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Aspirations to grow: when micro- and informal enterprises in the street food sector speak for themselves

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  • A. J. Knox

    (University of Cape Town)

  • H. Bressers

    (Universtiy of Twente)

  • N. Mohlakoana

    (Universtiy of Twente)

  • J. Groot

    (University of Cape Town
    University of Cape Town)

Abstract

The street food sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is a source of affordable and nutritious meals for the urban poor, while also being an important source of income for the women who dominate this sector. Despite the importance of this sector, many micro- and informal enterprises are labelled as “survivalist”, beyond the reach of common development policies, which give priority to so-called growth-oriented enterprises. When given the chance to speak for themselves, do enterprises express any aspirations to grow? Contrary to the literature, our findings show that necessity-driven enterprises do aspire to grow and that this is true for both those owned by men and women. Using contextual interaction theory, this paper explains why it is possible for previous authors to come to such a different conclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • A. J. Knox & H. Bressers & N. Mohlakoana & J. Groot, 2019. "Aspirations to grow: when micro- and informal enterprises in the street food sector speak for themselves," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jglont:v:9:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1186_s40497-019-0161-7
    DOI: 10.1186/s40497-019-0161-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Esther Salvi & Frank-Martin Belz & Sophie Bacq, 2023. "Informal Entrepreneurship: An Integrative Review and Future Research Agenda," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(2), pages 265-303, March.
    2. repec:thr:techub:10029:y:2022:i:1:p:419-437 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Jonathan S. Crush & Lawrence Kazembe & Ndeyapo Nickanor, 2023. "Opportunity and Survival in the Urban Informal Food Sector of Namibia," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Ana Pueyo & Simon Bawakyillenuo & Marco Carreras, 2020. "Energy Use and Enterprise Performance in Ghana: How Does Gender Matter?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 1249-1287, September.
    5. TC Mahopo & CN Nesamvuni & AE Nesamvuni & Melanie de Bruyn & J Van Niekerk, 2022. "Socioeconomic characteristic of street food vending enterprises in the Vhembe district, Limpopo province," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 29(1), pages 419-437, March.

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