Know Thy Necessity Entrepreneur: Leverage CSR For A Stronger Impact

One way companies in developing economies can fulfil their corporate social responsibility (CSR) is through supporting and strengthening ‘necessity entrepreneurs’— people pushed into self-employment due to lack of job opportunities. A deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial processes followed by necessity entrepreneurs can help CSR leaders shape initiatives that will impact social development. Two studies – one by John C. Dencker, Sophie Bacq, Marc Gruber and Melvin Haas, and another by Christiana Weber, Anja Fasse, Helen M. Haugh and Ulrike Grote – provide a framework for CSR leaders to help structure institutional support for different types of necessity entrepreneurs 1,2