de Gruyter Handbook of Poverty, Disadvantage and Entrepreneurship

Is entrepreneurship a pathway out of poverty? Does creating a business represent a means for improving one’s life circumstances? Surprisingly little is known about ventures started by those in circumstances of poverty. This pioneering handbook integrates diverse perspectives from around the world regarding the poverty and entrepreneurship interface. While the tendency among many scholars, economic developers, and policymakers is to downplay these ventures, arguing they are largely inefficient, marginal enterprises that create little innovation and few jobs, the chapters in this handbook demonstrate their significant contributions, and encourage societies to invest in their development. The authors explore a range of factors affecting the ability of the poor to create enterprises that contribute to their well-being, including the role played by personal capabilities, education, family support and faith, availability of microfinance, technology, supportive community ecosystems and a munificent institutional environment. By shedding light on issues that can help nations realize the potential of these ventures, this volume demonstrates how entrepreneurship can serve as a source of empowerment, while providing direction regarding ways to surmount the obstacles that stand in the way.

Michael H. Morris is on the faculty of the Keough School of Global Development at the University of Notre Dame. He works to bring entrepreneurship empowerment to those operating under conditions of adversity, directing the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative and the Global Partnership for Poverty and Entrepreneurship. His outreach efforts have facilitated the development of thousands of ventures. Professor Morris has authored 15 books and published over 150 scholarly articles. He is a Past President of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship and has been awarded the Academy of Management’s Dedication to Entrepreneurship Award, the Leavey Award from the Freedoms Foundation, and the Legacy Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers. He earned his Ph.D. in marketing from Virginia Tech.

Susana C. Santos is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. She received her Ph.D. from ISCTE-IUL Business School, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Portugal. Dr. Santos has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers. Her primary research interests focus on the intersection of entrepreneurship and adversity, in particular under conditions of poverty. She has co-authored the books Poverty and Entrepreneurship in Developed Economies and Poverty, Disadvantage and the Promise of Enterprise: A Capabilities Perspective, and co-edited Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy (volumes 5 and 6). Her other research interests include social entrepreneurship, gender, entrepreneurship education, and individual and team processes in entrepreneurship.