Digital futures of small businesses and entrepreneurial opportunity
Digital futures of small businesses and entrepreneurial opportunity
This introduction to the Special Issue discusses the status quo of the literature on digital entre-preneurship and small business highlighting the neglect of a significant and growing segment of the small business sector whose futures have remained under-researched: self-employed workers and freelancers who run one-person or micro-businesses and home-based businesses that operate largely or exclusively online. Their digital futures and opportunities cannot be understood in simple dichotomies such as ‘necessity’ versus ‘opportunity’ or ‘use’ versus ‘non-use’ of digital technologies. Instead, it is suggested to consider the spatial and social contexts of these more ‘ordinary’ or ‘unexceptional’ businesses. Attention is drawn to networks and social capital and their spatial embeddedness in complementing human capital. Concepts of the second digital divide, digital generations, entrepreneurial bricolage and spatial proximity and city ecosystems are discussed to make suggestions about the possible digital futures of small businesses and entrepreneurial opportunity.
digital affordances, digital technologies, homeworking, micro-enterprise, online business, remote working
Reuschke, Darja
224493ce-38bc-455d-9341-55f8555e7e13
Mason, Colin
73eca8e7-b2e9-4676-b605-a88a53a834c4
Syrett, Stephen
bc431a95-ef09-4881-8eff-9161a5520430
April 2021
Reuschke, Darja
224493ce-38bc-455d-9341-55f8555e7e13
Mason, Colin
73eca8e7-b2e9-4676-b605-a88a53a834c4
Syrett, Stephen
bc431a95-ef09-4881-8eff-9161a5520430
Reuschke, Darja, Mason, Colin and Syrett, Stephen
(2021)
Digital futures of small businesses and entrepreneurial opportunity.
Futures, 128, [102714].
(doi:10.1016/j.futures.2021.102714).
Abstract
This introduction to the Special Issue discusses the status quo of the literature on digital entre-preneurship and small business highlighting the neglect of a significant and growing segment of the small business sector whose futures have remained under-researched: self-employed workers and freelancers who run one-person or micro-businesses and home-based businesses that operate largely or exclusively online. Their digital futures and opportunities cannot be understood in simple dichotomies such as ‘necessity’ versus ‘opportunity’ or ‘use’ versus ‘non-use’ of digital technologies. Instead, it is suggested to consider the spatial and social contexts of these more ‘ordinary’ or ‘unexceptional’ businesses. Attention is drawn to networks and social capital and their spatial embeddedness in complementing human capital. Concepts of the second digital divide, digital generations, entrepreneurial bricolage and spatial proximity and city ecosystems are discussed to make suggestions about the possible digital futures of small businesses and entrepreneurial opportunity.
Text
Futures Special Issue Introduction
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 18 February 2021
Published date: April 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The special issue draws on the seminar series ‘Entrepreneurship in Homes and Neighbourhoods’ funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grant ES/L001489/1 . We thank Professor Ted Fuller for supporting this Special Issue and his inspiring comments.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords:
digital affordances, digital technologies, homeworking, micro-enterprise, online business, remote working
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 448451
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/448451
ISSN: 0016-3287
PURE UUID: 56bee4cf-8b4a-4e33-8d3f-7837399b1dca
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Date deposited: 22 Apr 2021 16:46
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 06:27
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Contributors
Author:
Colin Mason
Author:
Stephen Syrett
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