Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial orientation in Tanzania’s informal economy. The development of personal wealth is used to measure the performance of subsistence entrepreneurs in the mama lishe sector. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of a literature review and a qualitative pre-study involving 27 interviewees, a questionnaire was completed by 152 subsistence entrepreneurs who are known as the mama lishe. Subsequently, a correlation analysis, a factor analysis, and regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Findings On the basis of a factor analysis, a distinction is made between the development of basic personal wealth and the development of advanced personal wealth. Entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial orientation, as constructed by studies in western countries, have little effect on both forms of personal wealth. Instead, the owner’s age, as an indicator of entrepreneurial experience, is a relatively strong predictor for the development of personal wealth. Originality/value By examining the determinants of the performance of subsistence entrepreneurs in an African least developed country (LDC), this study shows that the western definitions of entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial orientation are not directly applicable in this context. By using performance measures such as the development of personal wealth, this study supports the perspective that entrepreneurs in the informal economy of an LDC operate under a different paradigm than their counterparts in the industrialized nations of the west. Accordingly, it is concluded that one size does not fit all.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and small business growth in one of the poorest emerging countries: the African least developed country (LDC), Rwanda. Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of theoretical resources and a pre-study of interviews with local experts in Rwanda, the authors developed a survey for this study. Based on primary data from 133 Rwandan small business owners, the authors conducted an exploratory factorial analysis to uncover the underlying factors. Subsequently, the authors conducted regression analyses to test the hypotheses. Findings – The analyses show that the predictors for the growth of small businesses can be divided into three factors: one factor with a mix of motivations related to family background, necessity and opportunity motivations; one factor with items predominantly related to opportunity motivation; and one factor with items related to necessity motivation. The first factor has the strongest positive effect on small business growth followed by the second factor. The factor concerning necessity motivation was irrelevant for further inclusion in the regression model, due to insufficient reliability. Research limitations/implications – The study contributes to the debate in the literature about which entrepreneurial motivations affect the growth of small businesses in LDCs. Practical implications – The results reported in this study also have implications for how small business growth in LDCs can be supported and stimulated by policy-making practice. Originality/value – This study shows that entrepreneurial motivation is not a clear distinction between necessity and opportunity, but that a mix of motivations is important to assess the growth of small businesses in an LDC, which is an understudied context.

The objective of this study is to explore entrepreneurial motivation in a least developed country (LDC), which can be divided into push factors and pull factors, without a priori separation between those which are necessity-driven and those which are opportunity-driven. This study shows that the premise "For people who start their own business in an LDC, push factors are more important than pull factors" can be rejected. In contrast to the findings from prior studies on entrepreneurship in LDCs, this study shows that push factors and pull factors are not mutually exclusive. In addition, this study shows that pull factors are even more important than push factors, and that therefore push factors only play a minor role for entrepreneurs. The overall implications are that motivation is a more combined, and nuanced construct, and that the Western concept of entrepreneurial motivation and method of measuring entrepreneurial motivation, are globally applicable.

Purpose Entrepreneurship research in the context of developing countries has typically investigated the ways in which culture, politics or economic institutions prohibit or enable entrepreneurial activities using macro-level surveys and deductive designs. In contrast, the purpose of this paper is to take a micro-institutional perspective to study these three institutions influencing entrepreneurial activities in such a context. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on inductive, qualitative field data from a challenging institutional environment, Tanzania. This includes two focus groups, one with experts and one with entrepreneurs; and 24 individual interviews with entrepreneurs. Findings Entrepreneurial activities in Tanzania are not constrained only by bureaucracy and arbitrary enforcement, access to capital, competition and consumer spending, but also by language barriers, negative media portrayals and gender disparity. In their favour, recent trade policy, opening up of borders and changing gender relations, has led to more opportunities, but just as important are traditional festivals, marital gift-giving and familial support. Entrepreneurs respond to institutional constraints in many creative ways, including undertaking entrepreneurial strategies, developing inner strength, joining associations, giving back to communities and skilfully managing relations with authorities. Originality/value The fine-grained discussion of the findings of this study specifically contributes to theory by illustrating the constraining and enabling role of under-represented institutions, such as festivals and marriages, as well as entrepreneurial creative responses that define everyday entrepreneurial life in a developing country.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of decision-making, in terms of the effectuation and causation orientation of small business owners, on the growth of their small businesses in an uncertain environment: Burundi. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of primary data from a pre-study of 29 expert interviews, a questionnaire was developed and was filled in by 154 small business owners in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. Subsequently, correlation analyses, a factor analysis and regression analyses were performed to test the hypotheses. Findings While, on the one hand, the findings show that small business owners who perceive the environment as uncertain are more effectuation-oriented than causation-oriented; on the other hand, the findings show that effectuation and causation orientations do not influence later small business growth. Therefore, other determinants for small business growth in an uncertain environment should be further explored. Originality/value This paper fills the research gap of decision-making in relation to small business growth from the entrepreneurs who are among the billion people who live in absolute poverty. On the basis of Western studies, effectuation might be more present in contexts of dealing with many uncertainties of future phenomena, and that it is often positively correlated with firm growth. In contrast, this paper shows that neither an effectuation orientation nor a causation orientation significantly affects small business growth in a context that can be assumed as highly uncertain.

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This study explores the factors determining the entry and stay of entrepreneurs in the informal economy in a Least Developed Country (LDC): Tanzania. Qualitative data from a focus group with six experts, and individual interviews with two experts and 15 entrepreneurs from the informal economy, were analysed. The results show that (1) necessity motivations are important for the entry and stay of entrepreneurs, as well as (2) the unattractive factors of the formal economy (e.g. degree of excessive regulations regarding high taxes)/attractive factors of the informal economy (e.g. little procedures, low capital requirements) and (3) low levels of education possessed by entrepreneurs, emerged as essential. This study enriches the literature with personal narratives of entrepreneurial activities from the micro level. Therefore, many detailed factors are revealed of the lives of entrepreneurs and experts, dealing in one way or the other with the informal economy.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which performance and environmental sustainability orientations (ESOs) are developed, as well as their association, in a typical impoverished community: the informal economy of an African least developed country (LDC). Design/methodology/approach Based on a literature review and a pre-study on the spot, a questionnaire was developed before being completed by 140 informal food vendors – that is, “subsistence entrepreneurs” – in Tanzania. t-Tests, correlation analyses and regression analyses were carried out to approach the formulated hypotheses. Findings The results showed that a significant distinction can be made between basic and advanced performance. In addition, the respondents showed significantly higher levels of awareness of ESO practices that are intangible and are not fully within their control than the so-called personal tangible ESO practices. However, performance was minimally affected by ESOs. Originality/value While firm performance and environmental sustainability have been shortlisted on agendas outside academia (e.g. international development organisations) as a means to develop LDCs, the scientific community is lagging behind with regard to these two. This paper is one step forward in unravelling how performance and ESOs occur in LDCs.