AMRITA SAHA

Research

Bittersweet Company: Relational Frames and Entrepreneurial Activity in Emerging Economies

Preparing manuscript for submission
Why do economically disadvantaged actors often choose not to use their access to resources and opportunities for entrepreneurship? Drawing on ethnographic and survey data spanning seven years following a market-oriented reform in Trinidad and Tobago, I examine the business decisions of 54 smallholder cocoa farmers. Despite owning valuable fine flavor cocoa beans, only 12 out of 54 farmers persistently pursued entrepreneurial activities a decade after deregulation. Existing resources did not predict pursuit. Rather, I propose the concept of ‘relational frames‘ to explain differences in actors’ pursuit of entrepreneurial activities. Through relational frames, farmers evaluated economic opportunities by what they would mean for their interactions with others. Farmers approached new economic activities with uncertainty about the rules of engagement with new industry agents. While all farmers shared components of the existing relational frame, only those who experienced frame change—shifting from a hierarchical frame to one focused on co-creation—sustained entrepreneurial activities over time. The frame change process consisted of internalization—not simply adoption—of industry agents’ standards and development of farmers’ own roles as creators. By theorizing entrepreneurial pursuit as a relational process, this study contributes a new perspective on how relational experiences shape entrepreneurial willingness in emerging economies.

Institutional Emergence in the Wake of Reform in Emerging Economies

Data analysis stage
In the wake of economic reform, how do new institutions emerge to support entrepreneurial activities? Studies to date in post-reform settings have identified two primary categories of mechanisms: top-down processes involving central planning by powerful actors, and bottom-up processes involving grassroots coalition-building. While recent works have begun to move us towards a “co-evolutionary” view of how economic institutions emerge, the behavioral and relational mechanisms underlying this process remain largely unexplained. I use ethnographic field data from the Trinidadian cocoa industry to develop insights into the individual trajectories, relations, and interactions that, over time, shape an industry. Specifically, I focus on intermediary agents (academics, government officers, NGO workers, private agents) who emerged as industry shapers in the wake of deregulation. I examine their interactions with one another, cocoa farmers, and a new class of local fine chocolate makers. I also analyze the intermediaries’ own histories, motivations and organizational mandates. This ongoing analysis offers an opportunity to develop a model of how institutions that support entrepreneurial activities emerge as products of individual and relational goals.

A Relational Theory of (Micro)Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies

Writing stage
This theoretical paper examines the role of informal relationships in supporting microenterprises in emerging economies as they navigate shifting environmental conditions. Existing research has shown that informal ties provide access to critical resources, reinforce individual and group identities, and limit opportunistic behavior in market settings. Building on a growing body of scholarship on microentrepreneurship in emerging economies, I propose a framework which conceptualizes informal relationships not only as conduits for resources and norms, but also as interpretive spaces where actors negotiate meaning and shape responses to environmental stimuli.

Research

Bittersweet Company: Relational Frames and Entrepreneurial Activity in Emerging Economies

Preparing manuscript for submission
Why do economically disadvantaged actors often choose not to use their access to resources and opportunities for entrepreneurship? Drawing on ethnographic and survey data spanning seven years following a market-oriented reform in Trinidad and Tobago, I examine the business decisions of 54 smallholder cocoa farmers. Despite owning valuable fine flavor cocoa beans, only 12 out of 54 farmers persistently pursued entrepreneurial activities a decade after deregulation. Existing resources did not predict pursuit. Rather, I propose the concept of ‘relational frames‘ to explain differences in actors’ pursuit of entrepreneurial activities. Through relational frames, farmers evaluated economic opportunities by what they would mean for their interactions with others. Farmers approached new economic activities with uncertainty about the rules of engagement with new industry agents. While all farmers shared components of the existing relational frame, only those who experienced frame change—shifting from a hierarchical frame to one focused on co-creation—sustained entrepreneurial activities over time. The frame change process consisted of internalization—not simply adoption—of industry agents’ standards and development of farmers’ own roles as creators. By theorizing entrepreneurial pursuit as a relational process, this study contributes a new perspective on how relational experiences shape entrepreneurial willingness in emerging economies.

Institutional Emergence in the Wake of Reform in Emerging Economies

Data analysis stage
In the wake of economic reform, how do new institutions emerge to support entrepreneurial activities? Studies to date in post-reform settings have identified two primary categories of mechanisms: top-down processes involving central planning by powerful actors, and bottom-up processes involving grassroots coalition-building. While recent works have begun to move us towards a “co-evolutionary” view of how economic institutions emerge, the behavioral and relational mechanisms underlying this process remain largely unexplained. I use ethnographic field data from the Trinidadian cocoa industry to develop insights into the individual trajectories, relations, and interactions that, over time, shape an industry. Specifically, I focus on intermediary agents (academics, government officers, NGO workers, private agents) who emerged as industry shapers in the wake of deregulation. I examine their interactions with one another, cocoa farmers, and a new class of local fine chocolate makers. I also analyze the intermediaries’ own histories, motivations and organizational mandates. This ongoing analysis offers an opportunity to develop a model of how institutions that support entrepreneurial activities emerge as products of individual and relational goals.

A Relational Theory of (Micro)Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies

Writing stage
This theoretical paper examines the role of informal relationships in supporting microenterprises in emerging economies as they navigate shifting environmental conditions. Existing research has shown that informal ties provide access to critical resources, reinforce individual and group identities, and limit opportunistic behavior in market settings. Building on a growing body of scholarship on microentrepreneurship in emerging economies, I propose a framework which conceptualizes informal relationships not only as conduits for resources and norms, but also as interpretive spaces where actors negotiate meaning and shape responses to environmental stimuli.