Business families and rural social entrepreneurship: an institutional logics perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of social entrepreneurship in rural areas, with a focus on rural business families as integrated local actors. To this end, we employed an abductive multiple-case study design, conducting 68 in-depth interviews with stakeholders from five rural business families. Our findings demonstrate that open-family dialogue enables business families to filter the logics of family, community and business, shaping the distinct interwoven, altruistic and socio-commercial approaches to frame and execute rural social entrepreneurship. We contribute to regional studies by providing fresh insights into social entrepreneurship based on a ‘rural-approach’ and ‘bottom-up’ view.