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The objective of this paper is to establish whether informal firms have entrepreneurial possibilities, or are marginal and inconsequential. The authors explore the nature of informal entrepreneurship in the theoretically rich context of Tunisia where, in the turbulent aftermath of the Arab Spring, the fiercely competitive environment is characterized by high unemployment while informal enterprise flourishes. The authors critically examine concepts of push and pull, necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship, as used in some studies to ‘explain’ informal entrepreneurship as inferior. It is argued that these are descriptors and that it is wrong to ascribe causality to them with regard to the nature of businesses. Consequently, it is maintained that informal enterprises have been wrongly construed as dead-end, marginal small businesses with no entrepreneurial future. The paper presents a comparative case analysis of three informal and three formal firms, using the framework of entrepreneurial orientation. The authors find that, although their nature does affect size and growth, informal enterprises are entrepreneurial. Moreover, when viewed more broadly, these businesses are but a different form of entrepreneurship. Their entrepreneurial ‘fit’ is in the opportunity created by their context and circumstances. It is therefore conceptually wrong to dismiss them as marginal, but practically right to seek out ways to bring them into the formal sector.

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This article examines the entrepreneurial intentions of young well educated people in Tunisia. Tunisia is a Muslim country which is “catching up”. Hence, understanding the attitudes and entrepreneurial intentions of females, and contrasting these with males, will provide an account of cultural attitudes towards female enterprise. Our survey of 332 students showed that male and female intentions were very positive, but varied by gender. We found that cultural gender expectations continued to play a major role, but that this was most obvious in how female enterprise could be operated, rather than in the attractiveness of entrepreneurship itself.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how knowledge and information is shared by small information and communication technology firms in Tunisia.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a comparative case study approach. This was intended to collect data that describe processes and also to elicit information about the reasons for these processes. The authors set the study in the context of a developing country.FindingsIt was found that information and knowledge is key to the operational success of these companies. Knowledge, and its application, is crucial to their competitive advantage. The companies have developed very useful internal systems for sharing information. They also have efficient methods for tapping into existing external knowledge. However, evidence was also found of immature national information sharing systems. The authors attribute this to the level of development in Tunisia and to the understandable attitudes of the firm owners.Research limitations/implicationsWhilst unable to generalise empirically beyond these cases, the authors can conceptually generalise that these processes are likely to be common in similar national contexts. The implication is then that developing countries such as Tunisia may need to invest more in creating knowledge hubs.Originality/valueThe paper contributes by describing knowledge sharing in a less well‐researched area. Conceptually, it offers an appreciation of how knowledge sharing works in less‐developed regions.

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