Faith and self-fulfillment among under-resourced tourism micro-entrepreneurs
An individual’s level of self-fulfillment depends not only on personal factors, but also on the strength of their support systems – social capital. These support systems can range from people in the community to family members, and from public agencies to religious affiliations. These supportive entities are known to provide resources, information, and opportunities to individuals with vulnerable livelihoods. However, research has also shown that community networks can promote social norms that hinder these individuals’ autonomy and self-fulfillment. In this study, we examined the support networks of under-resourced tourism micro-entrepreneurs in select rural communities in North Carolina. Transcripts from ten structured in-depth interviews conducted between August 2012 and March 2014 were examined using an approach in which we identified themes from studying the data. We used a method of constant comparison between authors to arrive at a triangulated interpretation of the d