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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2022

Contextualising rural entrepreneurship - A strong structuration perspective on gendered-local agency

Elkafrawi, Nermin; Roos, Annie; Refai, Deema

Abstract

This article employs Stones’ (2005) Strong Structuration Theory (SST) to contextualise rural entrepreneurship. Through shadowing a single case study of a woman entrepreneur from rural Sweden, we propose gendered-local agency as operationalisation of active agency in practice. While SST positions active agency as a property of agents, we demonstrate it is as a property that is intertwined with both agents and structure. Simultaneously enabled and constrained, gendered-local agency itself becomes contextualised within gender-related and locality-related rural-specific interplay that modifies, preserves and challenges rural structures. The article contributes to the literature on contextualising entrepreneurship through a structuration lens by signifying gendered-local agency as a manifestation of rural-specific interplay between contexts as environments (out there) and context as constructed (through entrepreneurs). This conceptualisation proposes everyday entrepreneurship as a demonstration of agency in action, thus setting a foundation for exploring entrepreneurship through the context-specific agent-structure interplay in the rural context and others.

Keywords

Agency; contextualisation; gender; gendered-local agency; locality; rural entrepreneurship; strong structuration theory

Published in

International Small Business Journal
2022, Volume: 40, number: 8, article number: 02662426211069851

    Sustainable Development Goals

    SDG5 Gender equality

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Gender Studies
    Economics

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426211069851

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/116309