Proceedings of 8th Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference
9 - 10 February 2015, Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ISBN: 978-1-922069-71-9
Role of Social Networks on Entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan
Ugur Choban, Yessengali Oskenbayev, Aini Aman and Wan Mouhtar Wan
Youssuf
It is widely accepted that social network capital stands for a key resource for new venture
creation, entrepreneurial survival and growth. Current study assumes that social networks are
shaped by culture-specific norms and their impact on entrepreneurial activities is unique.
Majority of the studies have been conducted in China and Russia, but less is available in
different cultural settings. Therefore, Kazakhstan was emphasized as a field for research since
social networks in Central Asian countries comprise nomadic, Islamic and Turkic norms. The
study was conducted in Almaty, Kazakhstan via semi-structured interviews covering 12 SME
owner/managers and chief executive of a business association (KATIAD) between JanuaryApril 2014. Socio-cultural structure of the country has been summarized and then the role of
social networks on entrepreneurial activities has been investigated. Study concludes that
normative institutional transformation is lagging behind regulative reforms. Findings of the study
supports the pecking order theory of finance. However, sequential preferences over financial
sources are not totally in agreement with previous literature. Limitations of the study, directions
for future research and other related issues are discussed throughout the study.
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Ugur Choban, PhD Student GSB/UKM Malaysia and Senior Lecturer at SDU Kazakhstan
Yessengali Oskenbayev, PhD Student at University of Bonn, Senior Lecturer at SDU Kazakhstan
Assoc Prof. Dr. Aini Aman, UKM Malaysia
Prof. Dr. Wan Mouhtar Wan Youssuf UKM Malaysia