Entrepreneurial Adaptation Research Articles

‘Real’ Reel Poetry: Examining Co-Digital Motherhood Communities Through Reel Instapoetry

ABSTRACT The original wave of Instapoetry, typically recognised by its typewritten font and generic axioms, was instantly divisive, with some decrying its linguistic simplicity as banal and others praising this same trait for its universal accessibility. Regardless of their controversial reception, however, the incessant production of today’s digital economy has required Instapoets to continuously adapt to their shifting environment. While a few Instapoet-influencers may have achieved true celebrity status, removing their original online posts and transcending to solely print publications, most Instapoets have continued to evolve with the platform in their practices for creating, managing, and presenting content. Surprisingly, however, such entrepreneurial adaptation does not necessarily contribute to disassociated intimate publics, where users are only vaguely connected by a loose exchange of likes. As evidenced by this case study on motherhood Instapoets, marginalised voices may sometimes build niche counterpublics where individuals mutually support each other for the good of the entire gift economy. Certain new hypertextual features, such as reels, not only contribute to increasing interpersonal user connections but even encourage more fluid co-digital collaborations. This survey particularly notes how content creators and consumers tag, share, and adapt reels to mutually strengthen the overarching motherhood Instapoetry community.

A Study on the Impact of Financial Literacy and Digital Capabilities on Entrepreneurial Intention: Mediating Effect of Entrepreneurship.

In the post-COVID-19 era, the content of work and the necessary skills are rapidly changing due to the digital transformation of the way people work. Entrepreneurial adaptability and digital capability are the most necessary competencies for exploring opportunities and quickly turning them into a professional career amid a crisis. Financial literacy is also essential for expanding skills in economic and social life. The purpose of this study is to verify the influence of university students' financial literacy and digital capability on entrepreneurial intention and the mediating effect of entrepreneurship. To this end, a survey was conducted on university students in Busan and Gyeongnam, and a sample of 162 respondents was verified using SPSS 28.0. As a result of the study, it was found that financial literacy had a partially positive effect on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. Digital capability was found to have a positive effect on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention. It was found that entrepreneurship had a partially positive effect on entrepreneurial intention. It was found that entrepreneurship had a partially positive mediating effect between financial literacy and entrepreneurial intention. It was found that entrepreneurship had a positive mediating effect between digital capability and entrepreneurial intention. As a result of this study, it was confirmed that financial literacy, digital capability, and entrepreneurship are very important competencies for university students to adapt to new trends and promote start-ups in a rapidly changing job environment after COVID-19, suggesting the need for further education.

How Hospitality Entrepreneurs Change Business Practices Under COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Small and Medium Sized Entrepreneurs at Lower Northeastern Thailand

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the adaption methods of hospitality entrepreneurs during the Covid-19 pandemic and the influenced variables for business adaptations. Theoretical framework: This study was fundamentally based on the theory of entrepreneurial bricolage behavior which find to understand the entrepreneurs do during the resource constraints due to the covid-19 pandemic. Design/Methodology/Approach: The quantitative study is using questionnaires as a tool. The methods of adaptation for innovative hospitality management used by small and medium size hospitality entrepreneurs in Lower Northeastern Thailand. The sample population included 360 individuals with 55% females and 45 % males. Most of the participants were owners (89%) of small hotels and guesthouses some with restaurants and other hospitality facilities such as spas and coffee shops. Finding: An entrepreneurial adaptation of cost reductions in terms of facilities and personnel, as well as renegotiation with all stake holders including the government, that assisted far less in developing economies (EMDEs) and emerging markets then in European countries. Research, practical and social implications: The methods discussed in the paper includes: adjustment in investment deferral; adjustment in effective cost reduction; reduce operating costs; management inventory downsizing; concentrate on innovation; negotiating the terms of various contracts; adjustment in getting help from the government and concentrate on activities that generate income for business. Originality/Value: The value of the study is the adaptation is something constructed or created from a diverse range of available things. It introduces the information for small and medium size hospitality business adaptation during the crisis which effects the business operations. Most of the entrepreneurs will apply the adaptational variables for business sustainability and improve business performance.

Adaptation of Street Food Entrepreneurs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nakhon Ratchasima Province

Purpose: The objectives of this study was to study the adaptation factors of street food entrepreneurs in the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework of research explains entrepreneurial adaptation and provides a conceptual foundation for understanding how entrepreneurs adapt to changing business environents. Which is related to the factors including: food innovation, entrepreneurial risk perception, and government measures. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research questionnaire was used as a tool to collect data from 400 samples of entrepreneurs who the street food entrepreneurs in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. And use structural equation modeling (SEM) for data analysis and statistical analysis to examine complex relationships between variables and test theoretical models related to hypotheses. Findings: The results show that the effect of food innovation on entrepreneurial adaptation is partially explained by the influence of perceived risk. However, the government measures in Covid-19 pandemic play a role in mediating the relationship between food innovation and entrepreneurial adaptation. Research, practical & social implications: We recommended future studies could investigate how entrepreneurs can adapt their business models to ensure long-term sustainability and resilience in the face of future disruptions. Originality/Value: The findings of the research can potentially contribute to the development of strategies, policies, and support mechanisms to facilitate and enhance entrepreneurs' adaptation during times of crisis or uncertainty, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Opportunity in uncertainty: small business response to COVID-19

PurposeThe global spread of coronavirus brought the economy to a screeching halt as entrepreneurs faced constraints in their ability to transact business. Mandatory shutdowns of businesses, travel restrictions and other measures were taken. This study aimed to explore adaptations of small businesses for surviving in such a turbulent environment.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted exploratory research with detailed interviews with 15 small business owners from various industries in rural communities in the Midwestern United States.FindingsThe study revealed a variety of strategic responses and highlighted creativity and flexibility in coping with uncertainty. Business owners adapted their strategies regarding processes, products and target customers to remain flexible and reallocate resources to meet ever-changing demands. Some created and strengthened relationships with other business owners, clients, customers and the community. Several showed optimism for the long-term, whereas others viewed survival as contingent on a speedy return to normalcy.Research limitations/implicationsA modest sample of fifteen small business owners were interviewed in similar communities in the Midwest using snowball sampling. With a larger sample size and more variance in age and gender, interview responses may be more diverse and potentially more generalizable. However, the current research may provide some unique insights for younger, up-and-coming entrepreneurs in smaller cities and communities regarding some effective small business and community response to uncertainty and change.Originality/valueThe coronavirus pandemic provided a unique environment to gain insight into entrepreneurial adaptation to unpredictable crisis situations and highlights the importance of assessing and adjusting business strategies to constantly changing demands. The authors also present an emergent theoretical process model of small business adaptive responses to uncertainty that summarizes the major themes derived from the interview responses.

PENGARUH ADAPTASI KEWIRAUSAHAAN DAN KARAKTER WIRAUSAHA TERHADAP KINERJA USAHA PENGOLAHAN MAKANAN DI KABUPATEN BUNGO

<p align="justify">This study is entitled The Effect of Entrepreneurial Adaptation and Entrepreneurial Character on Food Processing Business Skill in Bungo Regency. The object of this research is Small Business Actors in the field of Food Processing in Bungo Regency Participants of Food Operator Training Batch 1-IV in 2021. This study uses a purposive sampling technique with a sample of 67 people. The data processing used multiple regression analysis and SPSS software version 25. The results of the study found that Entrepreneurial Adaptation had an effect on Food Processing Business Performance in line with Vera Dwi Cahyani's research (2017), while Entrepreneurial Character had an effect on Food Processing Business Skill in line with the research of Nurul Fikri (2018).</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong>: Entrepreneurial Adaptation, Entrepreneurial Character, Food Processing</p>

Entrepreneurial Adaptation in Emerging Markets: Strategic Entrepreneurial Choices, Adaptive Capabilities and Firm Performance

AbstractSustaining entrepreneurship in resource‐constrained and institutionally weak emerging markets (EMs) poses theoretical and practical challenges. We address some of these challenges by adopting a middle‐range theoretical approach and proposing the concept of ‘entrepreneurial adaptation’ (EA). Complementing the concept of entrepreneurial mindset and subsuming those of strategic orientation and adaptive capabilities, we posit that EA consists of a set of cognitively derived, action‐oriented strategic entrepreneurial choices that foster certain dimensions of adaptive capabilities which in turn sustain entrepreneurship in EMs. We empirically test our hypotheses on a proprietary survey‐based dataset of 219 Indian firms and contribute to the extant literature by proposing a model of EA, besides suggesting an alternative bridge to the two disciplines of entrepreneurship and strategy.

Analytical Intervention of Remote Working Correlates on Risk Culture and Entrepreneurial Adaptability in South-South Geopolitical Zone, Nigeria: Covid-19 Perspective

This study explored the analytical intervention of remote-working correlates on risk culture and entrepreneurial adaptability in South-South geopolitical zone, Nigeria. The study adopted ex-post facto design and exploratory research design. Data were generated from entrepreneurs’ with specialty on self-development training program for hand craft skills by quantitative and qualitative methods. The study used multi-stage cluster sampling and proportionate stratified random sampling techniques. A total population of 200 and a sample size of 133 were determined using Krejcie and Morgan Table. Also, 133 copies of questionnaire were distributed to the respondents and 127 copies were completed and retrieved. The instrument was validated with reliability above 0.7 co-efficient, using Cronbach Alpha technique. The reliability coefficient analysis was attitude (α =0.912), behaviour (α=0.893), competence (α =0.894), adaptability (α=0.911) and remote working (α=0.901). Four research questions and four hypotheses were raised which were tested with KMO for the sampling adequacy and Barllet’s test for data appropriateness sphericity. The Ordinary Least Square Method (OLSM) and Partial Correlation Co-efficient were used to analyze the hypotheses of the explanatory, response and intervening variables via SPSS 25 version. From the findings, remote working correlates risk culture and entrepreneurial adaptability positively. In conclusion, attitude, behavior and competence have significant influence on entrepreneurial adaptability of self-development training program enterprise. Based on the findings and conclusion, this study contributes to the knowledge that to adapt with the storm of the covid-19 variant and working from home, risk culture measures should be streamline with the enterprise vision and mission pursuit. It could be recommended that to encourage remote working, the risk culture ABC model must be adopted and practice that will enable the enterprise to have competitive advantage. Also, risk culture and remote working should be encouraged because of the covid-19 pandemic to prevent the self-development training enterprise from bleeding. Keywords: Attitude, Behaviour, Competence, Entrepreneurial Adaptability, Remote Working, Covid-19 Pandemic DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-34-05 Publication date: December 31 st 2021

The Processes Behind Pivots: Behavioral Perspectives on Entrepreneurial Change and Adaptation

Strategic change and adaptation play critical roles in young ventures’ success as they can result in better competitive strategies, or even a strategic pivot for the focal firm - i.e., a change in its products, markets, technologies, or business models that leads to a strategic reorientation. A limited but growing body of research in entrepreneurship focuses on new venture adaptation and has explored the antecedents of strategic adaptation as explained by industry structures, characteristics of firm founders and updating of their beliefs and mental models. However, surprisingly few studies explore whether firm founding characteristics or vision and passion, impact subsequent strategic choices, or how information screening and processing lead to entrepreneurial change and pivoting. Using a behavioral lens to examine entrepreneurial adaptation, the studies presented in our symposium explore the processes behind strategic pivots and how founder as well as firm founding characteristics interplay with decision-maker's mental models and information screening lead to entrepreneurial change and adaptation. Pioneering Digital MultiSided Platforms:Founding Characteristics, Key Strategic Choices and Survival Presenter: Audra Wormald; Robert H. Smith School of Business, U. of Maryland Presenter: Rajshree Agarwal; U. of Maryland Presenter: Serguey Braguinsky; U. of Maryland Presenter: Sonali Shah; U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign How do Women-led Entrepreneurial Firms Manage Change? Pivoting Among Female Entrepreneurs Presenter: Chiara Spina; INSEAD Presenter: Arianna Mastrippolito; Boston Consulting Group Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost: The Interplay of Mental models and Strategic Action Over Time Presenter: Douglas Hannah; Boston U. Questrom School of Business Presenter: Andrea Caldwell Marquez; U. of Texas At San Antonio Presenter: Timothy Ott; U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Living Your Passion and Embracing Change? The Impact of Mental Models on Entrepreneurial Adaptation Presenter: Anshuman Sinha; U. of California, Irvine How Do Entrepreneurs Learn Effective Resource Mobilization Actions Presenter: Benjamin L. Hallen; U. of Washington, Seattle Presenter: Suresh B Kotha; U. of Washington, Seattle Presenter: Alex Michael Murray; U. of Oregon

Institutions, entrepreneurial adaptation, and the legal form of the organization

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how economic freedom impacts the initial choice of legal structure for startup firms. The authors do this by first exploring whether economic freedom is an essential determinant of the initial legal form of organization (LFO). The authors then explore the impact of economic freedom on firms' choice of changing their initial legal structure over time and how this change impacts their survival rate.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ a multinomial logistic regression model to measure the initial determinants of LFO by utilizing an eight-year panel data set of 4,928 startups in the USA through the Kauffman firm survey and merge it with the Economic Freedom in North American index from the Fraser Institute. The authors then employ a logistic regression model to examine the determinants facilitating a change in legal structure over time.FindingsThe results show that economic freedom is a significant determinant in the choice of legal structure. The findings also report that the majority of startups do not change their legal form, but of those that do change the legal structure show a higher survival rate.Research limitations/implicationsMajor limitations are the size of the data and the nature of somewhat limited economic freedom differences with the USA. More nuanced measures of economic freedom would be highly desirable.Practical implicationsPolicymakers should take note that limited red tape, smoothly working labor markets and straightforward processes for changes of legal structures of organizations would improve survival and growth odds for entrepreneurs.Originality/valueDrawing on the theory of institutions, the authors attempt to bridge a gap in the literature by explicitly analyzing the determinants of the legal structure in startups in light of economic freedom. Institutional factors do not work in isolation; therefore, the authors also employ traditional entrepreneur-specific variables that affect the choice of legal structure in addition to the institutional framework.

Entrepreneurship and Adaptation of Utilities Enterprises to Market Conditions

This article sets out the main provisions of the formation of an entrepreneurial strategy for the development of the city complex of housing and communal services and its adaptation to market conditions. The content and tasks of restructuring the housing and communal services management system as an integral complex are revealed, in which the main principles are defined as innovative development, coordination of interaction between enterprises and public-private partnership (PPP). The concept of "entrepreneurial management adaptation" (EMA) as a set of measures of organizational and economic orientation to adjust the management system of an individual enterprise in coordination with the owner of the utility complex for full-fledged market relations, proposed a logical-structural model of joint efforts of the municipality and heat water supply in order to build an updated information and analytical support of the city complex and the conditions under which this process can be implemented. The organizational and economic components of entrepreneurial adaptation in the context of PPP strategies, investment support and innovative development of municipal enterprises of urban life support (MEULS) are determined. It follows that PPP's business strategy launches a mechanism to expand investment opportunities and innovative development of MEULS, which will contribute to the long-term success of this strategy, which is defined as "an integrated business model of the MEULS innovative development." The peculiarities of the relationship between the elements of entrepreneurial adaptation of MEULS enterprises and the city municipality are presented, which will change the nature of relations between local authorities and municipal enterprises and allow to launch a new mechanism for effective implementation of industry reform programs using PPP elements.

Navigating ethnic entrepreneurship in religion and culture meld

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine ethnic entrepreneurship within the contexts of religion, cultural hybridity, segregation, diasporic network and enterprise.Design/methodology/approachThe study collected two sets of data from 15 black African respondents/entrepreneurs through face-to-face interviews in London, UK.FindingsFindings point to immigrants’ entrepreneurial adaptation through traditional and dogmatic interpretations of religious beliefs in the informal sector.Originality/valueThe paper offers fresh insights into the religion/faith and socio-cultural meld in the sagacity of black African entrepreneurship. Such insights afford great opportunities to construct new sites of meaning or frame new explanations of entrepreneurship among the ethnic group – using religion and culture as important environmental munificence.

Supporting civic engagement in German energy cooperatives – Transdisciplinary research based on the reflection of individual needs

Civic engagement is currently playing a major role in the transformation of European energy systems. In Germany, citizen-driven renewable energy cooperatives (RECs) are often presented as pioneers of change and as models for the development of energy initiatives within Europe. Current research on RECs focuses mainly on entrepreneurial adaptations and innovations; what is generally missing from the research, however, is a detailed consideration of the human dimensions of this engagement. In view of this, the present paper proposes applying the needs-oriented Human Scale Development Approach (HSDA) as a means of supporting civic engagement within a transdisciplinary research framework. It is argued that the needs perspective can be helpful in developing new strategies that support initiatives in their objective to remain stable and robust over the long term. The empirical part of the paper presents three case studies of German RECs which (1) explore the challenges encountered by active members in their everyday organizational efforts, (2) describe the potential benefits from their involvement, and (3) identify factors that encourage civic engagement. The results indicate that the challenges are inhibiting factors which not only jeopardize the groups’ shared objectives but also adversely influence the emotional well-being of those who are actively involved.

Uncertainty, Asset Specificity, and Entrepreneurial Adaptation

Entrepreneurs’ exposure to economic uncertainty from regulation, monetary policy, and taxation is exacerbated by the inflexibility of capital asset commitments. Entrepreneurs adapt to uncertainty by reducing asset specificity. While the mainstream approach tends to focus on reduced aggregate investment resulting from uncertainty, the effects cannot be fully comprehended without appreciating the heterogeneity of the capital structure. Entrepreneurial adaptations, such as increasing the proportion of precautionary assets, reduce the roundaboutness of the production process, mitigating uncertainty but reducing economic growth. The emphases of the Austrian school on entrepreneurial judgment and heterogeneous capital clarify the connection between uncertainty and economic growth.

Community resilience through entrepreneurship: the role of gender

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to entrepreneurship theorising by highlighting the salience of feminine caring positions in creating novel entrepreneurial roles and investigating how these roles contribute to community resilience. Using a critical feminist economics lens, alternative conceptualisations of the economy are expanded upon to reveal how an economic externality influences entrepreneurial discourse, gender roles and community resilience.Design/methodology/approachIn this interpretive approach, empirical evidence is drawn from six months of intensive ethnographic research with 20 tourism handicraft micro-entrepreneurs in Crete and Epirus, Greece, in 2012 and hence in the context of a macroeconomic crisis. Ethnographic interviewing and participant observation are used as the methods to achieve the research objectives.FindingsThematic analysis is used to investigate how gender roles and entrepreneurial roles interact and how this interaction influences community resilience to an economic crisis. Using the critical theory to critique neoclassical economics interpretations of entrepreneurship, it becomes evident that politico-economic structures perpetuating feminised responsibility for social reproduction configure feminine entrepreneurial roles, and these roles have a positive effect on increasing community resilience. By conceptualising entrepreneurial involvement as being primarily for community gain, participants highlight how feminine entrepreneurial discourse differs from the neoclassical economics entrepreneurial discourse of entrepreneurial involvement being primarily for individual gain.Social implicationsThis paper contributes to theoretical advancements on the role of gender in entrepreneurship and community resilience by investigating the entrepreneurs’ gendered responses to an exogenous shock. Providing insight into the role gender has in entrepreneurial adaptation and sustainable business practices means that new policies to combat social exclusion and promote rural development can be formulated.Originality/valueThe theoretical interplay between gender and entrepreneurship is investigated from a novel angle, that of critical feminist economics. The relationship between feminised interpretations of entrepreneurship and community resilience is brought to light, providing a unique insight into entrepreneurial resilience.

Entrepreneurial Adaptation and Social Networks: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment on a MOOC Platform

Entrepreneurial Adaptation and Social Networks: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment on a MOOC Platform

Imprinting by Design: The Microfoundations of Entrepreneurial Adaptation

Entrepreneurial ventures need frequently to adapt. Yet their adaptive capacity is often limited by the legacies of imprinted founding characteristics. The question then arises whether it is possible to explain and manage the imprinting process so that the capacity to adapt is enhanced, rather than diminished. I address this question by developing a model of the microfoundations of imprinting based in collective memory. I argue that entrepreneurial founding teams naturally develop transactive autobiographical memory systems. By partially managing the design and imprinting of these memory systems, I argue that founders may improve their venture's long–term capacity to adapt.

Coherence as an Alternative to Strategic Complementarity at an Entrepreneurial Firm

Organisational change processes are complex, idiosyncratic, and seemingly nonstochastic. Theories of strategic complementarity present change as the evolution of systems of mutual reinforcement among heterogeneous elements within the firm. This paper combines theories of strategic complementarity and entrepreneurial sense-making to develop an alternate heuristic of entrepreneurial adaptation as a search for coherence. Within a framework of narrative rationality, I define coherence as inference or search for the best explanation. A case study of organisational change at an entrepreneurial biotechnology firm provides the backdrop for the modeling exercise. A constraint satisfaction model reveals coherent systems of heterogeneous organizational elements. The model recapitulates organizational structuring observed at the firm. The success of the organization despite violating the primary heuristic of complementarity suggests that strategic theories of fitness must be applied with caution in entrepreneurial contexts. This paper contributes to the study of fitness generally and the specific application of fitness regimes in entrepreneurial contexts, specially when high uncertainty and resource scarcity limits strategic analysis and implementation.

Work, Power and Performance: Analysing the ‘Reality’ Game of The Apprentice

This article addresses the relationship between the British version of the reality television programme The Apprentice and the shifting working cultures of contemporary neoliberalism. It explores how the programme enacts, through ritualized play, many skills required by the ‘flexible’ work economy: emotional commitment, entrepreneurial adaptability, a combination of team conformity and personal ambition. In particular, it highlights how newly calibrated requirements of sociality, ‘passion’, and power-as-charisma are negotiated by the programme in relation to broader emergent norms of neoliberal governmentality. However, the article simultaneously argues against overly deterministic deployments of governmentality theory, suggesting it be both supplemented by other tools (media rituals and the affective role of passion), and reoriented back towards a Foucauldian emphasis upon the instability of power. This can, it argues, both enable the programme’s appeal to be more effectively understood and help us comprehend the spaces and places where neoliberal governmentality fails, wholly or partly, to be foregrounded.

The Dimensions of Sustainability and the Neo-entrepreneurial Adaptation Strategies in Reindeer Herding in Finland

Abstract Current public discourse in Finland concerning reindeer herding has focused on the overgrazing problem and conflicts between herding and competitive forms of land use. Both herders and government administrators agree on the problems of herding, but conceptualize their causes differently. Administrators insist that sustainability in herding is reachable through bioeconomic management that unites biological metrics of sustainable systems with an economic efficiency calculus. However, we found that such policy erodes socio-cultural sustainability at the community level. It also encourages economic rationalization that leads to increased revenues but slower income growth, because it coexists with rising investment costs and decreasing producer prices caused by increased supply. Ecological sustainability is left unstable, because bioeconomic metrics focus only on partial environmental processes. This study sheds light on these intertwined trajectories by analyzing reindeer herders' efforts to reach both economic and ecological sustainability through neo-entrepreneurial strategies. The study was carried out by semi-structured interviews in 17 enterprises run by both Saami and Finnish reindeer herders. Interviews covered the working of both traditional herding and neo-enterprises and the consolidation of these efforts. The results show that the neo-entrepreneurial adaptation strategies enhance both economic and ecological sustainability, but create problems for socio-cultural sustainability. Introduction The purpose of this article is to analyze the sustainability of neo-entrepreneurial adaptation strategies of reindeer (Rangifer t. tarandus) herders in Finland. The secondary objective is to examine government management policies and their connections to the local adaptation. The main ethnography analyzes the emergence of entrepreneurial adaptation strategies among the reindeer herders in Finland. The studied enterprises have state authorization, hold a registered business name, or are corporate organizations like joint-stock companies. Here, these are called neo-enterprises in order to distinguish them from traditional operations. Whereas herders have traditionally butchered reindeer during round-ups in the field and sold whole carcasses or live reindeer directly to private individuals or large butchering companies, the neo-entrepreneurs use certified butchering facilities to process meat further into various products, which they themselves sell to end users, like restaurants. Usually the neo-enterprises also function independently of the traditional reindeer herding cooperatives (Figure 2 and Table 1). Applying St. Martins (2001) ideas, we term the dominant ideology of reindeer management the bioeconomics of herding. Its fundamental axioms are twofold. First, the biological component focuses on maximal sustainable yield metrics, related equilibrium assumptions and calculated optimum grazing pressures that, in theory, enable maximum renewal of reindeer pastures (Kumpula 2001; Riseth et al. 2004). Calving percentage and carcass weights are employed as complementary metrics of sustainable grazing pressure (Kumpula et al. 2004). Second, the common economic component, and a sign of exceeded ecological yield, has been the need for supplementary feeding that is considered an extra cost for herders. The paradigmatic maneuver is to select a few easily measured variables as the indicators of ecological and economic sustainability and assert that sustainability can be reached through the manipulation of these variables (cf. Mittarit porotalous 2003). However, though there have been recent attempts to broaden the bioeconomic perspective (Kumpula 2003; Kumpula et al. 2006; Kyllonen et al. 2006; Mattila 2006; Meristo et al. 2004), the socio-cultural sustainability of herding communities continues to be left out of the calculations. There is a persistent tendency to detach selected economic and ecological variables from a broader political, economic and ecological context (Jernsletten and Klokov 2002; Mittarit porotalous 2003). …