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There Is No Free Lunch: The Cost of Informal Networking for Entrepreneurs in Southeast Europe

Ledeneva, Alena; Efendic, Adnan; (2022) There Is No Free Lunch: The Cost of Informal Networking for Entrepreneurs in Southeast Europe. Europe-Asia Studies 10.1080/09668136.2022.2131739. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

This article investigates informal networks of entrepreneurs in Southeast Europe. Informal networks are defined as based on trust relationships and used for seeking competitive advantage in business. We assess the costs of informal networks, including their non-monetary and monetary components, on the basis of in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized business in the region. The evidence points to an ambivalence towards informal networks, perceived to be both affective and instrumental, and the prevalence of double standards. Informal networks are welcome when they help but resented when they help others, thus reproducing the pressure of maintaining informal networks.

Type: Article
Title: There Is No Free Lunch: The Cost of Informal Networking for Entrepreneurs in Southeast Europe
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1080/09668136.2022.2131739
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2022.2131739
Language: English
Additional information: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > SSEES
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10129072
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