Entrepreneurial Motivations, Opportunities, and Challenges: An International Perspective
Kah, Sally and O'Brien, Seamus and Kiat Kok, Seng and Gallagher, Emer (2020) Entrepreneurial Motivations, Opportunities, and Challenges: An International Perspective. Journal of African Business. ISSN 1522-8916
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Abstract
The current entrepreneurship research has primarily focused on external environmental factors that influence enterprise development in developed economies, whilst studies from developing economies are lagging. Yet, evidence from the World Bank and Global Entrepreneurship Index suggest that entrepreneurship practice in developing economies has peaked. Using semi-structured interview data from 20 entrepreneurs in The Gambia, we examined their motivations for entrepreneurship, the market opportunities and challenges hindering enterprise growth. We found the factors influencing motivation to be individual (necessity, poverty, experience, job creation, personal knowledge, and experience) and contextual (opportunity recognition, ethnic and religious norms). Interestingly, three forms of opportunities were identified: entrepreneurial networks, competitive market, and discovery. Nonetheless, the entrepreneurs faced individual challenges – insufficient finance and unskilled staff – and contextual limitations such as political change, limited government reforms, high taxes, high business cost, and market uncertainty. We offer critical insights into individual and contextual motivations for entrepreneurship, extending the current discourse. In addition, we expose specific dynamic market influences for enterprise development in developing economies.
| Item Type: | Article | ||||||
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| Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1080/15228916.2020.1838835 | ||||||
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Entrepreneurial motivation; entrepreneurial opportunities; entrepreneurial challenges; The Gambia | ||||||
| Subjects: | CAH17 - business and management > CAH17-01 - business and management > CAH17-01-02 - business studies | ||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Accountancy, Finance and Economics Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Business, Digital Transformation & Entrepreneurship |
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| Depositing User: | Sally Kah | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 07 Dec 2020 10:42 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 20 Jun 2024 12:06 | ||||||
| URI: | https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/10298 |
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