Dynamics of social networks of urban informal entrepreneurs in an African economy

Abstract

This paper carries out an analysis of the formation and transformation of social relations and networks of access to resources in the professional trajectory of micro-entrepreneurs operating in an urban informal African economy. The analysis of social networks is rooted in Granovetter's structural embeddedness framework combined with the dynamic and discursive conception of social relations of Harisson White (embeddedness and decoupling). Life-stories of micro and small entrepreneurs in Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina-Faso) are analysed by mixing qualitative and quantitative methods. Results suggest that the construction of social networks and interpersonal relations of access to resources is a long-term process. A co-construction of social networks and economic activity is observed, undermining the view of social capital as a substitute for a lack of personal resources. The growth of small and micro activities is linked to the professionalization and stabilization of a social network, and even to the institutionalization of access to resources.

Relational drivers of the agroecological transition: An analysis of farmer trajectories in the Limagne plain, France

“…A main objective is generally to understand the embeddedness (predominant influence of interpersonal relationships) and decoupling (from the predominant influence of interpersonal relationships to the predominant influence of mediating resources) of activities over time. Quantified narratives have been used to analyse a large diversity of objects, such as science-industry relations (Ferru et al, 2019;Grossetti et al, 2003), business creation (Berrou and Gondard-Delcroix, 2018;Chapus and Nordman, 2021;Grossetti et al, 2011), the process of invention (Cloutier, 2014), the dynamics of innovation in rural areas (Galliano et al, 2017) and food practices (Akermann and Coeurquetin, 2021). For business creation, the method aims to identify both the types of actors who help to access the needed resources for company creation (friends, colleagues, banks, etc.)…”

The Contextual Dimensions of Informal Economy and Entrepreneurship

“…They argue that in volatile contexts and developing economies, informal entrepreneurs benefit from the trust built, length of relationships, and access to informal finance, information, and patronage based on the strength of social ties developed in their social network. Berrou and Gondard-Delcroix (2018) demonstrated that social networks could be a limiting factor where reliance is mainly on the relationship within the social network and precludes possibilities of developing additional triad relationships.…”