sic) by regarding the
activity of farming as one of the defining
conditions of rural space, the purpose of state
assistance being to create the conditions under
which family farming, rural landscapes and
society can flourish.
16Neomercantilism
- Advocates of neomercantilism in agricultural
policy, by contrast, start from an essentially
productivist conception of the farmer's vocation,
regarding the function of the state being to
safeguard and underwrite productive capacity and
export potential.
17C. Entrepreneurship and farmers
- a taken-for-granted assumption that market
liberalisation and the dissolution of state
protection (intervention through subsidies and
regulation) creates the need for farmers to
response entrepreurially - Freedom to farm to market demand
- Not so simple, however
18Phillipson et al. (2004, 32-33)
- Ongoing trade liberalisation as well as reform
of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are
leading to increased pressure for the
reorientation of farming to a more
entrepreneurial model, that is both competitive
and sustainable. Such changes in the policy
context and trading environment are promoting
alterations in the role, attitudes, and business
practices of farmers and attempting to reduce the
distorting effects of agricultural subsidies upon
their business aspirations and decisions. As
commodity price support systems are reduced and
as production subsidies decline or are
redirected, farmers will increasingly need to
adapt. - Many will find it difficult to compete purely on
a cost basis and will need instead to focus their
attentions on the identification and exploitation
of opportunities for niche production and
markets, means of adding value to their products,
or enhanced systems of cooperation. Farmers are
also being encouraged to diversify into
alternative and nonfarming enterprises (PIU,
1999). Shifting from a production to a more
entrepreneurial model will require a greater
emphasis on the personal capacities and
entrepreneurial skills (1) of farmers with
respect to commercialisation, promotion, and
organisation (van Huylenbroeck and Durand, 2003).
19Phillipson et al. (2004, 33)
- 1) According to the UK paper Enterprise for All
(SBS, 2001) an entrepreneurial approach is
characterised by original thought, innovation,
and risk taking. Such an approach has
traditionally been less important to the farming
sector as a consequence of protected markets and
direct payments. With market liberalisation
farmers are being encouraged to take on or seek
out new economic opportunities which is placing
greater emphasis on risk taking and market
orientation and upon the development and
application of (new) generic business skills.
20Phillipson et al. (2004, 33)
- In the United Kingdom, albeit with notable
exceptions, many farmers have been characterised
as lacking general business capabilities and as
unwilling to adapt or develop new skills in light
of changing demands, which is seen as part of a
wider skills challenge within the agriculture and
food sectors (DEFRA, 2002 Scottish Executive,
2002) (2).For example, according to the
Performance and Innovation Unit - The problem of less entrepreneurial behaviour
among some farmers may be a legacy of the heavily
interventionist frameworks that have dominated
agriculture throughout the post-war period.
Government has not encouraged farmers to see
themselves as entrepreneurs.
21Concluding the outline of Phillipson et al.
- Entrepreneurship discourse in agricultural
policy entrepreneurs as agents who survive in
open markets by pursuing business opportunities
farmers as actors lacking such agency -gt farmers
should be developed into entrepreneurs (by the
government) - Comp. Bryant (1989) Entrepreneurs in the rural
environment. JRS 544
22Are entrepreneurship discourses totally new and
alien to farmers and farming culture?
- In addition to policy discourse, positive answer
have been presented in some research discussions
- Dudley (2003) The entrepreneurial self? Identity
and morality in a Midwestern Farming Community.
In Adams, J. (ed.) Fighting for the farm.
University of Pensylvania press.
23Reflecting Dudley
- While reading Dudley, figure out for yourself
answers to the following questions - What does Dudley (2003) mean by entrepreneurial
self? What are the aspects and features of it? Is
it the same as entrepreneurial spirit? - What is the relation between farmers in Star
Prairie and entrepreneurial self - What is the relation between entrepreneurial self
and the modern capitalistic market economy? How
does entrepreneurial self connect to the
restructuring of agriculture? -
24Dudley conclusion
- Rather than two distinct categories of farmers
(entrepreneur vs. yeoman) (p. 177-178),
entrepreneurship suits for describing the
commonly shared cultural basis of farming
community. - E agent aims to be independent, produce
efficiently, grow the farm (legitimated by
over-generation continuity and a good-farmer
eye), assumes personal responsibility for the
economic risk (self as principal?) - Entrepreneurial self as a ground/foundation for
self-regulative agency in farm ownership and
management, but also for excessive risk-taking - Credit-based production/absentee ownership as
threats (186)
25Dudley conclusion
- The rhetoric of risk reframes the danger of
dispossession and capital penetration as an
individual moral dilemma (186) (self as
principal frame legitimating capital
penetration?) - The rhetoric of risks limits the ability to
conceptualise the social consequences of
macro-economic forces that are beyond individual
control (187) (exaggerating farmers agency) - the rhetoric of risk helds individual
accountable for their losses, while state
sponsors the penetration of capital (188)
26D. Entrepreneur identity and entrepreneurial
agency among farmers
27- Methods
- Subjects three main groups
- 1) conventional farmers concentrating only on
agricultural primary production (conventional
farmers) (n271) - 2) farmers who also had non-agricultural
business (diversified farmers) (n469) - 3) rural non-agricultural small-scale businesses
(non-farm entrepreneurs) (n131). The sample of
rural non-farm entrepreneurs was limited to
small-scale enterprises with a maximum of 20
personnel and sales of more than 100 000 . -
- A rural area was defined as having a population
density of less than 50 inhabitants/square km
within a certain zip code.
28- Data collection
- Data was collected by postal questionnaire in
year 2006. The questionnaire used in was a
modified version of the earlier questionnaire
(2001) with some of the original questions
excluded and three new themes added. - The questionnaire used in 2001 consisted of 71
questions or series of questions organized under
the following headings background information
about the respondent identity economic
information about the firm/farm conceptions
about being an entrepreneur principles related
to entrepreneurship and customer relations. For
diversity there were 12 additional questions
related to agriculture.
29Results
- Self-Identification
- Identity was measured by a question
- How do you define yourself? How well do the
following describe you - Im an Entrepreneur / Professional / Producer /
Wage earner / Business manager? - Each category was evaluated by using a five-point
Likert-type scale ranging from (1) not at all
to (5) very well. - Because the variables were skewed, they were
reclassified into three classes 1 not at all /
somewhat / dont know 2 quite well and 3
very well. - Each identity variable was adjusted by
subtracting the combined value for all
identity-variables from it. - A positive value for one identity category thus
reflects that this category was evaluated as more
self-descriptive when compared to other
categories. And a negative value reflects that
the category was seen as less self-descriptive
than the other categories in general.
30- Measures for role expectations
- (Scale 1 totally disagree 5 Totally agree)
- Risk-taking
- I am more cautious with risk-taking compared to
other entrepreneurs that I know (neg) - I do not avoid taking risks
- I take risks only when compelled to do so (neg)
- I do not believe in success without risk-taking.
- Growth-orientation
- Increasing the turnover of my firm is a
self-evident goal for me - Compared to other entrepreneurs whom I know, I am
more reluctant in expanding my business (neg) - I prefer not to hire employees in my firm (neg)
- I am trying to expand my business activities
31- Measures for role expectations
- (Scale 1 totally disagree 5 Totally agree)
- Risk-taking
- I am more cautious with risk-taking compared to
other entrepreneurs that I know (neg) - I do not avoid taking risks
- I take risks only when compelled to do so (neg)
- I do not believe in success without risk-taking.
- Growth-orientation
- Increasing the turnover of my firm is a
self-evident goal for me - Compared to other entrepreneurs whom I know, I am
more reluctant in expanding my business (neg) - I prefer not to hire employees in my firm (neg)
- I am trying to expand my business activities
32- Innovativeness
- I aim for constant renewal in my business
activities - I enjoy developing new products and marketing
ideas - If needed, I will make major changes in my
business - I prefer to keep doing things the way I am
familiar with (neg) - Self-efficacy
- My skills are quite sufficient for working as an
entrepreneur - I am more competent than an average entrepreneur
- My character is not of entrepreneurial type (neg)
- My personal characteristics suit well for
entrepreneurship - I will succeed as an entrepreneur
- Not even major setbacks can make me give up my
entrepreneurship - I believe that my success in the future will
outrun entrepreneurs on average - My success as an entrepreneur is uncertain (neg)
33- Personal control
- I am able to affect the success of my firm
through decisions concerning products and through
production - My personal changes to influence the
successfulness of my businesses are practically
rather low (neg) - I am able to affect the success of my firm
through marketing and customer connections - To a great extent I can personally control the
success of my firm
34Vesala, H. Vesala K.M. (2010) Entrepreneurs and
Producers Identities of Finnish Farmers in 2001
and 2006. Journal of Rural Studies 26 (1), 21-30.
Table 1 Means of identity variables (data 2006)
pgt.001. plt.01. plt.05
Conventional farmers (n 249) Diversified farmers (n 381) Non-farm entrepreneurs (n 125) plt
Entrepre neur .34 .64 .75
Professional .09 .14 .30
Producer .68 .35 -.31
Wage-earner -.70 -.72 -.51
Business manager -.41 -.41 -.22
35Entrepreneur identity
F28.3, plt.001 Pairwise comparison Conventional
farmers weaker than other groups, no significant
difference between the other two groups.
36Correlations between entrepreneurial
role-expectations
Risk- Taking Innovati- veness Growth- orientation Conserva tiveness Self- Efficacy
Innovativeness .460
Growth- Orientation .273 .425
Conservativeness -.557 -.408 -.429
Self-Efficacy .326 .331 .388 -.374
Personal Control .139 .442 .276 -.358 .556
) plt.05 ) plt.01 ) plt.001
37Correlations between entrepreneurial identity and
role-expectations
Entrepreneurial identity
Risk-taking .197
Innovativeness .262
Growth- Orientation .260
Conservativeness -.351
Self-Efficacy .428
Personal Control .400
) plt.05 ) plt.01 ) plt.001
38Entrepreneurial role-expectations in three groups
on Entrepreneur Identity (EI)
39The means and standard deviations (sd in
parenthesis) of the role-expectation variables in
the main groups analysis on variance
Conventional farmers (n233) Diversified farmers (n345) Non-farm entrepreneurs (n118) F (plt)
Risk-Taking -.03 (.83) .07 (.90) -.16 (.85) 3.4 ()
Innovativeness -.33 (.81) .20 (.73) .06 (.76) 35.1 ()
Growth- Orientation -.12 (.92) .13 (.84) -.14 (.93) 7.3 ()
Conservativeness .13 (.92) -.11 (.82) .07 (.81) 6.2 ()
Self-Efficacy -.27 (.89) .14 (.90) .13 (1.03) 14.8 ()
Personal Control -.49 (.98) .19 (.76) .42 (.67) 65.1 ()
40Entrepreneurial expectations in three main groups
41Relations of role-expectations to background
variables
Risk Inno Groth Conservat SE PC
Age
Gender
Education
Experience
Arable land
Turnover
Man-years
Number of clients
End user clients
Processor clients
Outside workforce
Outside work
Line of production
Line of business
42E. Entrepreneurial skills and the adoption of
entrepreneurship discourse?
43Pyysiäinen, Halpin Vesala (2010, in press)
Entrepreneurial Skills among Farmers
Approaching a Policy Issue.
- Developing the entrepreneurial skills of farmers
(ESoF-project) - The discourse of entrepreneurial skills in the
construction of entrepreneurial self (and agency)
by farmers? - Self-presentations regarding entrepreneurial
skills (recognising and realising business
opportunities networking and utilising contacts
creating and evaluating business strategy)
44Figure 1 Aspects of the self (derived from
Baumeister 1999)
45Aspects of self
- The reflexive aspect deals with self-awareness
the process in which individual views,
identifies, defines, or understands herself (I
looking at me see G.H. Mead 1934). This is
most typically done in terms of group memberships
and social roles.The relational aspect refers to
self as an interpersonal being whose existence
and action are fundamentally rooted and embedded
in social relations. The third, executive aspect
deals with the issue of agency. An individual
evaluates things, makes decisions, and acts in
order to regulate and develop her self as well as
to control and influence her situation and events
that are of importance to her. Agency implies
self-reflection (Emirbayer and Mische 1998), but
it is also closely tied with the relational
aspect. Exercising control in social relations
includes influencing others and the ability to
utilize others as resources or vehicles for ones
own agency. - In the case of entrepreneurship, a strong
emphasis is often put on the agency aspect of
self an entrepreneur is culturally defined as
somebody who is active, persistent, and
innovative (makes things happen in economic and
social transactions). Thus, the executive aspect
deserves special attention in the study of the
entrepreneurial self. Entrepreneurial skill is
one of the concepts which allow us to do this.
46Case A Entrepreneurship Inadequate Lacking
Agency
- The interviewee is a 69 -year old pig farmer, who
operates the business together with his wife. The
farm has about 70 sow pigs and 40 hectares of
field. The farmer started his farming career in
1966, and expanded production in mid-1990s. - Skill of creating and evaluating a strategy The
farmer claims that the skill could be useful in
principle, but in his case the operational
environment and overpowering actors (vertical
production chain, financers) have frustrated the
plans he has tried to pursue. The progress of
farming is presented as a victim of unpredictable
changes and uncertainties associated especially
with the dramatic decreases in producer prices
after Finnish EU membership since then, the
farmer claims, things have not been manageable
with planning or foresight.
47Case A Entrepreneurship Inadequate Lacking
Agency
- Skill of networking and utilizing contacts The
farmer starts Well, it has been tried out for
sure, but goes on to explain that things like
contacting the farmers union will not change a
thing and that a farmer has no means to control
his situation since the big players in the market
such as central franchising groups are too
strong. He claims that in such a situation
networking will not work nor bring any commercial
or cost benefits. He presents himself as having
tried these things but also as having recognized
their uselessness. -
48Case A Entrepreneurship Inadequate Lacking
Agency
- Skill of recognizing and realizing opportunities
The farmer does not present a direct
self-assessment concerning how good he is in
recognizing and realizing opportunities, but
assesses anyway that their farm has recognized an
opportunity in pork production, since pigs yield
much pork. However, he is not able to tell any
examples of opportunity recognition or
realization after the dramatic decrease in pork
prices. Consequently he states that it is
difficult to utilize these skills in his
situation, even though they would be useful.
49Case A Entrepreneurship Inadequate Lacking
Agency
- Summing up the case, the farmer does not present
himself as skillful in terms of any of the
skills. Instead, he consistently claims that each
of the skills is useless or impossible to utilize
in his situation. The self that is presented is
more a victim of circumstances than an active
agent. The self that he presents is defined in
terms of a traditional production-oriented world
and its characteristic activities as such it
remains in the shadow of vertical chains and
their big players. Even though the farmer does
not oppose entrepreneurship discourse, as such,
he nevertheless rejects it as inadequate to his
situation.
50Case B Fluency in Entrepreneurship
Demonstrating Agency
- The interviewed couple runs a farm that focuses
on the production of strawberries, other berries
and their processing. Both wife (age 44) and
husband (age 43) are involved in the interview.
They started their farm in 1996. They currently
employ around 20 seasonal employees for several
months of the year, mostly to assist in picking
berries.
51Case B Fluency in Entrepreneurship
Demonstrating Agency
- Skill of creating and evaluating a strategy Even
though they start by doubting if they really have
strategic planning skills, they nevertheless
present themselves as thinking about and
discussing such things frequently. They present
the development of their farm business and
expansion of production as based on strategic
thinking that includes product modification and
development. They present themselves as
orientated to customer needs and feedback, which
can be utilized in the development of new
products and attraction of new, or better,
customers. The presentation gives the impression
that their strategy is also a successful one,
because they mention having more demand for
products than they can currently provide.
52Case B Fluency in Entrepreneurship
Demonstrating Agency
- Skill of networking and utilizing contacts The
initial direct self-assessment of the farmers is
a hesitant one. However, the indirect assessments
and accounts of their activities all point
towards a self-presentation of being pretty good
in utilizing networks and contacts. They have
cooperation and joint acquisitions with other
entrepreneurs and they have participated in
courses and projects where they have learned to
know the local entrepreneurs and network with
them. In addition, they relay examples of using
skills in the context of sales promotion and
marketing, where their good contacts to matrons
of industrial kitchens have helped them to
increase sales and broaden the variety of
products. They have also utilized local market
research services to identify potential demand
and markets for their products. Even though they
present themselves as entrepreneurs who do not
like to promote themselves in every social
occasion and rather focus on doing things
themselves, their presentation suggests that they
utilize these skills in diverse situations and
contexts.
53Case B Fluency in Entrepreneurship
Demonstrating Agency
- Skill of recognizing and realizing opportunities
The couple considers this skill as very important
for their situation, and they also claim having
had some success in recognizing and realizing
opportunities that suit them. They substantiate
their claim by explaining how they recognized and
found a proper market niche for them principally
by not competing with the big players but having
a variety of own processed products besides
primary production. Another rhetorical resource
in the demonstration of the skill is their
customer and product structure, both of which are
open to changes depending on the demand of the
products a feature they view as highlighting
the importance of opportunity recognition and
realization skills. They also present themselves
as not being afraid of the uncertainty related to
a turbulent environment but being comfortable and
even excited about it. The farmers seem to have
plenty of rhetorical resources to give a
convincing impression of mastering and utilizing
these skills.
54Case B Fluency in Entrepreneurship
Demonstrating Agency
- Summing up the case, the farmers are fluent in
using entrepreneurship discourse. They construct
themselves as having the skills, as the selves
are presented in terms of skill manifestations in
a diversity of contexts, such as production,
marketing and customer relationships, and
utilization of development projects and business
services. The skills are evident in enabling the
farmers to renew and change the emphasis of their
farm business (e.g. products and customer
relationships) according to the demands and
opportunities encountered in the operational
environment. The strategy selected is thus
presented as an effective means to deal with, and
control the business in, a dynamic environment.
55 Case C Negotiating Entrepreneurship Relating
to Farming Community
- The interviewed farmers are cousins, both male,
aged 30 and 40, who own a farm consortium, which
produces crops (c. 180 ha). The older farmer
started the farming in 1992 and younger one
joined in 2005.
56 Case C Negotiating Entrepreneurship Relating
to Farming Community
- Skill of creating and evaluating a strategy The
farmers do not directly comment on whether they
have a business strategy, but their subsequent
descriptions function to present their actions as
based on strategic planning. For instance, they
aim to maintain their income level by taking
pre-emptive actions to reduce costs. They
demonstrate this principle by explaining how they
have calculated the most profitable options in
their machine investments, and on the basis of
the calculations ended up buying a joint
harvester-thresher together with a farmer from
the neighborhood. They also mention having
committed themselves to the cooperation with the
neighbor. As an additional rhetorical resource,
they give an account of the principle of
strategic planning in their situation one should
be committed to the selected strategy on a longer
range and also evaluate its pros and cons in the
longer run.
57 Case C Negotiating Entrepreneurship Relating
to Farming Community
- Skill of networking and utilizing contacts The
farmers do not clearly present themselves as
either having or lacking the skills. However,
they give indirect accounts of themselves as
having the skills, when they again describe their
close production cooperation with the neighbor
farm. They explain that the cooperative
relationships both within the consortium and
with the neighbor function as a kind of
insurance for them now that there are three
farmers capable of taking care of the most
important tasks, all three are better off in case
of unexpected events and accidents. Furthermore,
they explain that their networking skills are
used to pursue clearly articulated financial
purposes they aim at cutting down production
costs.
58 Case C Negotiating Entrepreneurship Relating
to Farming Community
- Skill of recognizing and realizing opportunities
The farmers do not explicitly present themselves
as either having or lacking the skills, but they
tell that the current mode of farming is the
result of careful thinking and joint discussions,
where they have reflected on the possible
directions of their farm business. For instance,
before making the decision about the joint
machine investment they analyzed the situations
of other farms in the region and the future
availability of farmland since possibilities to
purchase extra farmland did not seem likely, they
opted to intensify their cooperation with the
neighbor farm as a means to secure effectiveness.
In their explanation they state that they analyze
what the realization of other business
opportunities would require, but they view the
opportunities from the perspectives of the
farming community and safety. Above all, they do
not want to step on the toes of other farmers
and their businesses but want to maintain good
relationships within the community where they
have lived their whole lives. They claim that
their primary production and forestry activities
still provide them sufficient standard of
livelihood and thats why they do not view it
necessary to try out any riskier options.
59Case C Negotiating Entrepreneurship Relating to
Farming Community
- Summing up the case, the farmers do use the
entrepreneurship discourse, but its usage is
characterized by efforts to reconcile it together
with relational preconditions of the farming
community. The self that is presented becomes
defined in terms of activities and relationships
related to primary production on the one hand,
the social relations are presented as enabling
the management of the selected course, but on the
other hand they are presented as restricting the
range of trajectories that they consider
desirable, such as willingness to engage in
non-farm business activities. Nevertheless, the
chosen orientation, which combines cost-reduction
and anticipative action orientations, is
presented as providing them their means of
business control vis-á-vis the operation
environment.
60Concluding Esof
- cases B and C accepted the entrepreneurial skill
discourse as relevant to themselves, even though
they both reconciled it to their distinctive
action situations in different ways. Case A, in
turn, found the entrepreneurial skills to be
inappropriate to presenting his situation but
even he did not reject the discourse as such,
only its applicability for him. Indeed, the
analysis revealed that in their self-assessments
the farmers did not just passively accept or
ingest the entrepreneurship discourse, but they
actively used and reconciled it in the
construction of their self-presentations. None of
them simply rejected the entrepreneurship
discourse nor claimed outright to be especially
skilful instead, they were active and creative
in connecting the discourse to their own
life-worlds and particular everyday experiences,
which, as rhetorical resources, provided them
different alternatives to substantiate the
discourse.
61Concluding Esof
- most of the farmers who were interviewed in the
Esof project were favorable towards using the
discourse of entrepreneurial skills. One might
wonder whether this outcome had something to do
with the procedure of selecting the interviewees,
in which the potential interviewees were
approached through middle men who knew that the
study focused on entrepreneurship. A more
reliable source upon which to base
generalizations is provided by Vesala (2008), who
reports results from a nationwide postal survey
among farmers (n 625) and non-farm rural small
business owners (n 126) in Finland. These
results suggest that over two-thirds of farmers
consider entrepreneurial skills as fairly or very
important for themselves, whereas one in ten
views these skills only somewhat or not at all
important.
62Concluding Esof
- It is apparent from our interview material that
production related rhetorical resources did not
enable the interviewees to make very rich and
convincing presentations of their skills
instead, when convincing presentations of
entrepreneurial skills were made, they were
typically constructed with rhetorical resources
associated with product development and
differentiation, marketing and sales arena and
customer and cooperation relationships. Comparing
our three cases along such a dimension, we notice
that cases A and B resemble almost polar
opposites in this respect. It thus seems that how
the skills can be digested and presented is at
least to some extent determined by the immediate
situation and characteristics of the action
context, notably the nature of the business and
business networks.
63Concluding Esof
- As indicated in the case descriptions, a key
difference in the self-constructions between
these cases concerns the nature of agency. In the
self-presentation of case B the entrepreneurial
skills were connected to activities and instances
that enabled the self to deal with, and control
the business in spite of, uncertainties and
changes in a dynamic environment. The self was
constructed as an active agent, which, by means
of the entrepreneurial skills, is able to effect
change and exert control in the business
environment. In case A, a contrary picture was
painted as entrepreneurial skills were presented
as inadequate the uncertainties and changes of
an overpowering business environment were
presented as dispossessing the self of its
agentic aspects. The entrepreneurial skill
discourse did not provide the farmer any viable
resources to demonstrate his agency.