Increasingly, social enterprises are relying on collaboration with partners to tackle the resource constraints that they face. In this research we focus on the strategy of bricolage to explore whether and how the different types of partner becoming involved may impact on the mission of social enterprises. Grounded in resource dependency and transaction cost theories, we explore how power asymmetry and the nature of involvement may impact on the outcomes of bricolage. Our findings demonstrate that in the more integrated relationships with high power asymmetry, more instances of mission drift might be observed compared to when social enterprises develop the more collaborative or complementary nature of partnerships with symmetrical power dependency, or when the partners' involvements are mainly transaction-based.

War and conflict brings about adverse changes for those who are displaced. How do entrepreneurial individuals respond to such adversity to either setup , or continue with their existing entrepreneurial endeavours that would improve their own livelihood or that of others who have been affected? Whilst previous studies have found local knowledge, networks and resources to be crucial in the development of ventures in the war and conflict context, alienation from mainstream society within the host location often means that to succeed, those who are displaced require alternative strategies and approaches. Through examining the entrepreneurship ventures of six internally displaced entrepreneurs in Pakistan, our study identifies that entrepreneurial individuals find different ways to adapt to the new order, with both internal and external bricolage becoming the key strategies deployed to either re-establish their previous business(es) or to develop new endeavour(s) in the host location. To compensate for lack of local knowledge, networks and resources, we found that entrepreneurs followed closely their previous paths in their bricolage attempts, relying on reconfigurations of their preexisting competencies, as well as utilising pre-established and clandestine networks.

Studies have previously examined the path development of entrepreneurs within a penurious environment but what if their path encounters a conflict situation? Does it make the place even more resource-poor and subsequently squeeze out any remaining life from entrepreneurism? Utilising Isaksen's (2014) characterisation of path-dependence, we intend to examine how entrepreneurs negotiate their path through the 'double whammy' of penurious environment and conflict. Through an event-based approach examining the entrepreneurial paths of three wartime entrepreneurs, our study indicates that, whilst the immediate aftermath is chaos leading to limited path-extension and even path-exhaustion, once the initial fog is clear, entrepreneurial individuals find different ways to adapt, not only through path-extension, but also through path-renewal and path-creation. These opportunities are place-dependent, the recognition of which requires considerable local knowledge and resources acquired through experience and prior local investment as well as interdependent networks.

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The modern globalised economy is prone to periods of change and uncertainty as experienced in the economic downturn following 2007. Others have noted that this has led to the shortening of product life cycles (Tassey, 2000), and the greater importance of innovation in order to retain competitiveness (Smith, 2002; Huggins and Izushi, 2007). These are the environments where entrepreneurs are traditionally felt to thrive, be this in starting their own firms, working within larger corporations, or in their lives in general (Gibb, 2002b; Rae, 2010). This ensures that the need for entrepreneurial skills is greater than ever (Taatila, 2010), with higher education seen as having a key role in providing the necessary entrepreneurial and employability skills (Crayford et al., 2012; Thompson et al., 2010; 2012). There is, however, no consensus on the best way to develop these skills, if it is possible at all (Jack and Anderson, 1999). Although the traditional classroom environment may be effective in providing students with basic business skills that constitute the ‘science’ component of entrepreneurship it is often felt to be unsuitable for teaching the ‘art’ component associated with innovation and creativity (Jack and Anderson, 1999; Pretorius et al., 2005). Rae (2006) notes the personal and social emergence of an individual forming their own identity and mindset as an entrepreneur as part of this learning experience. With traits such as self-confidence and willingness to tolerate uncertainty found by studies such as Baron (2000) and van Praag and Cramer (2001) to be positively associated with successful entrepreneurs, authors such as johannisson (1991) and Jones and English (2004) see the creation of these traits as being the primary purpose of entrepreneurship education. Gibb's (2002a) notion of conductive entrepreneurial environment points to the importance of providing an all-round student entrepreneurship learning experience that meets the rigours of academia, while keeping an experientially-based approach that enhances creativity and innovation (Gibb, 2002a; Porter and McKibbin, 1988). Pretorius et al. (2005) and Löbler (2006), however, suggest that the everyday pressures associated with the classroom environment and behaviourist forms of teaching make it difficult for students to shift into a more creative, less constrained way of thinking. This exploratory study examines the potential benefits of an entrepreneurship boot camp at the end of an academic year aimed at allowing students the opportunity to participate in multidimensional entrepreneurship activities and discussions in a less formal environment. Although all of the students will have been exposed to similar activities as part of their courses and extra curricular activities, without the appropriate environment, it is possible that fewer benefits will be received (Taatila, 2010). Taatila and Vyakarnam (2008) note the important role the mentor plays in creating this environment, but others (e.g. Heap, 1996; West, 2004; Pretorius et al., 2005) note the rol...

Purpose Although scholars have investigated how social entrepreneurs create and develop social enterprises in the penurious stable environment, how they are created in the penurious unstable environment has yet been overlooked. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap by exploring how internally displaced individuals, despite the lack of resources, create and develop a social enterprise to serve the other displaced population in the war and conflict zones. Design/methodology/approach Underpinned by a biographical research design, in-depth interviews with internally displaced individuals who have created social enterprises in the war and conflict zones were undertaken. Three social entrepreneurs were chosen for this study from three different social enterprises that are created by internally displaced individuals to serve the other internally displaced people of three different countries, namely, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria. Findings The single and cross-case analysis found that internally displaced individuals deploy bricolage strategy, for example, reconfiguration of pre-existing resources and competencies (both internal and external), to start up a social venture in the war and conflict zones. They utilise pre-existing internal resources, mainly human capital, and external resources, through a frugal approach towards resources acquisitions. The authors also found that the displaced social entrepreneurs utilise resources of other displaced individuals, for example, networks, volunteers, local knowledge and financial supports mainly from older arrivals, and develop their own enterprise ecosystem within the host location to co-create and co-develop social enterprise and social values for all of them. Research limitations/implications The findings show that internally displaced individuals utilise bricolage strategies to create and develop socially entrepreneurial venture to serve other internally displaced individuals in the war and conflict zones. As the findings are based on three case studies, for confirmatory approach, a quantitative study with a large sample size is necessary. Furthermore, as the differences in economic, cultural and linguistic in between the home and host locations can have impact on the creation and the development of a social venture, they should be considered in the future studies. Originality/value This study contributes to the limited literature and studies on social entrepreneurship, specifically, to the context of unstable penurious environment. It also contributes to the literature on bricolage by extending its application from penurious stable environment to the penurious unstable environment. By exploring what and how internal and external resources are utilised to create and develop a socially entrepreneurial venture in a war and conflict zones, this study has added value to the literature on not only bricolage but also entrepreneurship in war and conflict zones.

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Purpose Questions have often been asked of the ethicality of multinational enterprises (MNEs) with the conducts of many being classified as exploitative. This is particularly so the internal context, where MNEs are often reluctant to employ host country nationals at important positions and treat their host and parent countries employees differently. This study aims to examine whether the locals are really getting the raw end of the deal. Design/methodology/approach Utilising a unique record book that is available about the employment details of civil servants in Hong Kong known as the blue book, this study intends to examine whether first-moving multinational organisations treated their local employees in an ethical and reasonable manner, for the employees entering the service between 1845-1850. Findings The data suggests that, overall, host country nationals earn much less than not only the British but also those from third countries. Moreover, parent country nationals were placed at important officer and supervisory roles, as oppose to host country nationals at the bottom, forming a typically ethnocentric governance structure (Perlmutter, 1969). Furthermore, even divided by grade, the starting salary difference between host and parent country nationals remain considerable. However, the reason for this is complex, and the authors do not have a quick and precise answer as to whether there has been discrimination. Research limitations/implications The findings perhaps explain the dilemma faced by the early-movers because they tend to feel the strong need of adopting an ethnocentric approach, which can be extremely costly as a result of the large wage differential. A balance needs to be struck between this and utilising host country nationals, which might not necessarily possess all the essential qualities but might be cheaper. Originality/value This is the first study examining the employment practices of fast-moving MNEs.