Motivations for Indigenous island entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in Greenland
Greenland continues to undergo decolonization, the ultimate political ambition being a ‘self-sustaining economy’ and political independence from Denmark. Drawing on a recent survey in combination with ethnographic fieldwork, this paper explores the connection between political independence and entre...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Island Studies Journal
2019-11-01
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| Series: | Island Studies Journal |
| Subjects: |
| _version_ | 1818913680783310848 |
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| author | Christian William Wennecke Rikke Becker Jacobsen Carina Ren |
| author_facet | Christian William Wennecke Rikke Becker Jacobsen Carina Ren |
| author_sort | Christian William Wennecke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Greenland continues to undergo decolonization, the ultimate political ambition being a ‘self-sustaining economy’ and political independence from Denmark. Drawing on a recent survey in combination with ethnographic fieldwork, this paper explores the connection between political independence and entrepreneurial activities in Greenland. While entrepreneurs are increasingly expected to play a central role in fostering economic change, we are curious about what motivates them, and especially whether their motivations are related to the struggle for national independence. While entrepreneurship generally seems primarily motivated by a desire for personal autonomy, entrepreneurship in the context of an Indigenous island community seems driven by certain communal values, such as supporting the local community, cultural pride, family, and place. Our research supports the notion that entrepreneurship is motivated by non-pecuniary values, and we find entrepreneurship to result from a mesh of intertwined motivations. While we were unable to identify a direct link between the ambition for national autonomy and entrepreneurship, the paper contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurship as an instrument for decolonization drawing on a range of empirical cases and a multi-disciplinary approach. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T23:34:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5dd24feda23441faa0139582938debb7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1715-2593 1715-2593 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T23:34:21Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | Island Studies Journal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Island Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-5dd24feda23441faa0139582938debb72022-12-21T20:01:39ZengIsland Studies JournalIsland Studies Journal1715-25931715-25932019-11-01142436010.24043/isj.99Motivations for Indigenous island entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in GreenlandChristian William Wennecke0Rikke Becker Jacobsen1Carina Ren2Independent researcher, GreenlandInnovative Fisheries Management, Aalborg University, DenmarkDepartment of Culture and Learning, Aalborg University, DenmarkGreenland continues to undergo decolonization, the ultimate political ambition being a ‘self-sustaining economy’ and political independence from Denmark. Drawing on a recent survey in combination with ethnographic fieldwork, this paper explores the connection between political independence and entrepreneurial activities in Greenland. While entrepreneurs are increasingly expected to play a central role in fostering economic change, we are curious about what motivates them, and especially whether their motivations are related to the struggle for national independence. While entrepreneurship generally seems primarily motivated by a desire for personal autonomy, entrepreneurship in the context of an Indigenous island community seems driven by certain communal values, such as supporting the local community, cultural pride, family, and place. Our research supports the notion that entrepreneurship is motivated by non-pecuniary values, and we find entrepreneurship to result from a mesh of intertwined motivations. While we were unable to identify a direct link between the ambition for national autonomy and entrepreneurship, the paper contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurship as an instrument for decolonization drawing on a range of empirical cases and a multi-disciplinary approach.behavioral economicsentrepreneurshipgreenlandindigenousindigenous island entrepreneurshipislands |
| spellingShingle | Christian William Wennecke Rikke Becker Jacobsen Carina Ren Motivations for Indigenous island entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in Greenland Island Studies Journal behavioral economics entrepreneurship greenland indigenous indigenous island entrepreneurship islands |
| title | Motivations for Indigenous island entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in Greenland |
| title_full | Motivations for Indigenous island entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in Greenland |
| title_fullStr | Motivations for Indigenous island entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in Greenland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Motivations for Indigenous island entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in Greenland |
| title_short | Motivations for Indigenous island entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in Greenland |
| title_sort | motivations for indigenous island entrepreneurship entrepreneurs and behavioral economics in greenland |
| topic | behavioral economics entrepreneurship greenland indigenous indigenous island entrepreneurship islands |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT christianwilliamwennecke motivationsforindigenousislandentrepreneurshipentrepreneursandbehavioraleconomicsingreenland AT rikkebeckerjacobsen motivationsforindigenousislandentrepreneurshipentrepreneursandbehavioraleconomicsingreenland AT carinaren motivationsforindigenousislandentrepreneurshipentrepreneursandbehavioraleconomicsingreenland |