Trust and Entrepreneurship: A West-East Perspective

by Hans-Hermann Höhmann (Editor), Friederike Welter (Editor)

Overview

In this innovative book, international scholars investigate trust and its role in relation to the entrepreneurial behaviour of small firms across a variety of institutional and cultural settings.

The contributors draw on original empirical material from a number of West European and East European countries, highlighting the role of culture and the significance of a multi-disciplinary approach in researching trust and its importance in entrepreneurship.

Including detailed comparative studies, the book will appeal to researchers, students and practitioners interested in trust within and between small firms and in different environments. Those interested in issues surrounding the development of post-socialist economies will also find the book to be of great interest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843768951
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	01/25/2006
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Edited by Hans-Hermann Höhmann, Honorary Professor of Political Science, University of Cologne and Coordinator of the Economic Culture Programme, Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen and Friederike Welter, President and Managing Director, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn and Professor, University of Siegen, Germany

Table of Contents

Contents:
Introduction
Part I: Concepts, Evolution, Measurements
1. The Concept of Trust: Some Notes on Definitions, Forms and Sources
2. Culture versus Branch? Looking at Trust and Entrepreneurial Behaviour from a Cultural and Sectoral Perspective
3. The Dark Side of Trust: Corruption and Entrepreneurship – A Cross-National Comparison between Emerging and Mature Market Economies
4. Social Capital in Western and Eastern Europe
5. A Societal View: The Institutionalism of Trust
6. Measuring Trust and Trustworthiness
Part II: Trust and Entrepreneurial Behaviour in Transition Environments
7. Trust-Building in Different Forms of Systemic Transition
8. Establishing Trust in a Distrustful Society: The Case of Russian Business
9. Trust-Milieus of Russian SMEs: Cross-regional Comparisons
10. The Effect of Trust in Courts on the Performance of Ukrainian SMEs
11. Emergence of and Changes in Trust in SMEs in Estonia
12. Trust as a Matter of Experiences? Findings from the ICT Sector of East Germany and Poland
Part III: Trust and Entrepreneurial Behaviour in Mature Market Economies
13. Trust in Small-firm Business Networks in East and West Germany
14. Trust, Co-operation and Networking in an Immigrant Business Community: The Case of Chinese-owned Businesses in the UK
15. Global Competition and Entrepreneurial Behaviour in Industrial Districts: Trust Relations in an Italian Industrial District
16. Local Policies and Trust Relations: The Case of the Vato Territorial Pact
Index

Editorial Reviews

'The potential of evolutionary ideas to explain the development of crucial institutional features of a well-functioning market economy is one of the most important insights of modern institutional economics. In this excellent collection of papers, theoretical and empirical aspects of the connection between trust and entrepreneurship are explored in the context of both transition and mature market economies. The book represents a very significant contribution to the study of the institutional prerequisites of economic development.'

Martin Ricketts

'Free market ideology claims that entrepreneurship thrives on competition, but cooperation and trust are also important in fostering business growth. Where legal institutions are weak, corruption and criminal enterprise can flourish. Honest businessmen have to rely on personal networks, increasing the risk of collusion. This path-breaking book explores the "light" and "dark" sides of trust. By comparing transition economies with mature market economies, the authors highlight the crucial contribution of trust to business performance.'

Mark Casson

'The volume addresses an interesting and important topic indeed, of substantial relevance to scholars of trust, entrepreneurship, international management, and organizational networks. . . Especially valuable are the insights the book provides into the impact of cultural and legal institutions as supporting and constraining entrepreneurship. The editors are to be particularly congratulated for avoiding simplistic answers, and facing up to the complexity and context-specificity of trust at the micro, meso and macro-level.'

Sarah Drakopoulou Dodd

'This volume . . . is a welcome addition to the literature on trust, which has rarely explored international differences in experience. . . The scene for this fascinating volume is very well set by the first conceptual chapter on trust. . . This book is exciting because of its discussion of international diversity. . . an important contribution to the entrepreneurship literature and with profound insights for business history on which parts of the book draws.'

Mary B. Rose