Entrepreneurial efforts and resource reconfiguration in micro-sized firms : a case study of farms building new business platforms

This study explores resources and entrepreneurial activities critical to farmers engaged in new business venture. It builds upon theo¬retical streams from the resource based view (RBV), and the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) perspective. An explorative case study of three farm businesses engaged in new value added projects were undertaken through farm visits and in-depth interviews with the owner/manager. The farm firms display both similarities and differ-ences in the way they have approached developing their new ventures. All cases rest on exter-nal knowledge in setting up the business and in product development, but differ in the way they have integrated the new knowledge. A common feature is also a perceived vagueness on competitive strategy. The analysis indicates that farm specific resources, personal networks, financial resources, entrepreneurial orientation, as well as learning and integration of new re-sources, have been important for developing the new ventures.