Tourism micro-enterprises and entrepreneurship in rural Norway

Abstract

Small businesses, micro-enterprises, and entrepreneurship in tourism are given high importance in policy debates in terms of their assumed contribution to rural and economic development, because they are commonly recognised as a gateway to economic independence, community empowerment, and capacity building. However, in rural tourism, many micro-enterprises never make it beyond the entrepreneurial stage. Most research show that, in general, tourism entrepreneurs are not growth-oriented as the more usual business entrepreneurs and that they often initiate tourism enterprises on the basis of the goal of realising a particular lifestyle balancing economic, family, and social needs. Still, however, governmental policies and funding opportunities focus almost entirely on growth-oriented entrepreneurs. This chapter addresses the mismatch between what research shows and public priorities and support schemes say when it comes to rural tourism and the role of micro-enterprises and entrepreneurship. Through a case study of 11 tourism micro-enterprises in the municipality of Tinn in rural Norway, we address this mismatch and convey a better understanding of the more complex amalgam of factors underlying the high failure rate among rural tourism entrepreneurs. We focus on the following research question: What are the main factors determining whether the micro-enterprises in rural tourism make it beyond the entrepreneurial stage?