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Narrative Insights Reveal the Motivations of Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs in Laos

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  • Manithaythip Thephavanh

    (School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia
    National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Vientiane P.O. Box 7170, Laos)

  • Joshua Neil Monty Philp

    (School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia)

  • Ian Nuberg

    (School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia)

  • Matthew Denton

    (School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia)

  • Kim Alexander

    (Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia)

Abstract

The participation of youth in agricultural entrepreneurship (agripreneurship) is beneficial for the sustainable development of agrarian societies that are transitioning towards the commercialization of agriculture. Accordingly, we investigated the phenomena that motivate practicing young, small- and medium-scale agripreneurs to pursue their careers, using the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) as a case study. To achieve this, we applied narrative inquiry techniques to the accounts of 74 young Laotian agripreneurs regarding their entry into agripreneurship. This enabled us to identify and describe common and influential paradigms that were subsequently interpreted from the perspective of entrepreneurship and behavioral studies of career decision making to explain the influence of motivations on the young agripreneurs. Our study has shown that despite the characteristics that set agripreneurship in Laos apart from entrepreneurship in general, commonly identified typologies of entrepreneurial motivation, particularly income, extrinsic benefits and emotional paradigms also motivate Lao youth to become agripreneurs. The application of narrative inquiry has revealed the emphasis some practicing agripreneurs in Laos place on the attainability of their career, which resulted in its practice by both opportunity-driven and necessity-driven entrepreneurs, with implications for the sustainable development of other countries in transition to commercial agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Manithaythip Thephavanh & Joshua Neil Monty Philp & Ian Nuberg & Matthew Denton & Kim Alexander, 2022. "Narrative Insights Reveal the Motivations of Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs in Laos," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13113-:d:940937
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