ABSTRACT
Necessity entrepreneurs are defined as individuals who see entrepreneurship as their last resort and start a business because all other work options are either non-existent or unsatisfactory (Minniti et al., 2005; Acs, 2006). Necessity entrepreneurs make up a sizeable proportion of the total entrepreneurial population, particularly in countries characterized by high entrepreneurship rates (Poschke, 2012). ‘Push’ factors such as long-term unemployment, redundancy or the threat of losing one’s job lead to individuals’ engagement in necessity entrepreneurship (Thurik et al., 2008). The opportunities they exploit are generally less profitable and their businesses are said to be less successful financially than those built by opportunity-based entrepreneurs (Amit & Mueller, 1995; Poschke, 2012). While necessity-based entrepreneurship is more dominant in less-developed and developing economies (Kelley et al., 2013), it is not just a developing-world phenomenon. Entrepreneurs in precarious, socially isolated and poverty-stricken situations also exist in developed ‘rich’ countries (Fayolle, 2011; Lambrecht & Beens, 2005; Levratto & Serverin, 2011). Far from constituting the successful enterprises of tomorrow, an overwhelming number of independent entrepreneurs are the ‘working poor’ of today (Levratto & Serverin, 2011).
