Responsible Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries: Understanding the Realities and Complexities |
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Authors: | Fara Azmat Ramanie Samaratunge |
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Institution: | 1.Deakin University,Melbourne,Australia;2.Monash University,Melbourne,Australia |
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Abstract: | Developing countries have recently experienced a burgeoning of small-scale individual entrepreneurs (SIEs) – who range from
petty traders to personal service workers like small street vendors, barbers and owners of small shops – as a result of market-based
reforms, rapid urbanisation, unemployment, landlessness and poverty. While SIEs form a major part of the informal workforce
in developing countries and contribute significantly to economic growth, their potential is being undermined when they engage
in irresponsible and deceptive business practices such as overpricing, sale of underweight or substandard products, or attempts
to hoard goods, to name a few. Despite the growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of small
businesses in developing countries, the SIEs have received almost no attention. To address this void in the literature, we
explore the reasons for the less than optimal level of social responsibility demonstrated by some SIEs in developing countries.
We do so by drawing upon the existing literature to develop a comprehensive framework of social responsibility of SIEs highlighting
their unique characteristics and the different contextual factors that they encounter in developing countries. Based on this
framework, we then present a set of propositions specifying the influence of these contextual factors such as business environment,
cultural traditions, socio-economic conditions, and both international and domestic pressures on the business practices of
SIEs. The framework offers an explanation for the lack of responsible entrepreneurship of SIEs and has important implications
for promoting sustainable business practices in developing countries where businesses are striving hard to survive and compete. |
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