This study seeks to improve the understanding of Indigenous Enterprise Development (IED) efforts undertaken on communal Indigenous land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Success in enterprise may support the achievement of a range of social, political and economic objectives for Indigenous peoples. The thesis offers a contribution to knowledge and literature on IED by bringing understanding to the meaning of success for Indigenous enterprise, identifying those factors that contribute to its success as well as presenting the barriers that prevent it. This study is the most recent rigorous scholarly work of IED on Indigenous land in the Northern Territory. The focus of this research is on Indigenous commercial enterprise development at a communal and individual level. Indigenous enterprise development is said to be different from other forms of enterprise development because of the legal rights of Indigenous peoples and because of particular cultural attributes, such as different perceptions of property rights in the Indigenous context and an emphasis on values like collectivism and sharing. These differences are found to shape notions of success and approaches to development. The research reviews literature in the international and domestic context on Indigenous economic development and Indigenous entrepreneurship. It also draws from internal and external documents of relevant institutions and news sources. These sources and findings are then built upon with fifty six in-depth, face-to-face interviews of selected participants who are experts or opinion leaders on IED in the region. These participants represented a variety of interest groups such as the government, academia, the Indigenous community and businesses from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures in the Northern Territory. This study used a qualitative research approach for data collection and analysis. The researcher utilized a qualitative data analysis method, including the reporting of field notes, preparation of field notes into transcripts, coding of data, display of data, the development of conclusions, and creation of a report. This study identified five categories of barriers to successful enterprise development on Indigenous land in the Northern Territory. These barriers are: high levels of conflict and mistrust, socio-cultural norms and values that can work against success, a lack of human capital, a poor institutional framework and economic and structural factors. There were four categories of factors found that support the development of successful Indigenous enterprise: developing business acumen, integrating culture within the enterprise, separating business from community politics and greater independence from government. While definitions of success varied across the region there were common objectives for Indigenous enterprise, such as eliminating welfare dependency and maintaining a link to land. Ultimately, success for Indigenous enterprise was deemed to be business survival, but in ways that are congruent with each Indigenous community?s values. The findings in this research emphasize that certain cultural attributes may act to constrain successful enterprise development, but can be integrated into an enterprise through changes in enterprise structure, or practice, to support successful economic outcomes. The research also emphasizes the importance of institutional settings on human capital and successful enterprise development in the region. This study?s findings can potentially guide and inform further research in this field. The research develops a number of policy recommendations which offer potential support to policymakers in addressing the important social problem of Indigenous disadvantage through enterprise development initiatives. / This study seeks to improve the understanding of Indigenous Enterprise Development (IED) efforts undertaken on communal Indigenous land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Success in enterprise may support the achievement of a range of social, political and economic objectives for Indigenous peoples. The thesis offers a contribution to knowledge and literature on IED by bringing understanding to the meaning of success for Indigenous enterprise, identifying those factors that contribute to its success as well as presenting the barriers that prevent it. This study is the most recent rigorous scholarly work of IED on Indigenous land in the Northern Territory. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2008
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/285343 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Nikolakis, William |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | EN-AUS |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright 2008 William Nikolakis |
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