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SME policy implementation as a relational challenge

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  • Miira Niska
  • Kari Mikko Vesala

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between actors, who implement the small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) policy, and entrepreneurs, who are the targets of the policy, by focusing on the question who is serving whose interests . The paper presents a case study conducted in one of the sub-regions in Finland. The data include individual interviews with 10 policy implementers and 19 small business entrepreneurs and two group discussions. The data are approached from the perspectives of discourse analysis and positioning theory. The results are further interpreted in terms of agent--principal relations. The results indicate that one relational challenge faced in the implementation of the SME policy is the proxy agency , in which both policy implementers and entrepreneurs position themselves as the principal and the other party as their agent. The proxy agency can be viewed as an interactional pitfall caused by the incompatible discourses of entrepreneurs and policy actors and the actor positions constructed with these discourses. Besides addressing the relational problems enabled by certain individual discourses, the paper also demonstrates how there is also a need to address the potential conflict that stems from the collision between discourses.

Suggested Citation

  • Miira Niska & Kari Mikko Vesala, 2013. "SME policy implementation as a relational challenge," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(5-6), pages 521-540, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:entreg:v:25:y:2013:i:5-6:p:521-540
    DOI: 10.1080/08985626.2013.798354
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David B. Audretsch & Isabel Grilo & A. Roy Thurik (ed.), 2007. "Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship Policy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3856.
    2. Simon Bridge, 2010. "Rethinking Enterprise Policy," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-28983-3, December.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Renata Lisowska, 2016. "The Potential of Business Environment Institutions and the Support for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 4(3), pages 85-101.
    3. Virva Salmivaara & Ewald Kibler, 2020. "“Rhetoric Mix†of Argumentations: How Policy Rhetoric Conveys Meaning of Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(4), pages 700-732, July.

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