This thesis focuses on the realist life mode analysis, especially the independent life mode, and the empirical field of entrepreneurship – running a small firm. The aim is to broaden the general understanding for entrepreneurship to include non-capitalistic rationality through application and development of realist life mode analysis. The application of the analysis is done by studying different social phenomena within the field of entrepreneurship. The two phenomena in question are expansion of small firms and trust between an entrepreneur and an employee, and flexibility in small firms. The problem concerning this theoretical application has to do with showing how life mode analysis can be used to explain that entrepreneurship does not have to be about capitalism. The problem concerning theoretical development has to do with identifying social relations and mechanisms that constitute the everyday life of entrepreneurs. The study has been carried out as a qualitative interview study and it is based on the methodology of critical realism. Concerning expansion and trust between an entrepreneur and an employee, my study shows that as an expression of an entrepreneur’s socio centric life mode specific way to interpret reality trust can be an obstacle for employing extra labour-force outside the own firm. Trust can also be an obstacle for an existing relationship to function smoothly if the entrepreneur and the employee live different life modes. However, my study shows that trust can also function as a possible incitement for employment. My conclusion concerning flexibility is that the concept of flexibility, defined with a starting point in the capitalist principles of the economic market, is occasionally misused in literature. My structural perspective shows that not all small firms are driven by these motives powers. Capitalistic small firms do exist and are to be described as flexible, but not all small firms. The size of the firm conditions entrepreneurship in many ways but it does not condition the rationality. My study also shows that the independent life mode as described in the theory so far characterizes simple commodity production and not production of services. Structural changes seem to have resulted in two different life modes for independent entrepreneurs; a commodity specific independent life mode and a service specific independent life mode.

The present dissertation develops a specific theory about everyday life called realist life mode theory. This theory is based on critical realism and consists of "work", "love" and "life mode" as central concepts. The background of the theory is the Danish life mode analysis developed by Thomas Højrup in the 1980:s. The aim of the study is to develop the central clusters of concepts in the realist life mode theory - i. e. "work", "love", "life mode" in a theoretical way. These concepts are seen as clusters since other related concepts are developed in connection to the concepts mentioned above. In connection to work I also discuss the concepts of "labour power", "labour receptor", and "work form"; in relation to love, "love power", "love receptor" and "love form" are discussed. And "life mode" is connected with the concept of "everyday life" in a more exact way than before. The argument of this study is that realist life mode theory is about two fundamental types of dominance - personal dominance and structural dominance. "Personal dominance" is used synonymously with "ownership". "Structural dominance" is dominance between non-personal, non-conscious entities. Life mode theory is a theory about ownership surrounded by structural dominances both beneath the owning person (sub-personally), and above (socially). Personal dominance - ownership - is produced via two human and societal processes - work and love. Work is defined as doing and occuring in the sphere of necessity. In work there especially are possibilities for ownership of the material surroundings. Love is defined as doing and occuring in the sphere of freedom. In love humans produce each other as self-owned persons through transaction of love power. Both work and love has great emancipatory potentials, and this theme is discussed in the present study. But, unfortunately, really existing work and love practices are to a great extent exploitative. Labour power is exploited in capitalism, and love power in patriarchy. When it comes to structural dominance, this study focuses on the following dominances: The dominance of labour receptor over labour power in men´s working life; the dominance of love power over love receptor in women´s love life. The dominance of work over love in men´s everyday life; the dominance of love over work in women´s everyday life. And on a more social level we find the following dominances: in the male life modes the work form dominates the love form. In female life modes the love form dominates the work form. And finally, in society as a whole male life modes have dominance over female life modes. When the dominance between social structures is analyzed, a distinction is made between "dominance form" and "the substance of dominance".