Doctoral Dissertation Research: Synergy, Crowding out, and Small Business: Linking Macro, Meso, and Micro Networks

小企业为资源有限的个人提供了一种谋生手段，它们为城市经济的多样化做出了贡献，但这些企业的生命周期通常很短，大多数企业的持续时间不超过5年。因此，为了竞争和生存，企业主依靠许多支持来源，例如他们的个人网络，而政府也通过政策和计划提供支持。本文探讨了网络、政策和项目之间的相互作用。一种观点认为，外部政策和项目的支持取代了私人网络提供的支持，而另一种理论认为，它们实际上刺激了私人支持，即这种关系是协同的。本研究承认这两种动态都是可能的，并着重于探索通过协同联系建立的渠道。这些渠道可以包括基层组织和商业团体。这项研究的地点包括两个全球性城市：新加坡和巴西的圣保罗。新加坡提供了一个理想的案例研究，因为它有强大的政策和项目传统，与基层密切合作，而圣保罗提供了一个有用的比较，以说明一个积极的外部支持较少嵌入的系统。主要数据将通过对企业主、社区领袖和政策官员的一系列定性访谈、对企业主的调查和参与者观察来收集，以获得民族志观点。议会辩论和政策报告的笔录将为分析提供历史和当代的视角。本文的三大理论流派是：社会网络分析、新制度主义和协同理论。总之，这些理论阐明了小企业运作的背景，但它们也暴露了对私人网络与外部政策和计划之间的协同关系如何运作的进一步研究的必要性。本研究的创新之处在于考察了社会中桥梁机构的作用，在这种情况下，政策支持与现有的私人网络联系在一起，以优化小企业的成功。这项研究旨在扩大我们对公私关系的认识。更广泛的影响在世界各国，小企业越来越被视为经济发展的引擎。该研究旨在通过确定过渡性机构和阐述其联系机制，为支持小企业的有效渠道提供政策信息，并为当前关于国家与社会的理论提供经验，特别是阐述中间群体如何促进政府、市场和社会网络之间的共生关系。这项研究还将包括妇女和移民的组织战略。研究结果将发表在学术期刊和政策报告上，以加强这一研究和发展领域的研究、教学和理解。这对大学课程教材的开发也具有不可估量的价值。

SES-1335418PI: Lingxin HaoCo-PI: Nazish ZafarJohns Hopkins UniversitySmall businesses provide a means for individuals with limited resources to earn a living and they contribute toward the versatility of urban economies, but these businesses typically have a short life cycle and the majority do not last more than 5 years. Therefore, to compete and survive, business owners rely on numerous sources of support such as their personal networks while governments also offer support through policies and programs. This dissertation examines the interaction between networks, policies, and programs. One school of thought claims that support from the external policies and programs displaces the support provided by private networks, while another theory claims that they actually stimulates private support, i.e. the relationship is synergistic. This study acknowledges that both dynamics are possible, and focuses on exploring the channels through which the synergistic connections are made. These channels could include grassroots organizations and business groups. The sites for this study include two global cities: Singapore and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Singapore provides an ideal case study as there is a strong tradition of policies and programs working closely with the grassroots whilst Sao Paulo provides a useful comparative to illustrate a system in which active external support is less embedded. Primary data will be collected through a series of qualitative interviews with business owners, community leaders, and policy officials, surveys with the business owners, and participant observation to acquire an ethnographic perspective. Transcripts from parliamentary debates and policy reports will provide a historical and contemporary perspective for the analysis. Three major theoretical streams inform this dissertation: social network analysis, new institutionalism, and the synergy thesis. Together, these theories illuminate the context in which small businesses operate, but they also expose the need for further research on how synergistic relations might operate between private networks and the external policies and programs. The innovation in this research is to examine the role of bridging institutions in society where support from policy links with existent private networks to optimize the success of small businesses. This research seeks to expand our knowledge on the public-private nexus.Broader ImpactsSmall businesses are increasingly framed as an engine of economic development in countries around the world. The research aims to inform policy on effective channels for supporting small businesses by identifying bridging institutions and elaborating on their linking mechanisms, as well as provide empirical flesh to current theories on state and society, specifically, elaborating on how intermediate groups facilitate symbiosis between governments, markets, and social networks. This study will also include the organizational strategies of women and immigrants. The findings will be published in academic journals as well as policy reports to bolster research, teaching, and understanding in this field of research and development. It will also be invaluable for the development of course material for teaching university courses.