Necessity entrepreneurship: an integrative review and research agenda

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research on necessity entrepreneurship has increased in the last decade, with studies investigating the phenomenon in different contexts and applying numerous theories. Such diverse research activity has affected the use of the term necessity entrepreneurship and its applicability and, in turn, limited the overall understanding of the concept. Moreover, because little effort has been made to synthesize the body of literature on necessity entrepreneurship, no organized framework exists that allows researchers to theorize and contextualize the complexity of the concept. To fill that gap, we conducted an integrative, systematic literature review of 252 articles published on the topic between 1986 and 2022. In inductive qualitative analysis, we identified applied theories, antecedents, and manifestations exhibited in the field, along with outcomes and critical voices in the literature. We aggregated our findings into a framework and here provide a comprehensive, organized overview of the literature on necessity entrepreneurship. In doing so, we contribute to a multilevel perspective on necessity entrepreneurship and indicate numerous paths for future research.