Postcolonial feminist analysis of high-technology entrepreneuring
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
ISSN: 1355-2554
Article publication date: 24 March 2014
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine identity formation and networking practices relevant for high-technology entrepreneuring or the enactment of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley by Turkish business people.
Design/methodology/approach
Guided by postcolonial feminist frameworks, the author conducted a combination of ethnographic and auto-ethnographic fieldwork at high-technology conferences in Silicon Valley by focussing on talk and text as relevant for understanding entrepreneuring. Through a reflexive stance, the author analyzed observations, conversations, and experiences inclusive of her own positionality during the research process as they related to entrepreneurial identity formation and networking.
Findings
During business networking conferences taking place among Turkish business people in Silicon Valley, women and older males became marginalized through the emergence of a hegemonic masculinity associated with young Turkish male entrepreneurs. In addition, local context impacted whether and how actors engaged in practices that produced marginalization and resistance simultaneously.
Originality/value
The research is of value for scholars interested in understanding how identity formation and networking in high-technology entrepreneuring take place through gendered practices and ideas. Scholars interested in deploying postcolonial feminist perspectives will also benefit by understanding how key analytic tools and research methods from these lenses can be used for conducting fieldwork in other contexts.
Keywords
Citation
Ozkazanc-Pan, B. (2014), "Postcolonial feminist analysis of high-technology entrepreneuring", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 155-172. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-12-2011-0195
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited