Hello!
Just a quick reminder that the virtual seminar series of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability (ARCS) will be hosting Luca Berchicci (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University) next Friday on Oct 3. He will present "Does Necessity Entrepreneurship Alleviate Necessity? An Abductive Study of Entrepreneurial Activities in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp". The format will include a 20-minute presentation, followed by 10 mins of Q&A and an additional 30 mins of informal discussion with the speaker-a valuable opportunity for PhD students and junior faculty to connect and engage. Please find the abstract below:
This study investigates whether necessity entrepreneurship (NE) alleviates needs in marginalized contexts, focusing on the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. Prior research often reduces NE to individual survival, overlooking its broader social role. We adopt an abductive, mixed-methods approach, combining ethnographic observation with two household surveys (3,842 households in 2021, re-surveyed in 2025). This panel design allows us to trace both the determinants of livelihood choices and household transitions over time. Our preliminary analysis shows that entrepreneurial engagement is not universally accessible but shaped by past business experience, household composition, and social capital, rather than resource endowments.
Longitudinal evidence further reveals that households often move between different livelihood strategies, with NE offering more sustainable improvements in well-being compared to alternatives. Contrary to assumptions of linear need satisfaction, necessity entrepreneurs distribute resources across survival, social, and future-oriented goals. We argue that NE is a multifaceted life project, sustaining dignity, identity, and hope beyond short-term survival.
Please register for the seminar on the ARCS website or directly here.
Here is the list of the remaining speakers and dates for this year (11am-12pm EST):
|
Lisa Keding (awardee, RWTH Aachen) – Nov 7
|
|
Aline Gatignon (HEC Paris) – Dec 5
|
|
Natalia Lyly (awardee, LUT University) – Jan 9
|
|
Shaz Ansari (Cambridge) – Feb 6
|
|
Fabrizio Ferraro (IESE) – Mar 6
|
|
Joao Albino-Pimentel (USC) – April 3
|
|
Ben Lewis (BYU) - May 1
|
Hope to see you there!
------------------------------
Best regards,
Olga Hawn, PhD
Associate Professor, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Sustainability Distinguished Fellow
Faculty Director, Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
Associate Editor, Strategic Management Journal
Associate Editor, Management Science
------------------------------