Formation of Social Entrepreneurial Intention: A Qualitative Grounded Approach at the Base of the Pyramid

Frederik Claeyé,Yosra Boughattas,Erno T Tornikoski

doi:10.3390/admsci12010024

Abstract

While there have been some attempts at investigating and theorizing social entrepreneurial action at the base of the economic pyramid, our understanding of the processes contributing to the formation of social entrepreneurial intention in contexts of extreme poverty remain limited. In this study, we aim to address this gap by providing a better understanding of the formation of social entrepreneurial intentions of youths at the base of the economic pyramid. Drawing on a qualitative grounded approach, we highlight the role of self-confidence, perceived self-efficacy and social ascension beliefs as important drivers in understanding the formation of social entrepreneurial intention of youths at the base of the pyramid. At a practical level, our study suggests that besides developing entrepreneurship-specific knowledge, support mechanisms should also pay attention to the development of different self-related beliefs of youths to enable the formation of social entrepreneurial intention at the base of the pyramid.

Highlights

It is widely acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread socioeconomic consequences (Das et al 2022)
We investigated the emergence of social entrepreneurial intention among youths at the BoP
Our study highlights the importance of cognitive social support and suggests that in addition to a focus on the development of entrepreneurship specific knowledge, support mechanisms should focus on the development of different self-related beliefs to enable the emergence of social entrepreneurial intention at the base of the pyramid

Summary

Introduction

It is widely acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread socioeconomic consequences (Das et al 2022). Almost 150 million people are projected to fall into abject poverty. Researchers have increasingly turned their attention to the emancipatory power of entrepreneurship (Rindova et al 2009) and how it may be a mechanism for poverty alleviation (Sutter et al 2019; Manzoor et al 2019; Trivedi and Petkova 2021). The underlying argument is that through identifying and acting on opportunities, entrepreneurs are catalysts for structural change and institutional evolution (Naudé 2014). This line of thought is relevant for social entrepreneurship and base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) approaches as mechanisms for addressing poverty and inequality (Murphy and Coombes 2009; Cañeque and Hart 2017; Périac et al 2018).

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Conclusion