An exploratory study of entrepreneurs in impoverished communities

This research examines impoverished entrepreneurs, why they may choose to engage in entrepreneurship, and the struggles they face. We draw on the entrepreneurship literature that suggests institutional factors and individual characteristics shape new venture development. Using survey and interview data collected from an impoverished community in Brazil, we develop a study of entrepreneurial behaviour focused on perceived alertness, utilisation of social networks, willingness to formally register their business, and participation in training. We found that temporal myopia, misjudgement of their abilities, and counter-productive use of their social network result in non-productive entrepreneurship.