Building a Theoretical Model of Socially Sustainable Entrepreneurship Through Comparative Case Analysis of Ethnic Entrepreneurial Communities

Abstract

Review of existing literature suggests that entrepreneurs in modern context often strive for economic sustainability at the expense of social sustainability in societies they operate. The review also suggests that there are alternative contexts, like the context of ethnic communities, where achieving social sustainability is also a primary goal of entrepreneurs. How social sustainability is balanced with economic sustainability within the context of ethnic entrepreneurial communities has not been sufficiently theorized in existing literature. So the aim of this study is to develop a theoretical model grounded in data to explain how this balance can be achieved through socially sustainable entrepreneurship as practiced in ethnic entrepreneurial communities. To achieve this aim, the study needed data from ethnic entrepreneurial communities which have balanced their economic sustainability with social sustainability for several generations. Three ethnic entrepreneurial communities were selected for data collection namely Memon, Delhi Saudagaran and Chinioti which appeared to have such characteristics. Eisenhardt’s research strategy (ERS) for theory building through comparative case analysis was employed to build cases from the data taken from the three communities and to perform a cross-case comparison to build a theoretical model. The data was taken in the form of in-depth interviews with respondents from each community, notes from direct observation and documentary sources published by each community. Data from each community was interpreted using the social constructivist paradigm. The interpretation of data was utilized to develop three case studies, one for each community. The three cases were then analyzed through a process of constant comparison which involved comparing data within and in between cases. The comparison helped in developing categories of codified data. Each category was further refined into a construct. The constructs and their relationships which were common in the three cases were used to build the theoretical model of socially sustainable entrepreneurship. The model was finally evaluated for external validity by reassessing the proposed constructs and their relationships in the light of existing literature. The case study developed for each community describes how historically evolved community and family cultures influence and are influenced by the process of starting, maintaining and sustaining a business using community and family resources. The cases also describe the emerging reasons for social disintegration as experienced by the three communities. The common patterns emerging from the comparison of the cases were used to build a theoretical Model of Socially Sustainable Entrepreneurship (MSSE) which highlights the possible sociocultural contexts, influencers, strategies and socio-economic consequences of socially sustainable entrepreneurship. The model proposes how economic, social and spiritual interdependence between members of the family and community can contribute towards a balance between social and economic sustainability of Muslim-ethnic entrepreneurial communities. The model can aid policymakers and community leaders to pursue economic sustainability without compromising the social sustainability of their entrepreneurial communities. The results can also contribute towards enhancing the socio-economic sustainability of communities similar to the ones studied for this dissertation. Business schools can also use the results to better explain the socially sustainable form of entrepreneurship to their students as an alternative to entrepreneurial activity in the modern free-market. Students and new entrepreneurs can use the results to strengthen the interdependence between their venture, family and community by striving for the social and economic well-being of all stakeholders as explained in the model. Future research will test the model for statistical generalizability within the three communities. The model once tested may also benefit communities other than the ones studied in this research.