In this weeks Lunch Lecture Íris Hrund Halldórsdóttir will introduce her findings in the research she did for her master thesis in tourism, she wrote in the University of Iceland. Íris was researching whether the elements of social networks and entreprenerus in touism  would affect the genesis and progression of them.

Entrepreneurs are thought to be an important aspect in regional development. Because of that, it is important to create an environment that they can flourish in. A good entrepreneurial environment is an environment where entrepreneurs receive support and encouragement to implement their ideas. The aim of the study was to determine if some aspects of socio-cultural environment can somehow influence the emergence and progression of entrepreneurial businesses.

A participant observation was made in two locations in the West Fjords of Iceland, and two entrepreneurial companies in their infancy were examined. These are the Pirate House in the village of Patreksfjörður and The Arctic Fox Centre in the village of Súðavík.

The result shows that elements like place identity and the social networks of which the entrepreneurs were a part or which they established were relevant and had some effect on the development of the entrepreneurial business.

The results also show that we need to bear in mind the social- cultural environment of the entrepreneur’s business and by doing so we gain increased understanding on the variability of the entrepreneurship.

Lunch Lecture is open for the public. It will start at 12:10 in the University Centre cafeteria. The talk will be in Icelandic.