Creating Copreneurial Identities. A phenomenological study of how copreneurs make sense of their lived experience of work and family life in copreneurial business

Abstract

The purpose of my research is to examine how copreneurial couples make sense of their lived experience of working in a copreneurial business and shape their mutual identity. The research context is copreneurs operating micro-businesses in the Greek leisure and tourism industry. Given the size of the tourism industry worldwide and the fact that many businesses within this sector are family-owned, this is an important area of inquiry. The aim is twofold: 1. To build theory in the field of entrepreneurship by focusing specifically on the undertheorized topic of how copreneurs understand and shape their identity and responsibilities within copreneurial businesses 2. To bring an under-utilized methodology to entrepreneurship studies, that of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA), as a means of enhancing the understanding of the lived experience of copreneurs. Drawing on phenomenological philosophy, IPA foregrounds the meanings research participants give to their experience and therefore offers rich interpretations from copreneurial couples While taking an idiographic approach, which focuses on the first-person experience of copreneurs in a particular context, the findings will resonate with other copreneurs. The contribution of this research therefore lies in advancing our understanding of copreneurship and familial entrepreneurship by elucidating the interrelationship between personal and business partnerships. The study makes visible the often invisible recursive links between paid work and family life for men and women