Entrepreneurial marketing strategies, resources and social disadvantage: exploring the role of resources and minority status among US agrofood enterprises
Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship
ISSN: 1471-5201
Article publication date: 1 April 2024
Issue publication date: 8 August 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate associations between firm resources and reliance on entrepreneurial marketing (EM) channels among agrofood ventures. It accounts for agropreneur gender and racial/ethnic status in the context of marketing channel portfolio composition. The authors examine the established assumption that resource limitations drive EM and whether socially disadvantaged status of agropreneurs is associated with marketing strategy beyond standard resourcing measures.
Design/methodology/approach
Using 2015 Local Foods Marketing Practices Survey data, the authors apply linear regression to investigate differences in the use of EM channels, accounting for resources, social status and other factors.
Findings
Limited-resource ventures rely more on consumer-oriented channels that require EM practices. Socially disadvantaged entrepreneurs favor these channels, even when accounting for resources. Notably, ventures headed by men of color rely more on the most customer-centric local foods marketing channel.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should investigate how social and human capital influences the use of EM.
Practical implications
Entrepreneurial support policy and practice for agropreneurs should be cautious about the “double-burden” folk theorem of intersectional disadvantage and review how to best direct resources on EM to groups most likely to benefit.
Originality/value
This paper uses a unique, restricted, nation-wide, federal data set to examine relationships between resource endowments, social status and the composition of agrofood enterprises’ marketing channel portfolios. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first to include racial- and ethnic-minority status of agropreneurs and to account for intersectionality with gender.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: Work underlying this study was supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Awards MO00070950 and MICL08493) and from the McQuinn Endowments at the University of Missouri.
Data used for this work was made available to the research team by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. At no time did funding or data providers influence the methods, research questions or conclusions in this work. The views expressed in this work are those solely of the authors do not reflect those of the USDA. The authors wish to thank Dr Randall Westgren, McQuinn Chair of Entrepreneurial Leadership, University of Missouri, and a number of anonymous others for their comments on and support of this work.
Citation
Entsminger, J.S. and McGowan, L. (2024), "Entrepreneurial marketing strategies, resources and social disadvantage: exploring the role of resources and minority status among US agrofood enterprises", Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 459-484. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRME-03-2023-0033
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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