Consumer entrepreneurship and cultural innovation: The case of GinO12

Although the literature on consumer (or user) entrepreneurship is flourishing, research has focused on sources of product innovation as a driver of consumer entrepreneurial venture establishment and overlooked sources of cultural innovation. By drawing on the theory of cultural innovation, this paper provides a case study on the emergence and rise of a recently established consumer entrepreneurial venture that stands out in the local competitive arena for the cultural positioning that it pursues. Findings drawn from a two-year longitudinal case study combining longitudinal case analysis with enactive research shed light on how consumers can recognize the existence of a cultural opportunity, craft a cultural strategy and structure a firm to exploit this opportunity commercially. The study provides a theoretical and empirical elaboration to link the literature of consumer entrepreneurship with the theory of cultural innovation.