Abstract
The transition to entrepreneurship is a complex process, and the study of which requires innovative adapted methods. The social sciences can help shed light on this process, considering in particular the social and technological contexts that are involved in these trajectories. In this chapter, we focus on the roles that personal networks of the entrepreneurs, combined with digital tools, play in accessing resources. We propose a precise scientific method to better understand the emergence of resources from personal networks along the entrepreneurial processes. Indeed, a very precise and longitudinal collection of personal network data allows to better shed light on the emergence of resources and opportunities during the entrepreneurial process, sometimes in unexpected pockets. This method is particularly powerful for considering relationship-based strategies for finding resources and opportunities, including when relationships are distributed across multiple geographical locations or are digitally mediated. Our network analysis relies on four dimensions: quality of alters (meeting context, similarity, diversity, etc.), of ties (strength, focus, emotional intensity, etc.), of whole network structure (density, modularity, centralization, etc.), and of alters’ positioning in the structure. Finally, we directly illustrate our propositions through the specific case study of a recruiter who started and managed to develop his activity on his own, as a digital nomad.
