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The Ritualistic Nature of Business Incubation: An example from Northern Sweden

Kaljuvee, Elis LU (2018) TKAM02 20181
Division of Ethnology
Abstract
This thesis opens up the “black box” of business incubation and analyses how this process works in an incubator for cultural and creative ventures in Northern Sweden. The theoretical framework of the rites of passage by Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner was adopted to guide the analysis. This theory indicates that one can move from one status to the next in a society through the means of different rites. The material was collected by ethnographic methods such as participant observations and semi-structured interviews.
It is concluded that the business incubation process is set up in a similar manner as a rite of passage, consisting of three phases: separation rites, transition rites, and incorporation rites. The main focus of the... (More)
This thesis opens up the “black box” of business incubation and analyses how this process works in an incubator for cultural and creative ventures in Northern Sweden. The theoretical framework of the rites of passage by Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner was adopted to guide the analysis. This theory indicates that one can move from one status to the next in a society through the means of different rites. The material was collected by ethnographic methods such as participant observations and semi-structured interviews.
It is concluded that the business incubation process is set up in a similar manner as a rite of passage, consisting of three phases: separation rites, transition rites, and incorporation rites. The main focus of the incubator is on the middle phase which is seen as a liminal state where the incubatees find themselves somewhere in-between: they are not yet established entrepreneurs but can no longer be seen as just employees either. In this phase, the incubatees are submitted to various events of ritualistic nature that are supposed to give them necessary know-how to become entrepreneurs. One of these events was educational days which took place three times throughout the incubation year and during which the incubatees were given training on topics deemed relevant for entrepreneurs, such as product pricing, sales, and business behaviour. Another event was personal monthly meetings during which the incubator manager and the incubatee discussed the progress made since the last meeting. All these events are transition rites and a person can become an entrepreneur only if she manages to undergo all of them.
The main conclusion of this thesis is that the business incubation process is a mix of individual and collective rites – there are some elements that apply to each and every incubatee but there are also aspects that need a more individual approach. This means that incubators should put more focus on finding a balance between individual and collective rites. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kaljuvee, Elis LU
supervisor
organization
course
TKAM02 20181
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
business incubation, incubator, rites of passage, liminality, entrepreneur, organizational culture, cultural and creative ventures, cultural analysis, ethnography, Sweden, MACA
language
English
id
8951408
date added to LUP
2018-06-20 14:47:41
date last changed
2018-06-20 14:47:41
@misc{8951408,
  abstract     = {{This thesis opens up the “black box” of business incubation and analyses how this process works in an incubator for cultural and creative ventures in Northern Sweden. The theoretical framework of the rites of passage by Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner was adopted to guide the analysis. This theory indicates that one can move from one status to the next in a society through the means of different rites. The material was collected by ethnographic methods such as participant observations and semi-structured interviews.
It is concluded that the business incubation process is set up in a similar manner as a rite of passage, consisting of three phases: separation rites, transition rites, and incorporation rites. The main focus of the incubator is on the middle phase which is seen as a liminal state where the incubatees find themselves somewhere in-between: they are not yet established entrepreneurs but can no longer be seen as just employees either. In this phase, the incubatees are submitted to various events of ritualistic nature that are supposed to give them necessary know-how to become entrepreneurs. One of these events was educational days which took place three times throughout the incubation year and during which the incubatees were given training on topics deemed relevant for entrepreneurs, such as product pricing, sales, and business behaviour. Another event was personal monthly meetings during which the incubator manager and the incubatee discussed the progress made since the last meeting. All these events are transition rites and a person can become an entrepreneur only if she manages to undergo all of them.
The main conclusion of this thesis is that the business incubation process is a mix of individual and collective rites – there are some elements that apply to each and every incubatee but there are also aspects that need a more individual approach. This means that incubators should put more focus on finding a balance between individual and collective rites.}},
  author       = {{Kaljuvee, Elis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Ritualistic Nature of Business Incubation: An example from Northern Sweden}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}