Paper short abstract

This short case study explores the business resources, activities and interfaces that connect and form a coastal group of independent UK shellfish micro-businesses. The aim is to explore the livelihoods of a group of independent UK shellfish micro-businesses.

Paper long abstract

This short case study explores the business resources, activities and interfaces that connect and form a coastal group of independent UK shellfish micro-businesses. Central to this investigation is the ethnomethodological approach adopted by the researcher. Employing qualitative research instruments the researcher causes the informants, as they become objects of observation in a field study situation to casually define their ordinary work routines. Subsequent to the field work the researcher translates accumulated notes into what could be termed a cultural description, contextually enhanced with photographic narrative to create a visual dimension (Banks & Morphy 1997). This aptly provides the researcher with an additional technique to test the validity of insider accounts. Observations about the way a focused independent group of businesses work together to sustain their livelihoods is reported from the point of view of the group being studied. The uniqueness of a Thames Estuary based group who work out of Leigh-on-sea in Essex is used to illustrate how these micro-businesses, who all need to operate within the same coastal zone conduct their daily, routine work. The overall aim here is to present an authoritative case study of a single field location as an output of ethnographic research in an attempt to discover how this community shape their lives and livelihoods. The ethnography is constructed from a thematically organised set of field notes, using concepts and language from the domain of business management.