Family agritourist enterprises in Poland: Preliminary survey results

Abstract

Objective: The main goal of the paper is the evaluation of agritouristic enterprises, as a specific type of family owned businesses, in terms of their market and entrepreneurial behaviour and the behaviour connected with generating innovation. The attempt has been made to define the advantages and disadvantages of family-run business in the opinion of the agritouristic enterprises. Research Design & Methods: Achievement of the above-mentioned goal was based on the analysis of professional literature, and direct research supported by direct questionnaire surveys and individual in-depth interviews. The empirical research was conducted in the period from January to March 2012. Findings: Agritourist enterprises are self-defined as family enterprises. They can see and appreciate benefits from running a family business as well as their advantage in being innovative and strive to introduce changes in their businesses. Implications & Recommendations: In the opinion of the authors of this paper, agritourist farms are a very special example of family entrepreneurship. Contribution & Value Added: Issues analysed in this study are relatively new and poorly covered by the literature in the field. It is a certain novelty to analyse family entrepreneurship in agritourism in addition to being an interesting area of scientific exploration.