Conviviality and entrepreneurship: main results from a content analysis

Entrepreneurial communities are social units that share values, experiences, rituals and traditions. In these communities, conviviality represents a socialization tool, which can foster a sense of belonging through the development of interpersonal relations among its members. The aim of the paper is to explore conviviality in entrepreneurial communities, the effects it generates on social and business relations together with the related drivers. The methodology adopted includes both qualitative (in-depth interviews, case analysis) and quantitative (text mining) techniques. The empirical research is based on emblematic cases of Italian entrepreneurial communities from the textile-clothing industry, located in Italy and China. The paper shows that conviviality is a collective, ritual and formal phenomenon and an empathy based mutual trust is the strategic resource that conviviality produces in the social relations also within international entrepreneurial communities. The change of these relations into the business ones depends on its management.