Family, community, and globalization: Wayuu indigenous entrepreneurs as n-Culturals

Abstract

PurposeTo explore the cultural context of Indigenous family entrepreneurs and to apply to them the concept of n-Culturals, thus contributing to validating the concept.Design/methodology/approachInterview data collected from Wayuu entrepreneurs in La Guajira region of Colombia and from Māori entrepreneurs in the Rotorua region of New Zealand were analyzed qualitatively. The analysis primarily focused on Wayuu entrepreneurs, with the results for Māori entrepreneurs used for comparison, to help to interpret the Wayuu data.FindingsFor Wayuu entrepreneurs, family members play a range of crucial roles in enterprise operations, with the family and the kin-centered local Indigenous community emerging as an informal organization surrounding the enterprise. Family is the source of Indigenous culture, while the mainstream culture is centered on global Western business culture, rather than the culture of the country. The Indigenous entrepreneurs integrate the values of the two cultures in managing their enterprises, thus acting as n-Cultural. Māori entrepreneurs who managed enterprises with a strong Indigenous character were similar in this respect to Wayuu entrepreneurs.Social implicationsAs n-Culturals integrating the values of Indigenous culture and the mainstream culture, Indigenous entrepreneurs develop valuable traits, becoming a valuable component of the human capital in their regions, even when their enterprises fail.Originality/valueExisting research on multicultural individuals is largely limited to immigrants and expatriates. By characterizing Indigenous family entrepreneurs as n-Culturals, the present study contributes to validating the concept and opens the way for further research on how Indigenous entrepreneurs manage their multicultural identities.