Mark Azavedo
My research began from a simple fascination with Enterprise, actually something more like evangelism, particularly related to small businesses in general and start-ups in particular. Many years back I became involved in arranging schools conferences for a charity that aimed for young people to Understand Industry, including Entrepreneurship.
As a researcher I have studied consumer motivations in attending farmers' markets along with vendor motivations in attending farmers’ markets, both sides of a market-making process that seems anything but purely transactional, as Classical Economics has suggested. This work has also cast doubts on elements of Supply Chain theory. The farmers’ markets cut out “middle-men” but, arguably, prices have gone up. Such occurs when supposed “non-transaction” elements, social elements, are introduced, as happens when farmer and customer are closely proximate, indeed, face-to-face. All this research was undertaken in Australia.
However, I also determined to breakaway from considering producers purely through the prism of their marketing approach. Again in Australia artisanal food producers in general, randomly chosen, but now qualitative research, have been interviewed around their motivations in setting up their businesses and their motivations in continuing them. Concurrently with the research in Australia those same questions have been asked of artisanal food producers in Thailand, a country never before considered within the terms of what has innately been taken to be a Western development, even a developing Food Movement. Interestingly at the most basic level approaches in Australia and Thailand are similar, meaning most participants are self-orientated. Drilling down a veritable pot pourri of motivations has been found, especially in Thailand where some motivations are particularly associated with overseas expatriates or returnee Thais. More research could be done on this. Also research could be done in locating timelines for a movement from self-concern to community orientation, there being preliminary indications that that occurs.
Research has continued in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, now focused in entrepreneurship in speciality coffee and again looking at shortening supply chains. Again shortened supply chains in Thailand see increased, not reduced prices. To explain this one needs to look at quality and value. On entrepreneurship I have been finding entrepreneurs uninterested in maximising profit or income, but concerned to develop their craft skills, inform and educate others. I have been developing the notion of specifically craft entrepreneurship.
As a researcher I have studied consumer motivations in attending farmers' markets along with vendor motivations in attending farmers’ markets, both sides of a market-making process that seems anything but purely transactional, as Classical Economics has suggested. This work has also cast doubts on elements of Supply Chain theory. The farmers’ markets cut out “middle-men” but, arguably, prices have gone up. Such occurs when supposed “non-transaction” elements, social elements, are introduced, as happens when farmer and customer are closely proximate, indeed, face-to-face. All this research was undertaken in Australia.
However, I also determined to breakaway from considering producers purely through the prism of their marketing approach. Again in Australia artisanal food producers in general, randomly chosen, but now qualitative research, have been interviewed around their motivations in setting up their businesses and their motivations in continuing them. Concurrently with the research in Australia those same questions have been asked of artisanal food producers in Thailand, a country never before considered within the terms of what has innately been taken to be a Western development, even a developing Food Movement. Interestingly at the most basic level approaches in Australia and Thailand are similar, meaning most participants are self-orientated. Drilling down a veritable pot pourri of motivations has been found, especially in Thailand where some motivations are particularly associated with overseas expatriates or returnee Thais. More research could be done on this. Also research could be done in locating timelines for a movement from self-concern to community orientation, there being preliminary indications that that occurs.
Research has continued in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, now focused in entrepreneurship in speciality coffee and again looking at shortening supply chains. Again shortened supply chains in Thailand see increased, not reduced prices. To explain this one needs to look at quality and value. On entrepreneurship I have been finding entrepreneurs uninterested in maximising profit or income, but concerned to develop their craft skills, inform and educate others. I have been developing the notion of specifically craft entrepreneurship.
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Papers by Mark Azavedo
Bangkok, Thailand and Penang, Malaysia. It addresses the research questions of
what are the motivations and attitudes of small, entrepreneurial, speciality coffee
business owners in both countries. Methodology: The study’s methodology was
interview-based qualitative data gathering with no pre-determined hypotheses.
Interviews were semi-structured. Questions considered motivations and attitudes
variously but particular points of focus were passion and creativity. Analysis was
through thematic content analysis. Findings: The main findings were that participants
considered themselves to be passionate and creative, wanted to educate about coffee
(the primary finding) and have no expectation and little hope of becoming wealthy
through their coffee enterprises. Their focus was on other elements of happiness than
money. It transpired that their passion was not an entrepreneurial passion, financially
driven, but a passion for craft skills and production, and attendant lifestyles that
were simply not concerned about income maximisation. Implications for theory and
practice: It presents a potential view of entrepreneurship at major variance with the
views of classical economics. Few entrepreneurs interviewed saw their businesses
as having potential for wealth creation. Concerns to maximise income or profit
were not prevalent. These were not the financially driven entrepreneurs of classical
economics. Their focus was on their craft and its skills. All understanding of the
mindset of the small speciality coffee business owners and creators is an insight of
substantial practical importance, for instance, to those seeking to supply to them
and perhaps other similar small businesses, or to advise them, including Government
and Local Government advisory services. Originality and value:
The question set for this study had never been asked before, so the study is unique within the industry. Its value lies in two areas, the practical real world of business, as mentioned, and for future researchers in entrepreneurship. With these small businesses built from lifestyle concepts rather than classical economic concepts, notably of income or profit maximisation and scale appropriate to those, strong doubt is thrown on the validity of those classical economic views. An important value in this study is precisely that it drilled down and struck a plethora of motivations and attitudes informally held by entrepreneurs, people of a type that do not usually inform studies of entrepreneurship but may inform future researchers, particularly when reviewing the growing body of small artisanal and craft businesses.
Bangkok, Thailand and Penang, Malaysia. It addresses the research questions of
what are the motivations and attitudes of small, entrepreneurial, speciality coffee
business owners in both countries. Methodology: The study’s methodology was
interview-based qualitative data gathering with no pre-determined hypotheses.
Interviews were semi-structured. Questions considered motivations and attitudes
variously but particular points of focus were passion and creativity. Analysis was
through thematic content analysis. Findings: The main findings were that participants
considered themselves to be passionate and creative, wanted to educate about coffee
(the primary finding) and have no expectation and little hope of becoming wealthy
through their coffee enterprises. Their focus was on other elements of happiness than
money. It transpired that their passion was not an entrepreneurial passion, financially
driven, but a passion for craft skills and production, and attendant lifestyles that
were simply not concerned about income maximisation. Implications for theory and
practice: It presents a potential view of entrepreneurship at major variance with the
views of classical economics. Few entrepreneurs interviewed saw their businesses
as having potential for wealth creation. Concerns to maximise income or profit
were not prevalent. These were not the financially driven entrepreneurs of classical
economics. Their focus was on their craft and its skills. All understanding of the
mindset of the small speciality coffee business owners and creators is an insight of
substantial practical importance, for instance, to those seeking to supply to them
and perhaps other similar small businesses, or to advise them, including Government
and Local Government advisory services. Originality and value:
The question set for this study had never been asked before, so the study is unique within the industry. Its value lies in two areas, the practical real world of business, as mentioned, and for future researchers in entrepreneurship. With these small businesses built from lifestyle concepts rather than classical economic concepts, notably of income or profit maximisation and scale appropriate to those, strong doubt is thrown on the validity of those classical economic views. An important value in this study is precisely that it drilled down and struck a plethora of motivations and attitudes informally held by entrepreneurs, people of a type that do not usually inform studies of entrepreneurship but may inform future researchers, particularly when reviewing the growing body of small artisanal and craft businesses.