The field of entrepreneurship and Bourdieu’s theory of practice: an investigation into the context of entrepreneurship

This article is concerned with developing further understanding of the context of entrepreneurship in two cities in the U.K. – Kingston Upon Hull (Hull) and Liverpool. Through the utilisation of Bourdieu’s theory of practice, and the Bourdieusian view of the field, it was found that there are active fields of entrepreneurship in both Hull and Liverpool, in which agents are taking part in entrepreneurial activities; they also perceive the availability of large amounts of social capital which contributes to positive agent based perceptions of entrepreneurial illusio (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992, p. 116) linked to the field, and also once agents become active in the field they experience positive entrepreneurial habitus (Bourdieu & Johnson, 1993, p. 5). In Hull the influence of the field is quite narrow, so agents that may be thinking about taking part in entrepreneurial activity may not always be captured within the influence of the field, equally field based influence is not emanating from a wide range of sources. Agents and organisations within the field of entrepreneurship in Hull may have recognised the narrow sources of influence in the field, as they are conducting homological (Bourdieu, 2010, p. 240) activity to strengthen the field. In Liverpool the influence of the field, and the places that the field are emanating from are quite wide, with agents able to experience positive habitus (Bourdieu, 1990) linked to the field in a number of ways, indeed some geographical areas of the city are associated with positive entrepreneurial outcomes. There is widely perceived positive illusio linked to entrepreneurship, and there is evidence of a “self-help” doxa (Bourdieu, 1990, p. 64) which is helping to strengthen the field of entrepreneurship in the city. There is evidence of an “autonominizing” (Bourdieu & Johnson, 1993, p. 63) effect in the field of entrepreneurship in Liverpool, in which the field is attracting agents to join it, agents are experiencing success in the field, other agents are seeing this perceived success and so want to join the field, and this is strengthening and broadening the field of entrepreneurial practice in Liverpool.