We hypothesize that cultural and creative entrepreneurs achieve an optimal distinctiveness in their identity by balancing their belonging and distinctiveness to the collective identities that make up their overall identity.

PI: Pawan Bhansing

Expected end of subproject: winter 2015

 


 

Being different by belonging

Identity is an important aspect which underlies and guides strategic decision-making, issue interpretation, organizational change, and stakeholder relations. Organizational identity is seen as an expression of the founders’ values and are derived from group membership. We propose that the general view of entrepreneurial identity which places a substantial focus on the role of the market is incomplete and that entrepreneurs feelings to belong or to be distinct from certain groups are less guided by market opportunities than is thought.

We hypothesize that cultural and creative entrepreneurs achieve an optimal distinctiveness in their identity by balancing their belonging and distinctiveness to the collective identities that make up their overall identity. For example, an creative entrepreneur may feel that he/she is part of the creative industries because his/her discipline or activities have a strong creative character, but he/she may feel that he/she is a special kind of creative entrepreneur by identifying with the location that he/she is housed in. We will survey the creative and cultural entrepreneurs at 10 creative business centers throughout the Netherlands and developed new scales to measure multiple collective identities of cultural and creative entrepreneurs.