Business Success Through Social Networks? A Comment on Social Networks and Business Success

In the literature on entrepreneurship in developing countries, the argument that social networks are an essential factor for entrepreneurial success has been given considerable attention. This article challenges this one-sided view by pointing out negative and restrictive effects of social networks on entrepreneurial success in particular, and on economic development in general. The article is structured as a comment on Kristiansen (2004), who worked on social networks and conducted field research in the city of Tanga, Tanzania, similar to the author, who had done the same two years previously. The findings from a six-month field research are used in order to articulate important aspects left out in Kristiansen's discussion.