The Protean Entrepreneur : The Entrepreneurial Process as Fitting Self and Circumstance

An ethnographic entrepreneurial study of rural communities undergoing structural change in the West Highlands of Scotland is presented. This contribution to entrepreneurial theory provides information about the relationship of small business to a rural environment. Interviews of 54 rural owners-managers of small businesses were done to develop "mini-ethnographies" of respondents, their backgrounds, their experiences, and their stories. It was found that respondents were categorized as either locals (people who had always lived in the area) or cosmopolitans (people who had moved into the area from urban centers). Two very different business processes were also discovered. Data indicated a distinct pattern of local-cosmopolitan differences around change. Locals were less involved with change and responded to change by blending and adapting their business accordingly. Cosmopolitans were more interested in making change. They formed new businesses that adapted to shifting social changes and these often centered around tourism. The important benefits of this research provide an opportunity to recognize the complexities of small business and its protean characteristics.(JSD)