J. Ashley Selby 
An exploratory investigation of entrepreneurial space: the case of small sawmills, North Karelia, Finland
Selby J. A. (1989). An exploratory investigation of entrepreneurial space: the case of small sawmills, North Karelia, Finland. Acta Forestalia Fennica no. 205 article id 7652. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7652
Abstract
The investigation concerns the nature of the dialectic relationships between small-scale entrepreneurs in peripheral areas and their business environments.
The investigation is weighted towards a theoretical and philosophical examination of the ways in which the behaviours of real-world entrepreneurs relate to their business environments. The theoretical framework first examines the assumption of intended or bounded rationality, which recognizes that human beings are in possession of imperfect information and imperfect ability, so that their perceived world is only an approximation of the real world. Following this, an epistemology is sought which enables the individual entrepreneur to be considered as the creator of his own world, and to compare this private world to the shared context of a wider set of spatial and social relations. Such an epistemology is found in existential phenomenology, which is subjected to a critical review.
As an empirical case study, the investigation examines the small sawmill entrepreneurs of North Karelia, Finland. The empirical investigation examines the aspects of the small-scale entrepreneurs’ business attitudes, perceived business environments, and their ability to use business-related information. The existential man-environment dialectic is revealed by relating these attributes to the entrepreneurs’ social setting and the level of entrepreneurship as revealed by the sawmill typology.
The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.
Keywords
information;
small-scale entrepreneur;
peripheral region;
partial space;
intended rationality;
man-environment dialectic;
perceived environment;
context
Published in 1989
Views 2015
Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7652 | Download PDF
