The inter-personal level deals with dyadic relationships with important relational partners such as spouse, individual family members and friends. At the interpersonal level, I detected
transformations of two types. In terms of the intrinsic, the informants were able to transform the way their relationship partners viewed them – particularly their efficacy/competence. In terms of the extrinsic, the informants were able to augment and exercise their interpersonal agency. I elaborate on both these themes in the following section.
3.4.4.1 Extrinsic Transformation: Augmenting Agency at the Inter-Personal Level
Interpersonal agency refers to the ability of attaining desired goals through relationship partners (Smith et al., 2000). Subsistence entrepreneurship was a way for many of the informants to augment their interpersonal agency. Since poverty is a condition that plagues the entire household, other members of the household are the most important relationship partners in the shared struggle for subsistence (Viswanathan et al., 2010a). I observed many instances in the data where informants harnessed the skills and resources of their relationship partners to attain valued outcomes. An example of this could be enlisting the support of the husband, who has greater physical mobility, to purchase inventory for the business or seeking the support of educated children in maintaining accounts.
Amudha, the bottled pickles seller, describes how she convinced her unwilling husband to assist her in her business. Although initially he was unwilling to contribute towards running her business, he gradually changed his mind after seeing that she was creating value for the household. Amudha’s words below speak to this point.
in the beginning he[my husband] was not willing to allow me to do business. But now since I have started earning money he says that he will also help me. He would get the pickles on Sunday of every week. And also once in a month he would get the coconut oil. He does not ask questions now. We are doing some expenses and also saving money for the kids, and I do all these things through earnings from my business.
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An undercurrent in Amudha’s case is the tacit shift in power disparity between the husband and the wife. Embedded in an entrenched patriarchal system, support on the part of the spouse cannot always be counted upon. This was indeed the case with many of the informants. As a contributing member of a struggling household, Amudha is gaining in importance within the household, which enables her to harness more of the household level relational resources. In subsistence contexts, where access to financial resources is severely limited, being able to mobilize interpersonal relationships is an important ingredient for success (Viswanathan et al., 2010a).
Interpersonal agency does not always entail harnessing of strengths from an interpersonal relationship. I learned from the informants that one important way of augmenting interpersonal agency is by limiting the deleterious impact of an interpersonal relationship. Consider the example of Karpagam, who sells flowers outside a temple. She relied on her husband for all her financial needs, which often left her with very little money in her hands to spend on her own terms. For her, the complete financial dependence on her husband was a constraining factor. Starting the flower business has granted her a semblance of financial autonomy. Curtailing the limiting potential of interpersonal relationships emerged as another important way of augmenting interpersonal agency. Karpagam shares her plight with me through the following words.
First I used to manage with the money he gives and it would be very difficult. And completing one month is very difficult and I have to depend on him for everything. But now I have money in my hand and I can spend money for my son also. And I am spending now
The quote above demonstrates the intertwined nature of exercising agentic action and transforming one’s own efficacy beliefs. For example, Karpagam’s ability to eke out a living transformed her belief in her own ability to care for her son.
I also observed in the informants a tendency to harness interpersonal resources in overcoming their own weaknesses or shortfalls. I noted this particularly in activity that requires high literacy levels. Many members in the sample depended on their children, who were likely to be more educated than them, to maintain accounts or maintain any sort of documentation that was necessary for the business. The following quotes from Keerthana illustrate how interpersonal relationships from important others are suitably harnessed in advancing one’s objectives.
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…and I have studied only till seventh standard only and I have lost so much of money unknowingly. My daughter goes to work in the morning 9.30 am itself. She will teach me calculation.
We don’t know how to write and so someone else would write and the names would be written by my daughter. And other accounts will be written by one brother. That brother came and taught us on how to maintain the accounts.
Informants also tapped into their interpersonal relationships to further their business. This was particularly the case when the business was in the initial stages. Kanta, who is a reseller of low-cost gold-plated jewellery, expanded into a new neighbourhood through her Aunt who lives there. She would sell her products to customers in those communities through her aunt and collect payments through her as well. I have observed this tendency to use trusted relationship partners as
spokespersons of one’s business widely in the data. The following quote from Kanta underscored this point.
Till now I have not done any advertising but my auntie’s house is in Ayanbakkam. I will go and give to her and she will sell there for me and collect the money. I will go there once a month and give her some jewels and collect the money.
Interpersonal relationships are known to be of critical importance in running subsistence enterprises (Viswanathan et al., 2012). The findings go a step further and suggest that subsistence entrepreneurship is one way of augmenting one’s interpersonal agency in subsistence contexts.
3.4.4.2 Intrinsic Transformation: What I think my relational partner believes about my efficacy The relationship partner’s belief in one’s efficacy is an important enabler of access to
resources contained in interpersonal relationships. Bandura (2001) observes that a socially mediated mode of agency relies heavily on perceived social efficacy of individuals. Stated in simple terms, the stronger the belief of a relationship partner in one’s capabilities, the more likely they are to act as proxies on one’s behalf.
By virtue of running a subsistence enterprise, women entrepreneurs experienced a change in their own views regarding what their relational partners believed about their efficacy. The relationship partners my informants spoke about often were spouses, children and other friends or family
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well-being enhanced the respect important family members placed in the entrepreneurs. I also observed instances where entrepreneurs felt that they were treated with more dignity. Consider the example of Kamala, whose daughter appreciates her mother’s constant struggle to improve her family’s condition. Simply put, women subsistence entrepreneurs gained in stature in the eyes of important relationship partners by taking definitive action in the face of adversity that plagues the entire family. The quote below offers a vivid example of this transformation and what it means for women entrepreneurs. Noteworthy here is the role of agency in bringing about the change in beliefs. Kamala believes that her daughter accords her more respect because her daughter is privy to her entrepreneurial actions.
And so I started this shop and my daughter is also satisfied that I am running a shop. She respects me for looking after her without the help of my husband. Even if we don’t have a male support she feels that mother is working hard to take care and she is proud and she is very happy now. And I feel that for that happiness it’s enough. That only is needed.
The increase in stature could also arise from the demonstrations of one’s capabilities. In the case of Amudha, her husband was always averse to her starting a business. But once he witnesses her showing competence and making instrumental contributions to the family, he shifted his stance towards her and offered more support as to her as a result. In the following quote Amudha describes in her own words this transformation.
No, there are no hindrances and even my husband is helping me. First he did not do and now after seeing he thinks that I am working hard [for the family] and so he also buys me things.
The shift in the beliefs of relationship partners was not only triggered through positive
contributions towards the household well-being or observable demonstrations of one’s capabilities but also by limiting the vulnerability to detrimental effects of poverty. To cite an example, high degrees of financial debt is pervasive in contexts of poverty. Given the densely social nature of subsistence marketplaces, debt has repercussions for not only the borrower but also his/her relationship partners. Consequently, amelioration of exposure to such risks is an important ingredient of strengthening interpersonal ties. Consider the case of Kamala who notes how she has been able to reduce her daughter’s exposure to the risks of household debt by running a subsistence enterprise.
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Our body would be same for some day and if I become sick, then my daughter has to repay the loan. I have to look for my daughter and till now they are suffering only. I don’t want to make my daughter repay the loan. I should not have any loan at all. They should not think that mother has left so much debt.
Interpersonal relationships are of crucial importance in subsistence marketplaces and
contribute immensely to individual and household well-being. They act as buffers that absorb shocks that those living in poverty are often exposed to (Townsend, 1995). Interpersonal relationships bolster one’s resilience toward hardships in subsistence marketplaces (Viswanathan et al., 2012). In this section of the essay, I focused my attention on how engagement with the marketplaces, leads to a set of processes that aid subsistence entrepreneurs to grow in stature in the eyes of important relationship partners. The crucial insight stemming from this finding is that the sense of psychological
empowerment is not just about how we see ourselves but also about how others see us. In other words, we often see ourselves through the eyes of others in judging our own capabilities.