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The study explores growth barriers experienced by a sample of women subsistence entrepreneurs operating within the informal sector in South Africa.

The paper utilizes a descriptive-exploratory research approach and design relying on semi-structured interviews. A purposive sample of 45 women subsistence entrepreneurs formed the participant pool.

Three main narratives emerged. First, a sense of personal contentment existed as a potential barrier for women subsistence entrepreneurs. Second, the women subsistence entrepreneurs had no expansion strategy due to their circumstances. This served as a barrier to growth. Finally, challenges emanating from the home-front served as a limit to the growth of the informal sector business.

Based on the findings, strategies are offered to assist the women subsistence entrepreneurs in tackling the identified barriers to the growth of the informal sector business. A limitation of the research concerns issues that accompany qualitative research. Notably, these include sampling issues.

Based on the findings, strategies are offered to assist women subsistence entrepreneurs in tackling the barriers that affect their businesses.

Given the popularity of the informal sector in emerging nations such as South Africa, the study proffers suggestions that assist the advancement of subsistence entrepreneurship, especially within the informal sector. The role of women in all this is heightened.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which performance and environmental sustainability orientations (ESOs) are developed, as well as their association, in a typical impoverished community: the informal economy of an African least developed country (LDC).

Based on a literature review and a pre-study on the spot, a questionnaire was developed before being completed by 140 informal food vendors – that is, “subsistence entrepreneurs” – in Tanzania. t-Tests, correlation analyses and regression analyses were carried out to approach the formulated hypotheses.

The results showed that a significant distinction can be made between basic and advanced performance. In addition, the respondents showed significantly higher levels of awareness of ESO practices that are intangible and are not fully within their control than the so-called personal tangible ESO practices. However, performance was minimally affected by ESOs.

While firm performance and environmental sustainability have been shortlisted on agendas outside academia (e.g. international development organisations) as a means to develop LDCs, the scientific community is lagging behind with regard to these two. This paper is one step forward in unravelling how performance and ESOs occur in LDCs.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse interventions of various forms of organisations operating with the objective of connecting subsistence entrepreneurs (SEs) with the formal economy. This work also attempts to understand and analyse the transformational role played by these organisations. Finally, the paper aims to arrive at a conceptual framework for organisations interested in playing a transformational role.

The paper deals with subsistence entrepreneurship and business models for subsistence economies. It draws from case studies of six organisations operating with the objective to connect subsistence entrepreneurs with formal economy. Each case chosen is unique with respect to the organisational form it takes to achieve the objective. However, a lot of similarity can be seen in the components of the business model adopted by these organisations.

Organisations which emerge keeping the context of rural producers in mind survive and support SEs in the long run. SEs need not always get converted into transformational entrepreneurs. However, with the help of organisations which collectivise SEs, they can interact with formal economy. Such organisations help large numbers of SEs to sustain and possibly move out of subsistence status over a period of time. These organisations have to fill the voids left by government or market institutions so as to create enabling conditions for SEs to thrive. Despite the efforts of the organisations, it is not possible for all SEs to move out of their subsistence status and existence in informal markets. However, it is possible in case of some SEs at least, as the institutional support gives them more certainty in incomes.

The paper does not take a business model adopted by government institution for the purpose of analysis.

The paper offers practical suggestions for organisations interested in collectivising SEs with the aim to improve their returns from market transactions.

The paper offers a conceptual framework to enrich the understanding of role played by organisations working towards collectivising SEs. It adds to the debate of subsistence entrepreneurship and transformational entrepreneurship. It elaborates the elements of social capital created by these organisations at the meso level. Finally, it re-emphasises the strengths of informal economy to support the customer value proposition for formal markets.

Empowerment of women by social enterprises in emerging economies has received attention from researchers. This paper aims to study three social enterprises in India that aim to empower subsistence women entrepreneurs.

A comparative case analysis of three social enterprises is done to develop understanding of systems and processes adopted by them. Sources such as published journal and news articles, case studies, success stories and official websites are used for data collection.

The study found that all three organisations strive to increase the asset base of members by organizing disempowered subsistence producers lacking market power; extending services throughout the value chain, i.e. from raw material supply to marketing of products; ploughing back regular incomes and bonuses through mechanisms acceptable to all members; and empowering subsistence producers to gain market power and ability to choose. The interventions give market exposure and voice to the concerns of women producers. These organisations successfully leverage the strength of their relations with civil society and markets in sustaining the business. Women empowerment was found to be achieved through regular income, collective voice, ability to take decisions and creation of social value.

This paper does not take into consideration enterprises promoted by government.

A conceptual framework is suggested in this paper along with insights for organisations interested in collectivising subsistence women for empowering them.

The conceptual framework provided in this paper enriches the understanding of social enterprises working with the objective of women empowerment.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which main objective is to satisfy the basic needs of the entrepreneur, when geographically concentrated make up subsistence clusters. The purpose of this paper is to analyze collective efficiency in subsistence clusters as growth strategy and how is the process through which the relational capital and territorial proximity altogether improve performance of firms.

The research uses partial least squares techniques applied to a sample of 113 SMEs of wood industry in Oberá, Argentina.

SMEs in subsistence clusters can use relational capital and territory as resources to generate competitive advantages. These competitive advantages foster performance. In consequence, collective efficiency appears as growth strategy in subsistence SMEs.

Data are cross-sectional and in a conjuncture of economy expansion, future research should monitor the sample of firms using panel data to assess the development of relations. Sample is in a particular region and sector and generalizations should be done carefully.

SMEs probably should integrate and share industrial and business structures to develop systemic competitive advantages with a collective character. SMEs should leverage their spatial interaction to build trust and establish networks of cooperation that will be the source of their collective efficiency. These collaboration networks should base in the local knowledge.

Subsistence SMEs have strong impact on the most disadvantaged areas in developing countries. Growth strategies to professionalize these SMEs will have a major impact on the endogenous development of those territories.

The research provides a mechanism through which collective efficiency leads to better performance for subsistence SMEs.

Purpose: The chapter explains how entrepreneurship can generate either subsistence, destructive, or peace-positive outcomes in the conflict zones of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Institutional arrangements are examined for how they can advance the latter.

Methodology/approach: Literatures from conflict resolution, development, economics, corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship, and psychology are drawn on to frame the multiple roles of entrepreneurs in conflict zones, and understand the institutional arrangements that support peace-positive entrepreneurship.

Findings: The chapter indicates that formalization plays a major role in promoting peace-positive entrepreneurship while deterring destructive entrepreneurship. Conflict zone institutional arrangements that reestablish trust, can uphold the rule of law, and incentivize entrepreneurial activity aid in the formalization process. Special attention is paid to the inclusive nature of these activities, with the need to heal religious, tribal, and sectarian divides in the region, and promote the inclusion of all societal actors (namely, minorities and women) to engage in enterprising activities.

Social implications: The chapter outlines the importance for both foreign donors and local actors to understand the determinant role of institutions in conflict zone entrepreneurial ecosystems, promoting the role of institutional reform over and above the micro-level activity currently grabbing attention in the region.

Originality/value of the chapter: The chapter contrasts the singular narrative often presented on the positive role of conflict zone entrepreneurship in the informal sector, offering a paradoxical view on the topic, and arguing for formalization and institutional reform to remain aspirational among researchers and practitioners who commonly accept and promote the role of the informal sector in conflict zones.

The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding of subsistence exchange practices and their contribution to international marketing theory and practice. It draws on the notion of embeddedness to examine the hybrid exchange practices unfolding within subsistence communities, and between subsistence communities and (international) firms.

The paper reports two ethnographic studies conducted in low-income farming and slum communities in Uganda and Kenya, respectively. Both studies involved participant observation, interviews, field note-taking and visual methods.

The findings demonstrate that hybrid exchange systems prevail in subsistence contexts, supporting both market and non-market logics simultaneously. Actors remain deeply embedded in their social worlds during exchange, making it problematic to disentangle social relations from market exchanges.

The study suggests implications for international firms interested in forging business partnerships with subsistence actors. It calls for international marketers to surpass the traditional marketing roles and develop competences that enable firms to meaningfully embed in subsistence contexts. Further research could explore how international marketers could develop such competences.

The paper draws from diverse exchange literature to demonstrate how subsistence actors become actively involved in shaping hybrid exchanges that (potentially) incorporate international firms. The study calls for a broader understanding of international marketing, which accounts for the embedded marketing practices entailed in serving subsistence markets. It concludes that categorizing exchanges as either economic or social is problematic as both forms co-evolve to constitute multiple levels of intra-community, local marketplace and extensive hybrid exchanges.

This paper aims at explaining variances in the contribution of Islamic crowdfunding platforms (ICFPs) to sustainable development (SD), by adopting an institutional logic perspective (ILP). ICFPs represent a dual institutional overlap between two logics (the Western-mainstream and the Islamic logic) which have an impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR) interpretations, practices, and decisions and whose conflicts are mitigated by choosing different resolution strategies. The authors aim at showing that this choice affects SD differently.

The authors develop a conceptual typology through the following steps: (1) choice of variables and identification of corresponding variable domains, through literature review. Variables chosen are the elemental CSR dimensions related to various social and environmental corporate responsibilities to whom diverse meaning and emphasis are given under the Western-mainstream and Islamic logics. (2) Identification of three distinct ideal types of ICFPs, building on different resolution strategies to mitigate conflicts between logics; (3) development, for each ideal type, of a set of implications related to SD; (4) implementation of a first test aiming at assigning real cases to each ideal type.

The authors identify Western-mimicking (platforms adopting as resolution strategy decoupling or compartmentalizing strategies), Islamic-driven (platforms focusing on one prevailing logic) and Syncretism-inspired (platforms adopting hybridizing practices) ideal-types.

It is the first paper suggesting ILP to explain variances in crowdfunding platforms' role in addressing SD. It focuses on a specific type of CF platforms till now neglected.

Recent scholarship has highlighted the complexity of buyer-seller relationships in emerging markets and called for a better understanding of the cultural norms shaping such relationships. This paper aims to draw on social capital theory to explore the role of networks and relational norms, such as wasta, in Arab culture on consumer relational behaviors. The Arab market constitutes a significant economy and social networks and relational norms are of significant value in Arab culture.

A qualitative approach was used to address the research questions. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 male and female consumers across Lebanon over a four-month period.

Social networks are heavily used in relational behaviors to achieve four types of goals, namely, self-serving goals, unity goals and equality goals and relationship maintenance goals. In fulfilling these goals consumers create economies of favors that aim at the using and maintenance of communal bonds.

This study was conducted in one geographical context. While Lebanon shares many of its characteristics with other Arab countries, future research should aim at exploring the influence of social networks in other Arab and emerging market contexts.

Consumers have different motivations between formal and informal markets. The research suggests that small sellers in highly embedded markets need to use their social networks and to make their stories authentic and known within their communities to facilitate emotional connections with consumers.

Emerging markets offer opportunities to extend our understanding of marketing theory and practice. This research provides a richer understanding of Arab consumers and suggests that wasta relationships play a role in consumptive decisions and not just in business negotiations. Wasta, as a cultural form of cultural capital, is heavily used in consumption as a coping mechanism to overcome market inefficiencies.

Motivations and access to resources for venturing differ between men and women. In developing countries, there has been an increase in businesses that do not have a specific location and persist in informality. This research aimed to evaluate, from a gender perspective, the moderating effect of the decision not to have a place in the relationship between human capital (education, experience and type of entrepreneurship) and business informality.

Using the National Household Survey 2014–2018, a sample of 50,313 Peruvian entrepreneurs was obtained − 23,314 women and 27,002 men – who have been in business for over three years. The data were analysed with logistic regression.

The results showed a moderating effect of entrepreneurship without a settled location on the relationship between education and informality in the case of women. And, for men, the moderating impact falls on the education, experience and reason for venturing that influences the formality of their businesses.

The problem of business informality of established companies with more than 42 months of operation is analysed. The moderating effect of the decision not to have a specific location on the relationship between human capital and informality is explored. This work extends business informality studies in Latin America developing countries, incorporating a gender perspective.

Las motivaciones y el acceso a recursos para emprender son diferentes entre hombres y mujeres. En países en desarrollo, se han incrementado los negocios que no disponen de un local específico y persisten en la informalidad. El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar, desde una perspectiva de género, el efecto moderador de la decisión de no disponer de un lugar específico en la relación existente entre el capital humano (educación, experiencia y tipo de emprendimiento) y la informalidad empresarial.

Se utilizó la Encuesta Nacional de Hogares 2014–2018, donde se obtuvo una muestra de 50.316 microempresas peruanas −23.314 lideradas por mujeres y 27.002 lideradas por hombres— con más de tres años de operación. Los datos fueron analizados con la técnica de regresión logística.

Los resultados mostraron un efecto moderador de los negocios sin local específico sobre la relación entre la educación y la informalidad en el caso de las mujeres. Y, para los hombres, el efecto moderador recayó sobre la educación, experiencia y el tipo de emprendimiento que influye sobre la formalidad de sus negocios.

Se analiza la problemática de la informalidad en las empresas establecidas con más de 42 meses de operación. Se explora el efecto moderador en la decisión de no tener un local específico en la relación entre capital humano e informalidad. Este estudio amplía los estudios de informalidad empresarial en países en desarrollo de América Latina, incorporando una perspectiva de género.