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Rural B&B entrepreneurs’ lifestyle pursuits and rural resilience

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper explores how rural entrepreneurial activities can bring sustainable solutions to rural villages based on entrepreneurs’ lifestyle pursuits in their business activities. It further examines the relationship between lifestyle pursuits and their impacts on sustainable rural development. Scholars have discussed “lifestyle entrepreneurs” who hold rural areas’ quality of life as a priority, distinguishing these individuals from more business-oriented entrepreneurs who focus on economic profits. This study argues that all rural entrepreneurs in fact favor lifestyle pursuits to a certain extent in terms of rural businesses. In addition, different types of lifestyles shape entrepreneurs’ contributions to rural resilience. Constructivist grounded theory was applied to conduct three rounds of in-depth interviews with 28 rural bed-and-breakfast entrepreneurs in Zhejiang, China, between 2020 and 2022. The resultant framework outlines six types of lifestyles characteristic of these rural entrepreneurs. Findings indicate that “gregarious” and “hedonistic” lifestyles can optimally contribute to both rural resilience and business sustainability .

Source: International Journal of Hospitality Management

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103920

Authors: Lisen Lin, Mimi Li, Yi Wang, Yangyang Jiang, Fei Zhu

Institutions: University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Language: English

Topic: Rural development and sustainability

Subfield: General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, No poverty

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,980