Entrepreneurial Practices of Women Chefs in Istanbul's Food and Beverage Sector: An Actor-centered Analysis

Abstract

The entrepreneurial ecosystem approach has gained popularity in recent years. This approach views entrepreneurship as a process shaped by the interrelationships of actors, institutions, and resources. The literature mainly discusses the institutional arrangements and resources that constitute the ecosystem. However, questions regarding how entrepreneurs interact with these structural components and how these interactions transform the ecosystem remain secondary. Additionally, the effects that the gender dimension has on entrepreneurial ecosystems are often overlooked. This study aims to fill this gap by converging the entrepreneurial ecosystem literature with the agency perspective. It examines how entrepreneurs act under structural constraints by employing a gender and social status sensitive lens. Empirically, the study focuses on women chef-entrepreneurs in Istanbul's food and beverage sector. In this context, the study is designed in a qualitative fashion, comprising semi-structured in-depth interviews with 25 individuals from the sector. Our findings indicate that entrepreneurial women chefs differ in terms of social position, access to ecosystem resources, and relation with the patriarchal order in the sector. Two different forms of agency stand out: reactive and proactive. The former illustrates agents who have minimal access to resources and networks. These women chefs take action in face of constraints and progress through small-scale innovations. Thus, reactive agents have a limited impact on entrepreneurial ecosystems. The latter, in contrast, reflects women chefs who can anticipate future conditions, take strategic action, and mobilize resources. Proactive agents are therefore more capable of enabling innovative and transformative practices in the industry.