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Entrepreneurial Processes in an Emergent Resource Industry: Community Embeddedness in Maine's Sea Urchin Industry *
Author(s) -
Lauer Sean R.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1526/0036011054776406
Subject(s) - embeddedness , resource (disambiguation) , economic geography , fishing industry , commercial fishing , economic sociology , fishing , business , economic growth , sociology , economics , political science , social science , computer science , law , computer network
The impact of economic changes on communities is not a new subject for rural sociology. However, a growing literature examines the impact of communal relations on economic action and organization. This paper contributes to this literature with an examination of entrepreneur‐ship in an emergent resource industry—the northwest Atlantic sea urchin industry. Based on fieldwork conducted from July 1996 to April 1998, the analysis finds two different types of entrepreneurs emerge: those embedded in local fishing communities and those from outside those communities. Although they share similar challenges, entrepreneurs' differing relationships with the local community lead to diverse strategies, which have important implications for the development of new industries.