The Promotion of Ethical Entrepreneurship in the Third World: Exploring Realities and Complexities from an Embedded Perspective

Abstract

Ethical entrepreneurship has become a global concern phenomenon. Its promotion is coming with meaningful implications for entrepreneurs in both developed and underdeveloped countries. This article explores the supportive approach to ethical entrepreneurship in the Third World, taking as a case study one of the older NGOs of Zimbabwe that is implementing support programs for enhancing an ethics-driven entrepreneurship. Attention is given to the often elusive influence of the idiosyncrasy of the context in the understandings of ethical entrepreneurship. Guidance in its interpretation is provided by the notion of embeddedness, which helps to clarify how the meaning and the measures to promote ethical entrepreneurship are shaped by the culture and values that people share in contexts characterized by extreme poverty. Based on narrative interviews, informal conversations, direct observation and secondary sources, findings show that, in general, the success of support programs depends on the integration of the measures into local people’ expectations of what ethical means in the context of entrepreneurship.