Local Entrepreneurship: A Development Model Based on Community Interaction Field Theory

Local entrepreneurship shows great potential as an economic development strategy for rural communities with stagnating or declining economies. However, nascent entrepreneurs often lack knowledge of ways to actualize their ideas, and communities often lack the social infrastructure to help entrepreneurs achieve success. Educational programs supporting entrepreneurship can play a vital role in rural community economic development. The Nebraska Enhancing, Developing and Growing Entrepreneurs (EDGE) educational program is community based, with organizing principles derived primarily from community interaction field theory. More than 1,600 nascent and active entrepreneurs have participated in EDGE since 1993. The authors draw on community interaction field theory and eight community case studies to explore an action model for delivery of an educational program of locality-based entrepreneurship. The EDGE model has implications for the delivery of long-range community development programs.