Entrepreneurial Motivations, Opportunities, and Challenges: An International Perspective

Kah, Sally, O'Brien, Seamus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8221-0340, Kok, Seng and Gallagher, Emer (2020) Entrepreneurial Motivations, Opportunities, and Challenges: An International Perspective. Journal of African Business, 1. pp. 1-21. ISSN 1522-8916

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Abstract / Summary

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 twenty 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
Identification Number:	10.1080/15228916.2020.1838835
ISSN:	1522-8916
Subjects:	Business
Courses by Department:	Business School > Business Entrepreneurship
Depositing User:	Seamus O'Brien
Date Deposited:	16 Mar 2022 13:55
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2022 16:20
URI:	https://falmouth-test.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/4434

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