Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the attributes of the Igbos in Eastern Nigeria and the underlying factors influencing their entrepreneurial behaviour. More specifically, the study highlights the links between family, culture, institution and entrepreneurial behaviour in the African context. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a qualitative research method by interviewing 50 entrepreneurs and community leaders of the Igbo nation. Igbos have been described as “naturally enterprising and ingenious” and can be found throughout Nigeria and West Africa. Understanding the vagaries of ethnic entrepreneurship can arguably only be achieved through research that is undertaken within these socio-historically rich, traditional and cultural contexts. Findings Linked to the social learning theory, Igbo families provide an entrepreneurial leadership platform which influences youths through role models, providing mastery experiences and socialisation. The extended family provides a safe environment for risk taking, creativity and innovation. Also, an informal apprenticeship system provides entrepreneurial learning that prepares the younger generation to take to business as a way of life. Research limitations/implications The study is based on a relatively small sample size of 50 respondents, which makes it difficult to generalise the findings despite the benefits of the research methods adopted in the study. Also, there are limitations to the extension of the findings to a generalised Igbo population comprising individuals who may, or may not, behave entrepreneurially. Practical implications There are significant practical implications, both nationally and internationally, for policy makers that are concerned with developing jobs for the growing population of unemployed youths and inclusive entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Originality/value The research has three main contributions. First, it valorises indigenous knowledge of family and institutional entrepreneurial behaviour in an African context. Second, it highlights the importance of the linked institutions of the extended family and the informal apprenticeship system in Igbo culture. Finally, it provides a model and an explanation of how the Igbo culture nurtures and develops transgenerational entrepreneurial behaviour.

The main purpose of this study is to highlight the entrepreneurial exploits of an ethnic group within the African context. The research context is the Igbos in Eastern Nigeria who have been celebrated as the pinnacle of African entrepreneurship. The study also draws on the narratives of 25 experienced business owners, and the emerging data thematically analysed to identify key variables associated with transgenerational business legacies and succession. Additional insight on salient cultural and community nuances like the role of Di-okpara (first son), Umunna (sons of the land), Ikwu (members of a Kindred) and Umuada (daughters of the land) were unravelled through interview transcripts and validated by respondents. These insights inform a contribution to the discourse of ethnic or indigenous entrepreneurship, which has both theoretical and policy implications.

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Purpose The paper intends to explore the role and function of citizen-led social media forums in the marketing of political discourse. Using the entrepreneurial marketing (EM) perspective of “co-creation of value”, this paper aims to explore the manner in which consumers of political communications in a specific region have created user generated value via setting up Facebook forums to manage the risk created by fake news and the trust deficit between citizens and mainstream media (MSM). Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a “netnographic” approach to investigation and the data is analysed manual coding (Kozinets, 2015). Facebook groups form the virtual research field in in the context of this study. This approach is adopted because in a social media environment, netnography capitalises over a growing virtual and online communities and allows researchers to study the richness of these online communities (Mkono and Markwell, 2014). Findings The study provides insights on how administrators and moderators of Facebook groups create value for other users by identifying and communicating the risks emerging from social media-based political communication. The study finds that such citizen-led initiatives act as online social aggregators. The value that such groups offer its users/members resides within a well-bound, controlled and moderated online medium that encourages users to counter fake news and misinformation – thereby solving a key problem within the user market i.e. citizen-media trust deficit. Research limitations/implications The study uses a qualitative, netnographic approach and the emerging insights cannot be generalised. The emergent findings are specific to the context of this study and researchers are encouraged to further test the propositions emerging from this research in varied contexts. Practical implications The study extends the application of EM in political contexts using the seven dimensions of EM, which will provide impetus for future political campaigns in terms of unique value creation for publics. The paper also emerges with the role citizen-initiated forums can play in the effective dissemination of digital political communication as user generated content is aiding political debate. Social implications The study helps highlight the role Facebook forums can play in informing the political discourse within a region. The general distrust amongst the citizens over information produced by MSM has meant vocal critics have taken to Facebook to provide their subjective opinions. Although the findings of this study show that such forums can help identify “fake news” and help citizens discuss and debate the truth, it can also become an avenue to manage propaganda amongst the “unaware” citizens. This paper flags up the issues and benefits of using Facebook forums and in conclusion relates them to similar occurrences of the past to make society aware of the pitfalls of managed propaganda. Originality/value The paper takes initiative in investigating the use of social media in politics from the citizens’ perspective, which is comparatively marginalised against the number of studies taking place, which investigate the political party end use of social media for political marketing.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the elements of the Marwari business community’s sociocultural context, which influence entrepreneurial behaviour. The entrepreneurial behaviour of the Marwari community is interrogated in the context of the wider indigenous entrepreneurship literature. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative approach in exploring the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and effectual entrepreneurial behaviour of a sample of Marwari entrepreneurs. An exploratory, qualitative content analysis method was adopted to highlight the emerging insights into traditional entrepreneurship. Findings The study identifies unique, traditional Marwari behavioural constructs such as Sakh and Samai and the role it plays in trust-based business relationships. Overall, the study finds that although the Marwari practices and ecosystem enable a deep understanding of the entrepreneurial and business process, they do not facilitate creative innovation or entrepreneurial experimentation as seen within modern start-up incubation ecosystems. Research limitations/implications The study took a conscious decision to restrict further data collection upon saturation and used a purposeful sampling technique to increase the richness of this study rather than enlarge the sample and dilute the quality of the data. Practical implications The study identifies nuances of Marwari’s traditional practices that have come to determine their effectual tendencies that support business growth and sustainability. The study, however, finds that the restrictiveness of the Marwari ecosystem practices on fluency of doing business rather than creative innovation and thought experimentation risks the longevity of the traditional ecosystem advantage enjoyed by the Marwaris for centuries. Social implications The study broadens the understanding of the uniqueness of traditional business communities, which are comparatively marginalized in mainstream entrepreneurship research. Via this study, it is seen that the Marwari form of entrepreneurship is collectivist rather than individualist in nature, which differentiates them from their Western counterparts. This helps to explain why entrepreneurs tend to behave differently; hence, achieving a universal definition of entrepreneurship remains a challenge. Originality/value While the relationship between the sociocultural aspects of communities and their entrepreneurial behaviour is known, the role of the constituent elements of the Marwari sociocultural context and influence on business is unclear. This study takes the lead in identifying such elements of the Marwari sociocultural construct and argues how these elements can play a role in the Marwaris demonstrating tendencies of effectual behaviour.