Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Political Embeddedness of Entrepreneurship in Extreme Contexts: The Case of the West Bank

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article underscores the need for entrepreneurship research in extreme contexts to conceptualize the idiosyncrasies of the geopolitical dynamics under which entrepreneurs operate, and to consider the ethical implications emanating thereof. Undertaking such a task will illuminate the contextual challenges that local entrepreneurs must routinely placate, or otherwise navigate, to survive. Drawing on rich qualitative data from the Occupied Palestinian Territory of the West Bank, this paper demonstrates one avenue by which to capture the nuances of an extreme context in relation to its effects on the entrepreneurial process. Specifically, it shows how data collected at myriad institutional sites—from actors that are not only directly, but also tangentially, connected to entrepreneurship in the local market—can effectively unveil the vicissitudes of the extreme context. This article further contends that a comprehensive and a holistic understanding of the extreme context will move toward revealing the nature of political embeddedness of entrepreneurs in their institutionally unstable environment—a concern that is especially conspicuous in geopolitical areas that would qualify as being extreme.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Graffiti serves as important purpose for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. As Julie Peteet (1996, pp. 140–141) observes: “For Palestinians as a readership, graffiti simultaneously affirmed community and resistance, debated tradition, envisioned competing futures, indexed historical events and processes, and inscribed memory”. This reading explains the significance of “CTRL + ALT + DEL”. Indeed, the phrase represents a combination of keys on a computer that can be pressed simultaneously to terminate a program or to reboot the operating system. The graffiti on the segregation wall depicting this text symbolizes, all at the same time—at least according to one narrative—the need to terminate the existing wall that maintains segregationist policies while underscoring the need to reboot the prevailing operating political system that is grounded in an ideology of fear and racism against the fabricated other (Li and Prasad in press).

References

  • Abdelnour, S. (2013). Beyond South Africa: Understanding Israeli apartheid (Al-Shabaka Brief). Retrieved from: http://al-shabaka.org/node/593.

  • Aldrich, H. E., & Martinez, M. A. (2001). Many are called, few are chosen: An evolutionary perspective for the study of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 25(4), 41–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich, H. E., & Zimmer, C. (1986). Entrepreneurship through social networks. In D. L. Sexton & R. W. Smilor (Eds.), The art and science of entrepreneurship (pp. 3–23). Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allegra, M. (2013). The politics of suburbia: Israel’s settlement policy and the production of space in the metropolitan area of Jerusalem”. Environment and Planning A, 45(3), 497–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Adminstrative Science Quarterly, 50(3), 329–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bamberger, P. A., & Pratt, M. G. (2010). Moving forward by looking back: Reclaiming unconventional research contexts and samples in organizational scholarship. Academy of Management Journal, 53(4), 665–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barth, F. (1963). The role of the entrepreneur in social change in northern Norway. Bergen: Norwegian Universities’ Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barth, F. (1967). On the study of social change. American Anthropologist, 69(6), 661–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, N. G., & Vozikis, G. S. (1994). The influence of self-efficacy on the development of entrepreneurial intentions and actions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 18, 63–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branzei, O., & Abdelnour, S. (2010). Another day, another dollar: Enterprise resilience under terrorism in developing countries. Journal of International Business Studies, 41(5), 804–825.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruton, G. D., Ahlstrom, D., & Obloj, K. (2008). Entrepreneurship in emerging economies: Where we are today and where should the research go in the future. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 32(1), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bullough, A., Renko, M., & Myatt, T. (2014). Danger zone entrepreneurs: The importance of resilience and self-efficacy for entrepreneurial intentions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 38(3), 473–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. L. (1997). Mechanisms of evolutionary change in economic governance: Interaction, interpretation and bricolage. In L. Magnusson & J. Ottosson (Eds.), Evolutionary economics and path dependence (pp. 10–32). Bodmin: Hartnolls Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carsrud, A. L., Gaglio, C. M., & Olm, K. (1987). Entrepreneurs—Mentors, networks, and successful new venture development: An exploratory study. American Journal of Small Business, 12(2), 13–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Central Intelligence Agency. (2011). The world factbook: West Bank. Retrieved from http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html.

  • Claasen, C., & Roloff, J. (2012). The link between responsibility and legitimacy: The case of De Beers in Namibia. Journal of Business Ethics, 107(3), 379–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dacin, M. T., Ventresca, M. J., & Beal, B. D. (1999). The embeddedness of organizations: Dialogue and directions. Journal of Management, 25(3), 317–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dana, L.-P., Etemad, H., & Wright, R. W. (1999). Theoretical foundations of international entrepreneurship. Research in Global Strategic Management, 7, 3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dick, H. (1988). Towards a strategy for development: Empowerment and entrepreneurship. In G. T. Abed (Ed.), The Palestinian economy: Studies in prolonged occupation. Worcester: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubini, P., & Aldrich, H. E. (1991). Personal and extended networks are central to the entrepreneurship process. Journal of Business Venturing, 6(5), 305–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durepos, G., Prasad, A., & Villanueva, C. E. (2016). How might we study international business to account for marginalized subjects? Turning to practice and situating knowledges. Critical Perspectives on International Business, 12(3), 306–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fotaki, M., & Prasad, A. (2015). Questioning neoliberal capitalism and economic inequality in business schools. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 14(4), 556–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2013). Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91(3), 481–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gubrium, J. F., & Holstein, J. A. (1995). Individual agency, the ordinary, and postmodern life. Sociological Quarterly, 36(3), 555–570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gumusay, A. A. (2015). Entrepreneurship from an Islamic perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(1), 199–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagedoorn, J., & Frankort, H. T. W. (2008). The gloomy side of embeddedness: The effects of overembeddness on inter-firm partnership formation. Advances in Strategic Management, 25, 503–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hannah, H. T., Uhl-Bien, M., Avolio, B. J., & Cavaretta, F. L. (2009). A framework for examining leadership in extreme contexts. Leadership Quarterly, 20(6), 897–919.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardy, C., & Maguire, S. (2008). Institutional entrepreneurship. In R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, R. Suddaby, & K. Sahlin (Eds.), SAGE handbook of organizational institutionalism (pp. 198–217). London: Sage.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Harker, C. (2012). Precariousness, precarity, and family: Notes from Palestine. Environment and Planning A, 44(4), 849–865.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haveman, H. A., & Rao, H. (1997). Structuring a theory of moral sentiments: Institutional and organizational coevolution in the early thrift industry. American Journal of Sociology, 102(6), 1606–1651.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollingsworth, J. R. (2002). On institutional embeddedness. In J. R. Hollingsworth, K. H. Muller, & E. J. Hollingsworth (Eds.), Advancing socio-economics: An institutionalist perspective (pp. 87–108). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Honig, B. (2001). Human capital and structural upheaval: A study of manufacturing firms in the West Bank. Journal of Business Venturing, 16(6), 575–594.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Izraeli, D. (1997). Business ethics in the Middle East. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(14), 1555–1560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johannisson, B., & Olaison, L. (2007). The moment of truth—Reconstructing entrepreneurship and social capital in the eye of the storm. Review of Social Economy, 65(1), 55–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karen, D. (2005). No child left behind? Sociology ignored. Sociology of Education, 78(2), 165–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khoury, T. A., & Prasad, A. (2016). Entrepreneurship amid concurrent institutional constraints in less developed countries. Business and Society, 55(7), 934–969.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolk, A., & Lenfant, F. (2015). Partnerships for peace and development in fragile states: Identifying missing links. Academy of Management Perspectives, 29(4), 422–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lampel, J., Honig, B., & Drori, I. (2014). Organizational ingenuity: Concept, processes and strategies. Organization Studies, 35(4), 465–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levi-Strauss, C. (1967). The savage mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, E. P. H., & Prasad, A. From wall 1.0 to wall 2.0: Graffiti, social media, and ideological acts of resistance and recognition among Palestinian refugees. American Behavioral Scientist. (in press)

  • Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mair, J., & Marti, I. (2009). Entrepreneurship in and around institutional voids: A case study from Bangladesh. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(5), 419–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, R. (2009). Israelis get four-fifths of scarce West Bank water, says World Bank. The Guardian (27 May). Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/27/israel-palestinian-water-dispute.

  • Michelson, E. (2007). Lawyers, political embeddedness, and institutional continuity in China’s transition from socialism. American Journal of Sociology, 113(2), 352–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mole, K., & Ram, M. (Eds.). (2012). Perspectives in entrepreneurship. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monitor, Palestine. (2009). 2009 factbook: A reference guide for negotiators, policy makers, academics, and civil society actors on the one-year anniversary of the Annapolis Peace Process. Ramallah: Palestine Monitor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muller, K. H. (2005). On socio-economic embeddedness. In J. R. Hollingsworth, K. H. Muller, & E. J. Hollingsworth (Eds.), Advancing socio-economics: An institutionalist perspective (pp. 59–81). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muna, F., & Khoury, G. C. (2012). The Palestinian executive: Leadership under challenging conditions. Surrey: Gower Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman, K. L. (2000). Organizational transformation during institutional upheaval. Academy of Management Review, 25(3), 602–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change, and economic performance. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Okhmatovskiy, I. (2010). Performance implications of ties to the government and SOEs: A political embeddedness perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 47(6), 1020–1047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peredo, A. M., & Chrisman, J. J. (2006). Toward a theory of community-based enterprise. Academy of Management Review, 31(2), 309–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peteet, J. (1996). The writing on the walls: The graffiti of the intifada. Cultural Anthropology, 11(2), 139–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, N., & Tracey, P. (2007). Opportunity recognition, entrepreneurial capabilities and bricolage: Connecting institutional theory and entrepreneurship in strategic organization. Strategy Organization, 5(3), 313–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation: The political and economic origins of our time. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, A. (2014a). You can’t go home again: And other psychoanalytic lessons from crossing a neo-colonial border. Human Relations, 67(2), 233–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, A. (2014b). Corporeal ethics in an ethnographic encounter: A tale of embodiement from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 30(4), 525–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, A., & Holzinger, I. (2013). Seeing through smoke and mirrors: A critical analysis of CSR. Journal of Business Research, 66(10), 1915–1921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad, A., & Mills, A. J. (2010). Critical management studies and business ethics: A synthesis and three research trajectories for the coming decade. Journal of Business Ethics, 94, 227–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pressman, J. (2003). The Second Intifada: An early look at the background and the causes of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Journal of Conflict Studies, 22(2), 114–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seo, M.-G., & Creed, W. E. D. (2002). Institutional contradictions, praxis, and institutional change: A dialectical perspective. Academy of Management Review, 27(2), 222–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shahwan, U. S. (1989). Entreprneurship and the prospects of development in the West Bank. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 1(3), 257–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smallbone, D., & Welter, F. (2001). The distinctiveness of entrepreneurship in transition economies. Small Business Economics, 16(4), 249–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spicer, A. (2012). Critical theories of entrepreneurship. In K. Mole & M. Ram (Eds.), Perspectives in entrepreneurship: A critical approach (pp. 149–160). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, H. H., & Jarrillo-Mossi, J. C. (1986). Preserving entrepreneurship as companies grow. Journal of Business Strategy, 7(1), 10–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Talmud, I., & Mesch, G. S. (1997). Market embeddedness and corporate instability: The ecology of inter-industrial networks. Social Science Research, 26(4), 419–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobias, J. M., Mair, J., & Barbosa-Leiker, C. (2013). Toward a theory of transformative entrepreneuring: Poverty reduction and conflict resolution in Rwanda’s entrepreneurial coffee sector. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(6), 728–742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uzzi, B. (1997). Social structure and competition in interfirm networks: The paradox of embeddedness. Adminstrative Science Quarterly, 42(1), 35–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkataraman, S. (2004). Regional transformation through technological entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 19(1), 153–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, T. J. (2013). Entrepreneurship in action: Bringing together the individual, organizational and institutional dimensions of entrepreneurial actions. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 25(5–6), 404–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welter, F. (2011). Contextualizing entrepreneurship—Conceptual challenges and ways forward. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(1), 165–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaheer, S. (1995). Overcoming the liability of foreignness. Academy of Management Journal, 38(2), 341–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zukin, S., & DiMaggio, P. (1990). Structures of capital: The social organization of the economy. New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this article was presented by Ajnesh Prasad at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Orlando, Florida in August 2013. Ajnesh acknowledges research funding through a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada that enabled his data collection in the West Bank, upon which this article is based. Authors are listed in alphabetical order.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. York University, Toronto, Canada

    Farzad H. Alvi

  2. Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico City, Mexico

    Ajnesh Prasad & Paulina Segarra

Authors
  1. Farzad H. Alvi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ajnesh Prasad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Paulina Segarra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ajnesh Prasad.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Alvi, F.H., Prasad, A. & Segarra, P. The Political Embeddedness of Entrepreneurship in Extreme Contexts: The Case of the West Bank. J Bus Ethics 157, 279–292 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3637-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3637-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation