Alters & functions: exploring the ego-networks of tourism micro-firms

Abstract

For tourism micro-firms, networks embody a potential to pursue opportunities and compensate for lack of resources and missing skills. This study explores the ego-networks of tourism micro-firms. A focused approach that uses multiple name generators is applied to elicit significant alters and understand their functional characteristics. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with owner-managers of tourism micro-firms in rural Sweden. A block-model presents an abstract image of a tourism micro-firm’s ego-network. It accounts for alters’ attributes, location and number of functions they fulfil. The networks incorporate social, business-related and interest-based ties. The analysis brings forth the meaning that entrepreneurs assign to their relationships. Owner-managers of tourism micro-firms incline to utilise existing ties in their immediate environment for multiple purposes. Cognitive proximity and personal comparability are crucial factors in determining with whom entrepreneurs associate. The micro-perspective provided by this study contributes to the growing body of tourism literature on networks, entrepreneurship and micro-firms. Particularly, the block-model and identified network functions constitute a framework within which researchers can study the ego-networks of micro-firms. For entrepreneurs, this framework is a valuable reference point against which they can develop their ego-networks and understand how they can utilise the knowledge and resource embedded in them.