ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the philosophical and methodological foundations of fieldwork in tourism, using a study of copreneurship as a basis for discussion. Copreneurs are couples who share ownership, commitment and responsibility for a business together (Barnett and Barnett 1989), or as Marshack (1994) put it, copreneurship represents the dynamic interaction of the systems of love and work. The study explored the experiences of owners of rural tourism accommodation businesses in New Zealand within the framework of copreneurship. It examined roles within copreneurial rural tourism businesses and studied women’s experiences of entrepreneurship within the copreneurial environment. To do this, the study used a mixed method approach (a survey and in-depth interviews) to elicit information about copreneurs operating rural tourism businesses, and about how women experience copreneurship within rural tourism.
