Digital entrepreneurship in a resource-scarce context: A focus on entrepreneurial digital competencies

Purpose – Thepurpose of this paper is to criticallyexplorehow context asan antecedent to entrepreneurial digital competencies (EDCs) influences digital entrepreneurship in a resource-scarce environment. Design/methodology/approach – The data comprises semi-structured interviews with 16 digital entrepreneurs, as owner-managers of small digital businesses in Cameroon. Findings – The results reveal the ways in which EDCs shape the entry (or start-up) choices and post-entry strategic decisions of digital entrepreneurs in response to context-specific opportunities and challenges associated with digital entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications – The data comes from one African country and 16 digital businesses thus the research setting limits the generalisability of the results. Practical implications – This paper highlights important implications for encouraging digital entrepreneurship by focussing on institutional, technology and local dimensions of context and measures to develop the entrepreneurial and digital competencies. This includes policy interventions to develop the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, transport and local distribution infrastructure, and training opportunities to develop the EDCs of digital entrepreneurs. Originality/value – Whereas the capabilities to adopt and use ICTs and the internet by small businesses have been examined, this is among the first theoretically sensitised study linking context, EDCs and digital entrepreneurship

Does innovation matter for economic development? An empirical study of small and medium-sized enterprises in the city of Kumba – Cameroon

In recent years, the development priorities of African countries have focused on private sector development to build a strong market economy that gives a more dynamic role to indigenous entrepreneurs and their innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper investigates the potential for indigenous SMEs in Cameroon to successfully emerge as agents of economic development through innovation. The analysis includes the personal characteristics that make up an indigenous entrepreneur as well as the contemporary environments in which SMEs operate. Building on Schumpeter’s notion that entrepreneurship contributes to economic development through the interplay of new firm creation, innovation and competition, questionnaires and interviews were conducted with indigenous entrepreneurs of selected SMEs in the city of Kumba, one of the most important concentrations of economic activity in the English-Speaking region of Cameroon. The results reveal that while economic profit is a priority for most entrepreneurs, SMEs exists mainly to alleviate poverty through income generating activities and contribute to economic development by providing employment and income for the poor. The SMEs studied focused on adapting, imitating and modifying existing innovations rather than pursuing genuine Schumpeterian innovation. This suggests that innovation is not a priority for the SME sector and therefore policies aimed at catching up with modern technology should be the central focus in providing assistance for indigenous entrepreneurs and these are suggested in this paper

Knowledge management in project-base organizations: the interplay of time orientations and knowledge interventions

The common perception is that all types of work and work organizations appear to involve knowledge: knowledge intensive work, knowledge workers, knowledge products, customerrelated knowledge and knowledge intensive organizations. Therefore, as organizations increasingly organize their activities in the form of projects, effective ways of knowledge management are needed to deliver successful and timely outcomes. However, little research has been done in the area that integrates time orientations into the process of knowledge management. Using the approach of grounded theory, this paper investigates the interplay between time orientations and knowledge interventions through interviews with international project managers drawn from different types of project-based organizations in Sweden and Italy. The perceptions and experiences of the managers are used to construct a model of time orientation and knowledge interventions in project-based organizations. Time orientations are shown to play a critical role in the success or failure of projects. The model integrates time orientations into the project life cycle and illustrates how effectively knowledge interventions can be used to achieve project milestones and meet overall deadlines

Women as social entrepreneurs in the hospitality and tourism industry: Does empowerment play a role?

This paper which is a work in progress presents a qualitative study exploring the nature, motivations and extent to which female entrepreneurs use their H&T businesses as platforms for engagement in various forms of social entrepreneurship (SE) leading to value creation, economic and community development. Although SE is seen as a key contributor to the creation and diversification of entrepreneurial activity, women empowerment and local economic development, there is limited research on the role of female H&T entrepreneurs in emerging non -western destinations. We focus on the following research questions: a) Can female entrepreneurs in H&T be considered as social entrepreneurs? b) How does the structure and organization of society shape the nature of female participation in SE? c) What are the challenges involved in mobilizing female entrepreneurs to effectively engage in SE? d) How does SE maximise value creation and higher levels of satisfaction for all participants? Concepts from women-owned H&T enterprises, SE and women empowerment are drawn upon. We argue that women are embedded in male dominated traditions/customs, community associations and government bureaucracies that may either empowered or dis-empower them. Using the case of Cameroon, we examine how embeddedness enhances the capacity of women to engage in SE in the H&T industry, thereby contributing to local economic development. Empirically we adopt a mixed methods approach using multiple case studies: a survey questionnaire, five focus groups meetings (two women -only, one male-only, and two mix of male and female entrepreneurs) and twenty-five in-depth interviews with selected female entrepreneurs (18), (non)governmental organisations (03) and beneficiaries (04) of social enterprise ventures between May 2014 and February 2015. The findings clarify the role of women in SE in H&T and policy implications for maximising social value creation through the participation of women in SE

Impact Investing and Inclusive Business Development in Africa: A research agenda

Impact investing aims to create sustainable social and environmental impacts for investee enterprises and communities as well as adequate financial returns. As an attractive emerging market investment strategy, it involves development finance institutions and philanthropic foundations partnering with mainstream private venture capital to create impact funds with the goal of catalysing inclusive market-based enterprise development in low income countries. In this paper, we present findings from a scoping study discussing the nature and operations of impact funds in African economies and the associated research opportunities on this topic. To facilitate the assessment, we reviewed the existing literature on impact investing, considering this along three interrelated perspectives, namely 1) impact investing as development finance policy for economic development, 2) impact investing as a development in socially responsible investing, and 3) impact investing as capacity-building for inclusive business development in African economies. The interplay of these perspectives shapes the constitution and operational strategies of specific impact funds and provide a conceptual context for understanding impact investing at country level. Drawing on interviews, email exchanges and roundtable discussions with representative global and country-specific (Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Kenya) stakeholders our analysis makes three contributions to the impact investing debate. First we explore a model for understanding the ways in which impact funds are being channeled into inclusive businesses in Africa and the associated catalytic effects on poverty alleviation, social and economic development. Second we identified and tested access to, a range of impact funds and associated sector-specific inclusive businesses for future case writing – hopefully ‘failures’ as well as ‘successes’. Finally, we reflect on some of the unanswered managerial and policy-related questions that require a more rigorous inquiry-led appraisal to better understand and enhance the contribution of impact funds to inclusive business development in Africa

Inclusive business models? How SMEs are developing inclusive value chains and combating social exclusion in bottom-of-the-pyramid markets

Research suggests that private firms can contribute to addressing poverty by prioritising the inclusion of bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) communities in global financing, commerce and consumption value chains. However existing evidence have focused on large multinationals. An understanding of how small firms incorporate the inclusion of BoP communities in their value chain is critical remains under-researched. Drawing on the literature integrating entrepreneurship, inclusion and business model this article develops a qualitative study of how three agribusiness in Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Kenya. The findings highlight opportunities and challenges facing entrepreneurs in pursuing inclusive business opportunities African economies

Digital Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies: The role of ICTs and local context

Advances in digitisation and the development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is creating opportunities for new types of entrepreneurial activities in emerging economies. However, there is very limited international business research to understand the nature of digital entrepreneurship in emerging economies. Using qualitative case studies developed in Cameroon I investigate how ICTs as operand resource shape the choices that digital entrepreneurs make when dealing with local contextual influences on digital entrepreneurship. Based on empirical analysis of the cases I develop five testable propositions about how digital entrepreneurs respond to local contextual factors in creating digital entrepreneurs

Collaborative networks for human capital management in women tourism entrepreneurship.

The presentation discusses the findings of a recently completed scoping study which mapped the existing/accessible collaborative networks involving women entrepreneurs in (three) African countries and internationally. It analysed the membership structures/requirements and support mechanisms available to women members (especially owner/managers of small tourism firms) for skills acquisition and business development (e.g. access to capital, learning resources and practices, modes of learning, networking and mentorship opportunities) with the goal of developing a larger bid /that will ultimately: • Produce a self-assessment toolkit for women (owner-managers) to self-assess their human development needs as the basis for sustaining the success and transformational impact of their businesses in tourism development. • Establish self-governing collaborative learning networks hosted through African country-specific support infrastructure (e.g. HEIs) to implement the toolkit and provide a forum for knowledge exchange, professional development and mentoring opportunities, linked to resources and agencies that can support women’s participation in tourism in Africa. We belief that well-structured/organised collaborative networks can contribute not only to sustainable employment and HCD but ultimately to women’s empowerment and development-led entrepreneurship in tourism in Africa