Entrepreneurship and its meanings for low-income women in Aotearoa : a culture-centred approach : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Organisational Communication at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

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dc.confidentialEmbargo : No
dc.contributor.advisorDutta, Mohan
dc.contributor.authorZorn, Andrea
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-24T00:57:08Z
dc.date.available2024-01-24T00:57:08Z
dc.date.issued2022-12-31
dc.description.abstractMeaningful work has been associated with positive large-scale outcomes such as life satisfaction and overall well-being, along with workplace-specific outcomes like job satisfaction and engagement. Despite growing interest in the field of organisational communication, few studies have examined the constructs of work meaning and meaningfulness in low-income settings. There are also relatively few studies in organisational communication focussed on the context of entrepreneurship. This research employs the culture-centred approach (CCA) metatheoretical framework with the specific aim of creating space for voices from impoverished, marginalised, and subaltern communities due to their erasure in post-colonial landscapes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-five women at various stages of their business to identify emergent needs, uncover work meanings, recognise wider influences on those meanings, and pinpoint if meaningful work could occur in impoverished contexts. Using grounded theory analysis, three interrelated meanings emerged for low-income women when thinking of their work: beneficent service, identity affirmation, and a sense of accomplishment with costs. The analysis also revealed how women’s experiences in organisational employment, contact with support workers, and wider societal discourses shaped the meaning(s) of their entrepreneurial work. This thesis draws from the CCA’s concepts of culture, structure, and agency in offering a theoretical model of transformative well-being for low-income entrepreneurs as well as practical implications for greater research impact.
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/69328
dc.publisherMassey Universityen
dc.rightsThe Authoren
dc.subjectorganisational communication
dc.subjectmeaning of work
dc.subjectmeaningful work
dc.subjectentrepreneurship
dc.subjectgender
dc.subjectagency
dc.subjectpoverty
dc.subject.anzsrc350507 Workplace wellbeing and quality of working lifeen
dc.subject.anzsrc350704 Entrepreneurshipen
dc.titleEntrepreneurship and its meanings for low-income women in Aotearoa : a culture-centred approach : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Organisational Communication at Massey University, Albany, New Zealanden
thesis.degree.disciplineOrganisational communication
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy
thesis.description.doctoral-citation-abridgedMs Zorn interviewed marginalised women entrepreneurs in Aotearoa using the Culture-Centred Approach metatheoretical framework to create space for marginalised voices, understand work meaning/fulness in low-income contexts, and challenge structures that perpetuate inequity. The findings revealed interrelated meanings women held for their work and offered a theoretical model of transformative well-being for low-income entrepreneurs to enhance the possibility of meaningful work.
thesis.description.doctoral-citation-longDespite growing interest in ‘meaning/ful work’ within the field of organisational communication, low-income workforces remain understudied, leading to criticisms questioning the cultural relevance of potentially elitist constructs. Ms Zorn explored women’s entrepreneurship in Aotearoa using the Culture-Centred Approach (CCA) metatheoretical framework to create space for marginalised voices, understand work meaning/fulness in low-income contexts, and challenge structures that perpetuate inequity. Through twenty-five interviews, three interrelated meanings emerged for women when thinking of their work: beneficent service, identity affirmation, and accomplishment with costs. This research presents a theoretical model of transformative well-being for low-income entrepreneurs using the CCA’s concepts of culture, structure, and agency.
thesis.description.name-pronounciationAHN DRE AH ZORN
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