Entrepreneurs Networking in the Contemporary Mediterranean: Field Survey in a Catalan Coastal Town, Cambrils

This article discusses the role of entrepreneurs networking in the contemporary Mediterranean. The discussion focuses on small and medium-sized business, and presents empirical data from a field survey conducted in a Catalan coastal town, Cambrils. The town contains two historical nuclei: the Old Town and the Port. The origin of the former dates back to the 12th century, whereas the latter was a small fishing village until the international tourism transformed it into a thriving commercial district. The field survey in the two areas revealed the existence of several types of entrepreneurs networking. These are analysed as a response of business owners to the globalizing economy, particularly when the current crisis is affecting severely the social and urban fabric in the Mediterranean. The existence of two entrepreneurs association in Cambrils, the general merchants union (UBC) with a majority in the Port and the Old Town’s entrepreneurs association (VilaCentre), can be interpreted as bursting of an underlying antipathy among neighbourhoods, a classic form of socio-spacial cracking in the Mediterranean. While the Old Town’s business owners sell themselves as successors of the genuine traditional commerce, a growing importance of chained business was confirmed in the Port. Finally, some area based micro-associations are presented as a third way to resist and overcome the crisis. The article concludes claiming the social and human value of commercial activities, critically important for those integrated in a historical urban setting. Also, a positive role is attributed to the entrepreneurs living in and outside the neighbourhood, who makes a decisive contribution to hand over the city as a commons to the next generation.

The Mediterranean Studies Group Hitotsubashi University

2015

English(eng)

journal article

VoR

1343-9626

AN10091010

Mediterranean world = 地中海論集

22

65

77

22 (2015)

https://hdl.handle.net/10086/28565