Understanding the Motivation Complexity of Grassroots Ecopreneurs at the Base of the Pyramid

Abstract

This qualitative study focuses on the factors that motivate grassroots ecopreneurship at the base of the pyramid (BoP). Our study is anchored by the research question, “How are grassroots ecopreneurs at the BoP of Kenya motivated?” The participants were mainly drawn from beneficiaries of a multinational Non-Governmental Organization. Using a grounded theory approach, we conducted 12 qualitative case studies, 10 focus groups and 2 interviews, recording 61 participants. We triangulated data sources through data collected from primary and secondary sources, such as archival documents and archival interviews. Extant research suggests that grassroots ecopreneurs (GEs) at the BoP primarily engage in necessity-driven ventures. However, this study demonstrates that GEs’ motives to launch new ventures appear to be multifaceted and simultaneous (not linear or sequential). We also observed an interlinkage of environmental and economic motives in GEs who diversified their investments into related and unrelated areas. Our findings also indicate that GEs at the BoP developed socio-ethical motives-the GEs’ concerns toward other members of the community-and a desire to create social value beyond private value. All these motives contributed to the GEs establishing and sustaining viable businesses.

External enablers and entrepreneurial ecosystems: The brokering role of the anchor tenant in capacitating grassroots ecopreneurs

“…We deployed purposive sampling, a nonprobability sampling technique which involves selecting participants with specific characteristics and experiences (McKeever, Jack, & Anderson, 2015; Öberseder, Schlegelmilch, & Murphy, 2013). Using the definition of grassroots ecopreneur as stated earlier, we exerted the following criteria to determine our sample frame: (1) for‐profit ecopreneurs living or providing goods and services to those at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) (Juma, Olabisi, & Griffin‐El, 2022); (2) public and private firms that collaborated with the ecopreneurs; and (3) governmental organizations or agencies that partner with ecopreneurs at the BOP. According to the aforementioned definition, grassroot eco‐enterprises include both for‐profit and nonprofit entities.…”

“…Excitedly, we also note a cyclical effect in that the ecological degradation that inspired the formation of the ecosystem fosters venture creation motivated to mitigate this same ecological degradation. Hence, the study illuminates the unique research opportunity in the field of sustainability, specifically (Volkmann et al, 2021), where the system of venture creation lends to particular business models informed by the ecological idiosyncrasies of that geographic region's ecosystems (Juma et al, 2022;Muñoz & Cohen, 2018;Neumeyer & Santos, 2018).…”

Entrepreneurship at the Bottom of the Pyramid: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Coming from a lower socioeconomic class [45] and having a low income [16] results in poverty issues at the BoP [64,81]. Normally, BoP business owners lack motivation [87] to proactively employ business opportunities for wealth creation. Instead, they choose to establish businesses to cope with survival threats in the form of self-employment [3,47,82].…”

Competitive Sustainability: The Intersection of Sustainability and Business Success

“…The knowledge barrier impeding sustainability's competitiveness originates from business managers [4,5] and subsidiary managers within multinationals [2] through consumers [6]. We also saw in [8] that it could affect entrepreneurs.…”

“…In [8], we saw microlevel evidence from entrepreneurs in Africa, an understudied population where grassroot entrepreneurs are motivated to start sustainable businesses in part because of their concerns about the environment. As the authors of [8] noted, this was contrary to much prior work and traditions, which hold that grassroot entrepreneurs are motivated by necessity (largely true) and necessity only.…”