Owner-manager/ entrepreneur’s networking activities in micro businesses in the food sector in Iceland

Abstract

This study examines how three Icelandic start-up micro businesses in food production use networking activities to enhance their generation of marketing resources. Following a review of existing knowledge on the subject in research and theoretical literature and supported by the author's experience of establishing and running such a company, knowledge was acquired through semi-open interviews with the owner-manager/ entrepreneurs of three micro businesses that have survived the period from being founded to establish a stable production and market position.As the literature on the subject had indicated, the interviewees proved to have acquired meaningful and decisive marketing resources for the companies' market capabilities through networking activities. What was surprising or noteworthy, however, was how decisive the entrepreneurs’ personal non-business relationships and communications were in providing these vital resources for their businesses. This apparently also applied to the resources they acquired from hard core trading partners.From this it can be concluded that, apart from everything else, these micro businesses owe their existence to the owner-manager/ entrepreneurs' high social competencies: a set of personal characteristics and social skills when it comes to building and maintaining relationships.