Page - 279 - in Digital Entrepreneurship - Impact on Business and Society

males dominate positions of power; so,whiteness andmasculinity form the “ideal” entrepreneurial type and consider to be intangible resources to entrepreneurial legitimacy (Ahl 2006). The role of social capital refers to the degree towhichmembers of society trust other members, also known as the level of generalized trust (Inglehart 1999; Put- nam 1993). Prior studies have shown that trust plays an important role in a country’s economicactivity (KnackandKeefer1997).The lackofgeneralized trust implies that individuals and organizations depend on informal networks that are centered on more specific trust, such as family ties. When applied to digital entrepreneurship, market e-readiness refers to the company’s, customers’ and suppliers’ willingness to conduct business electronically. Supporting industries e-readiness consists of the assessment of the development level and cost of support-giving institutions such as IT, telecommunications, and financial ones, whose activitiesmight influence e-commerceadoptionand initiatives indeveloping countries. Hence, trusting a business partner through an e-platformmay be a sig- nificant factor affecting digital entrepreneurship in developing countries. For example, given that the level of corruption in developing countries is high, people often questionwhether a business is reliable, safe to dealwith, orwill accomplish the task given at hand. Trust is built upon “long-term experience of social orga- nization, anchored in historical and cultural experiences.” (Rothstein and Stolle 2008,p. 311).This especially applies todevelopingeconomies,wherecorruption is prevalent and has consequences on the trust of the government, in business, and in society.Prior studieshave founddiscrepancies in the levelof trust andcorruption in developing economies. From the digital entrepreneurship perspective, instead of being a neutral spacewhere all stereotypes differences, or labels are eradicated, the online environment shows to be reflecting social inequalities among aspiring entrepreneurs. Therefore, citizens might find it difficult to trust the validity and fairness of systems in society. Additionally, the importance of social and human capital gathered in previous higher status employment challenges the idea that just about “anyone” can start a credible online business withminimal investment. 3 Cases and Expert Opinion Below, we present two cases and an expert opinion, which exemplify how embeddedness in a developing context affects the obstacles and opportunities encountered by digital entrepreneurs. The expert opinion provides a wider per- spective as our expert hasmore than ten years of experienceworkingwith digital entrepreneurs across the Middle East. Furthermore, the two cases, that we pur- posefully choose, exhibit the situation of a large business as well as a small busi- ness. This allows to show a holistic perspective on the various challenges and opportunities that digital entrepreneurs can face when operating in developing contexts. 288 G. Samara and J. Terzian