Doing business in fear: senior entrepreneurship amid rising violence in Peru

Purpose Drawing on mixed-embeddedness theory, the present study aims to address the following research question: How do senior entrepreneurs in Peru navigate the challenge of state fragility and the associated increase in violence currently affecting the country? Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted 33 semi-structured interviews with senior entrepreneurs in Peru. The data collected were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings Findings reveal that senior entrepreneurs employ three primary coping strategies: work routine strategies (reducing working hours and days, considering home-based business activities and exploring digital business operations); personal and livelihood security strategies (relying on thugs and henchmen, adopting new protective technologies and increasing dependence on daily loans); and business entrepreneurial strategies (accepting lower sales, expressing concerns about the future of their businesses and contemplating leaving their homeland). These strategies represent the main ways in which senior entrepreneurs in Peru respond to the country’s state fragility and escalating violence. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on entrepreneurship and grand challenges, an area in which empirical studies on how senior entrepreneurs cope with challenges such as state fragility remain scarce to date.