The Journal of Entrepreneurship

Ever since Pope Benedict XVI’s recent social encyclical letter (Caritas in Veritate) released in June 2009, it has been accessed and read by millions of folks across the globe. This article attempts to display a linkage between the central message of the Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth) encyclical letter and social entrepreneurship. We provide evidence for our contention, that what Pope Benedict XVI suggests can be arrived at by utilising a social entrepreneurial solution, and that he is advocating that social entrepreneurship be encouraged and allowed to flourish.

Opportunity recognition (OR) is at the very heart of entrepreneurship. However, research on OR in the context of social entrepreneurship is still in its early stages. First, this article identifies, codifies and analyses OR-relevant articles on social entrepreneurship (SE) through the lens of Sarasvathy’s three views of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition. In the second step, statistical methods are applied on the results to indicate possible correlations among different schools of thought in SE and views on OR. OR in social ventures is found to be a prevalent topic in SE literature and differences in OR between social and commercial ventures are found.

The herbal sector, as it is currently structured, is unable to improve the living standards of the underprivileged communities, who are the gatherers of the medicinal plants, The role of grass-roots organisations and rural networks to reduce transaction costs and enhance market coordination, has been object of study in different sectors but there is a gap in the literature in the herbal sector.

The article portraits the supply relations in the medicinal plant market and suggests to promote medicinal plant enterprises such as Gram Mooligai Company Limited (GMCL), the first community based enterprise active in the herbal sector. Lessons to promote a more equitable sharing of benefits in the sector, to reform the supply chain and to promote new forms of partnership between ayurvedic firms and communities are discussed.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the problems associated with attempting to develop collaborative enterprise amongst farmers in Mexico. Sustainable development of agricultural land requires the development of entrepreneurial and organisational competency in farmers. However, the educational processes involved in such development have been insufficiently studied, especially in emerging economies. This research aims to explore the early stages of the process of transformation from farmers to entrepreneurs, through in-depth interviews with participants in a public pilot project in Mexico. Interviews were performed in the locations where the farmers meet. In total, 28 interviews were carried out: 18 farmers, seven promoters and representatives from three farm links agencies. Results suggest that associative behaviour of farmers is a key element in the process of improving entrepreneurial and organisational competency in the agricultural land. Little prior research into the entrepreneurial development of farmers in Mexico has been undertaken.

This research explores the relationship between entrepreneurial infrastructure and new business development in Taiwan. The study develops a concept of entrepreneurial infrastructure and its nine criteria that determine whether new businesses will participate in these networks. Then, it reports on the results of exploratory, in-depth interviews among 40 entrepreneurs in Taiwan. A model was developed based on the interview data. The research results indicate that entrepreneurial infrastructures that are designed to facilitate new business development may reflect biases toward opportunity-motivated rather than necessity-motivated entrepreneurs. The findings generate a suggestion that a different set of policies and entrepreneurial infrastructures are important to support the necessary entrepreneurship development. The research of new business development adds considerable information to the understanding of the relationship between entrepreneurial development, and the decision to participate in entrepreneurial infrastructures.

Rameshchandra Wamanrao Sawant is a self-taught entrepreneur, now at the helm of diverse RWS group of companies. Sawant and Misra (the author of this case study) have been friends for over four decades. Over the years, Misra has closely observed Ramesh Sawant’s various ventures: marine products exports, real estate development and tourism island development. This is a narrative of an out-of-the-ordinary entrepreneur who did not come from affluence, family business background or a stereotypically entrepreneurial community. Teachers and students may study this case for discussing the old questions: (1) whether entrepreneurs are born or made (2) leadership style and roles of a first generation entrepreneur and (3) succession planning for entrepreneurs.