A study of Aotearoa New Zealand enterprises: how different are Indigenous enterprises?

Abstract

Indigenous literature suggests Māori businesses are distinct within Aotearoa New Zealand, due to facing unique challenges and having different operating preferences. It could also be argued that Māori and non-Māori enterprises in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors are identical as a function of operating in similar markets. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence, and the present article rectifies this with a study of 230 Aotearoa enterprises, including 24 Māori. We test differences and find Māori enterprises report higher cultural capital, which relates to employees' knowledge and skills towards working with and respecting cultural values. However, we find no differences across human capital, relational capital, entrepreneurial culture, and organisational performance. The findings suggest that apart from a culturally specific factor, Māori and non-Māori enterprises appear to be similarly enabled, which provides a useful benchmark for understanding Māori business. We discuss the implications for research.