NASCENT MARKET CAPITALISM UNDER QUESTION: INTERPRETATIONS OF SUCCESS AMONG MAKASSAR ENTREPRENEURS

A vast body of economic and development literature assumes that small enterprises in developing countries exist as a form of nascent market capitalism. Nevertheless, if one considers small scale entrepreneurs' endogenous definitions of success, the picture becomes less clear. This point is demonstrated through an examination of small-scale enterprises in Makassar, Eastern Indonesia, beginning with an assessment of the extent to which enterprise operations are based on ethnic specialisation. Specific decision-making processes among entrepreneurs regarding labour recruitment and workforce obligations are then discussed, which contradict choices that would reinforce the creation of profits, as is also found in regards to the drive for prestige consumption and social status. In turn, the notion of success is problematised, a concept that researchers and development practitioners must have a far more nuanced understanding of, if they wish to help small-scale entrepreneurs genuinely improve their livelihoods. Copyright (c) 2005 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.