Local Communities as Cultural Entrepreneurs: A Methodological Reflection on the Study of Community-Based Enterprises

Abstract

Community-based enterprises represent a distinctive form of cultural entrepreneurship, because they are owned and governed by the local community. Despite this distinctiveness, not much ink has been devoted to explore the methodological nuances in researching such collective phenomena. This chapter discusses methodological issues and offers suggestions on three phases of the qualitative study of community-based enterprises: gaining access, conducting data collection, and making sense of the data. The chapter ends by encouraging further scholarly discussion around this timely topic.