The Hidden Enterprise Culture: Entrepreneurship in the Underground EconomyEdward Elgar, 2006 - 263 pages Portraying how entrepreneurs often start out conducting some or all of their trade on an 'off-the-books' basis and how many continue to do so once they become established, this book provides the first detailed account of the vast and ubiquitous hidden enterprise culture existing in the interstices of western economies. Until now, the role of the underground economy in enterprise creation, entrepreneurship and small business development has been largely ignored despite its widespread prevalence and importance. In contrast to much of the previous literature that views the underground economy as low-paid, exploitative sweatshop work that should be deterred, this book takes a fresh, more positive perspective that considers the underground economy as a hidden enterprise culture. Colin C. Williams prescribes the means by which western governments can best harness this hidden culture of enterprise. He outlines detailed policy initiatives that seek to assist business ventures in setting up on a formal footing, and aim to encourage underground enterprises and entrepreneurs to make the transition into the realm of legitimacy. This book provides a lucid guide as to how the hidden culture of enterprise can be brought into the open. As such, it will prove invaluable to a wide-ranging audience including scholars and students of business studies, entrepreneurship, management, economics and regional science. |
From inside the book
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... basis while in other contexts they are not , their assumptions might be incorrect . Goods acquired in formal retail outlets , for example , may not only have been produced on an underground basis but may even be sold in such a manner ...
... basis , or registered self - employed conducting a portion of their trade off - the - books in a serial and on- going manner as a means of ' getting by ' . Usually , underground trading is heavily embedded in their working practices ...
... basis . He made his profit on the units , not their labour . By employing the labour on an off - the - books basis , however , he could give the customer a more competitive rate than they would otherwise receive formally . For the ...