Ladan, U. and Williams, C.C. orcid.org/0000-0002-3610-1933 (2019) Evaluating theorizations of informal sector entrepreneurship: Some lessons from Zamfara, Nigeria. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 24 (04). 1950022. ISSN 1084-9467
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically four competing theories that variously explain informal sector entrepreneurship as a traditional activity that has not yet been incorporated into the modern system (modernization theory), a form of production integral to contemporary capitalism conducted by marginalized population groups as a survival strategy (structuralist theory), a voluntarily chosen endeavor and popular reaction to excessive regulation by the state (neo−liberal theory) or a voluntarily chosen practice conducted for social, redistributive, political resistance or identity reasons (post-structuralist theory). Reporting the results of face−to−face interviews with 215 informal entrepreneurs in Zamfara, a tropical region in Nigeria, the finding is that no one theory is universally valid. Instead, each theory is valid in relation to different groups of entrepreneur and only by combining all of them can a finer-grained and more nuanced explanation of the complex and heterogeneous character of informal sector entrepreneurship be achieved.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2019 World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Entrepreneurship; informal sector; informal entrepreneurship; Nigeria; Zamfara state |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Management School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 25 Mar 2020 12:15 |
Last Modified: | 01 Dec 2020 01:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | World Scientific Publishing |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1142/s1084946719500225 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:158731 |