Social structure, reasonable gain, and entrepreneurship in Africa

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: George, Gerard; Kotha, Reddi; Parikh, Priti; Alnuaimi, Tufool; Bahaj, Abubakr S.
• 署名单位: Singapore Management University; University of London; University College London; Imperial College London; University of Southampton
• 刊物名称: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0143-2095
• DOI: 10.1002/smj.2381
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 1118-1131
• 关键词: Entrepreneurship; AFRICA; entry; reasonable gain; affordable loss

摘要

In the context of desperate poverty, characterized by households at subsistence level that experience economic loss and social fracture, explanations for why individuals undertake entry into entrepreneurship are limited. We find that individuals rely on their social relationships to enable entrepreneurial activities that have the potential to create a reasonable income gain. In a sample of 1,049 households in rural Kenya, we test whether the disintegration of social structure attenuates entrepreneurial behavior. When coupled with factors such as income loss, gender of the household head, and access to communal resources, social structure plays a pivotal role in entrepreneurial action. We propose that the search for reasonable income gain is a key driver of entrepreneurial action at subsistence levels, thereby adding to behavioral explanations of entrepreneurship. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.