This JBV Special Issue seeks to provide a robust analysis of entrepreneurship and the mitigation and possible alleviation of desperate poverty that can flow from successful entrepreneurial practices. We define entrepreneurship and its solutions in the broadest sense of the words in hopes of generating new insights on entrepreneurship and the desperately poor. All else being equal, we encourage teams that include authors from settings of desperate poverty and/or that span disciplines to encourage diversity of thinking to create the path breaking insights that we seek. Deadline: November 15, 2011.
Over the past twenty years, the living standards of tens of millions of individuals around the world have improved dramatically. This progress is noteworthy and encouraging. In spite of this progress, however, stubborn levels of poverty remain among the bottom fifth of the world’s population. In fact, approximately 1.5 billion people still live on an average of US $1.25 or less per day. By any standard, individuals who are living on this level of income (or slightly more or slightly less than this amount) are desperately poor; yet they represent one of the largest untapped market opportunities from an entrepreneurial perspective. Ventures have the ability to not only reach significant numbers of new consumers among these desperately poor but also to help these individuals in ways that governmental aid has failed to.
Many business leaders are seeking to address the issues surrounding entrenched levels of desperate poverty that characterize multiple regions and countries. To date, however, entrepreneurship scholars have been slower to identify and examine an array of questions associated with creating value for multiple stakeholders while serving the desperately poor. In fact, research on entrepreneurial practices as well as more general business practices within poverty-stricken settings remains limited.
Papers can be submitted via http://ees.elsevier.com/jbv/ between October 15 and November 15, 2011. Questions about this Special Issue can be directed to any of the guest editors ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
