Enterprise Hubs: A Path to Reignite Collaboration Networks in Rural Newfoundland

Authors

  • Mery Angeles Perez Memorial University of Newfoundland, Grenfell Campus
  • Roshayne Mendis School of Science and the Environment
  • William Newell School of Arts and Social Science

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, which suddenly disrupted the lives of communities and people across the globe, has not only shed light upon social problems and inequalities but has also exacerbated them. For entrepreneurs in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Great Northern Peninsula (GNP), the recent struggles are intertwined with a complex history in a province and a region which had already faced economic difficulties. This paper examines the challenges faced by rural entrepreneurs in this region due to the COVID-19 pandemic and explores how a digital enterprise hub can help mitigate these challenges. The research that informs this paper followed a mixed-method case study design through participatory action research (PAR) and a survey. The study discovers how entrepreneurs in the GNP believe that enterprise hubs could help them cope with challenges and foster social capital during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also sought to implement the enterprise hub model in the GNP, while also carrying out a research project that assessed the potential long-term benefits as perceived by the members of the existing community. Informed by the concepts of social capital and embeddedness, research findings indicate that the pandemic has exposed a risk for local entrepreneurs to become over-embedded in their local communities, which is further exacerbated by their lack of connectivity with networks outside of their communities. We argue that enterprise hubs can build local social capital to help take advantage of opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and may be a way to better re-establish the successful business networks existing prior to the pandemic.


Keywords: Entrepreneurship, rural, enterprise hubs, COVID-19, networking

------------------------------------------------------ 

Pôles d'entreprise : une voie pour relancer les réseaux collaboratifs dans les régions rurales de Terre-Neuve

Résumé
La pandémie de COVID-19, qui a soudainement perturbé la vie des communautés et des personnes à travers le monde, a non seulement mis en lumière les problèmes sociaux et les inégalités, mais les a également exacerbés. Pour les entrepreneurs de la péninsule Great Northern de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, les luttes récentes sont étroitement liées à une histoire complexe dans une province et une région qui avaient déjà fait face à des difficultés économiques. Cet article examine les défis auxquels sont confrontés les entrepreneurs ruraux de cette région en raison de la pandémie de COVID 19 et explore comment un pôle d'entreprises numériques peut aider à atténuer ces défis. La recherche qui supporte cet article a suivi une conception d'étude de cas à méthode mixte via une recherche-action participative (RAP) et une enquête. L'étude découvre comment les entrepreneurs de la péninsule Great Northern de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador pensent que les pôles d'entreprises pourraient les aider à faire face aux défis et à favoriser le capital social pendant et après la pandémie de COVID-19. L'étude visait également à mettre en oeuvre le modèle de pôle d'entreprises dans la péninsule, tout en réalisant un projet de recherche qui évaluait les avantages potentiels à long terme tels que perçus par les membres de la communauté existante. Informés par les concepts de capital social et d'intégration, les résultats de la recherche indiquent que la pandémie a exposé un risque pour les entrepreneurs locaux de devenir trop intégrés dans leurs communautés locales, ce qui est encore exacerbé par leur manque de connectivité avec les réseaux en dehors de leurs communautés. Nous soutenons que les pôles d'entreprises peuvent constituer un capital social local pour aider à tirer parti des opportunités présentées par la pandémie de COVID-19 et peuvent être un moyen de mieux rétablir les réseaux d'entreprises prospères qui existaient avant la pandémie.


Mots-clés : entrepreneuriat, rural, pôles d'entreprises, COVID-19, réseautage

Author Biographies

Mery Angeles Perez, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Grenfell Campus

Dr. Mery Perez is an adjunct professor at the school of science and the environment, at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus. She is also the coordinator of the Center for Research and Innovation. Dr. Perez completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in public engagement at Grenfell Campus with Dr. Garrett Richards and Kelly Vodden at Grenfell Campus. She holds a PhD in Rural Studies from the University of Guelph with a focus on community capacity building and development through creativity. In her master’s and doctoral programs, her research focused on the role of the arts, particularly music, in capacity development, community building, and social and environmental change in Canada and in Latin America. Her research interests include the relationship between environmental governance and community development, rural innovation and entrepreneurship, and the role of Indigenous and rural communities in sustainability.

Roshayne Mendis, School of Science and the Environment

PhD student.

William Newell, School of Arts and Social Science

Assistant Professor of Business, Grenfell Campus, Memorial University

Downloads

Published

2022-02-03

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 4 (2021): COVID-19 and Rural Canada: Rural Impacts and Resilience

Section

Articles

License

Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings.