Understanding the dynamics of agri-entrepreneurship in developing countries

Purpose Scholars emphasize contextualizing entrepreneurship to gain deeper insights into entrepreneurial dynamics in various contexts (i.e., regions, sectors, and periods). The agriculture sector presents an interesting context for investigating entrepreneurship as it functions within particular socio-economic and environmental conditions. This sector holds immense potential to significantly impact the global GDP and employment, as well as contribute to the achievement of several SDGs. It is particularly crucial for the impoverished developing world, where the majority of the agricultural population resides in rural areas and is primarily associated with agriculture for their livelihoods. Despite its significance, the sector remains underdeveloped due to numerous challenges. As a result, the sector’s potential for employment generation, poverty alleviation, and food security remains unrealized. Agricultural entrepreneurship has the capacity to transform this scenario by introducing innovative solutions. It has become an important catalyst for rural development, poverty alleviation, and food security, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the dynamics of the sector to help foster agricultural entrepreneurship. However, the mainstream entrepreneurship literature has overlooked the agriculture sector, and existing research has primarily focused on developed economies and urban settings. Conversely, there is limited empirical evidence that addresses the distinctive dynamics of agricultural entrepreneurship in developing countries, particularly focusing on marginalized smallholders in challenging rural contexts, such as the highland Himalayan region. This gap in the literature hinders the formulation of policies and programs that can effectively support agri-entrepreneurship within these regions. Therefore, heeding calls for contextualizing entrepreneurship, this thesis aims to investigate the dynamics of agricultural entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on smallholder constraints and determinants in developing countries and how these factors manifest in challenging rural environments such as the highland Himalayan context, as well as how community-based organizations such as the Village Agricultural Cooperatives (VACs) are instrumental in fostering agri-entrepreneurship thus improving livelihoods of marginalized rural communities. Using these interconnected studies, the thesis seeks to guide policymakers, development practitioners, and aspiring agricultural entrepreneurs to address challenges and foster agri-entrepreneurship to drive sustainable development, improve food security, and create economic opportunities for rural communities. Literature Analysis This thesis builds upon a growing body of literature on agricultural/ rural entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on constrained (rural/agricultural) entrepreneurship, cognitive/ behavioral aspects, and institutional and social capital dimensions. Despite growing interest among scholars in contextualizing entrepreneurship, the mainstream entrepreneurship literature has neglected the agriculture sector and rural contexts, particularly in the developing world. The smallholders, who represent the majority of the agricultural population, are often overlooked by entrepreneurship researchers and policymakers, especially in challenging rural contexts such as the unique highland Himalayan context. By contextualizing entrepreneurship studies, this thesis uses the sectoral and regional context approach. It focuses on the agriculture sector in developing countries with a particular focus on under-represented smallholders in the scarcely explored highland Himalayan context. Theories such as the entrepreneurial ecosystem, institutional theory, collective action, and social capital theory guide this research. The current body of literature lacks a comprehensive, agriculture-specific synthesis of constraints to smallholder entrepreneurship, particularly in developing countries. The extant literature on smallholders’ constraints is often scattered and fragmented, mainly focusing on individual barriers rather than providing a thorough comprehension of the multifaceted constraints to agri-entrepreneurship. Therefore, the first study conducts a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature to identify, categorize, and prioritize the constraints to agri-entrepreneurship, to provide a comprehensive overview of constraints faced by smallholders in their entrepreneurial endeavors in developing countries. This global perspective provides a theoretical foundation and identifies gaps in understanding region-specific challenges and effective enabling mechanisms. Moreover, the body of research on entrepreneurial behavior indicates that there is a lack of studies that concentrate on the agriculture sector and are mostly inclined towards sector-neutral, generic entrepreneurial behavior. The extant scholarship has paid little attention to early-stage entrepreneurial activity within the agriculture sector, particularly in the context of developing countries. Therefore, using the latest GEM dataset, the second study quantitatively analyzes the influence of cognitive and sociocultural factors on the propensity to participate in agri-entrepreneurship activities in developing countries. Furthermore, the rural settings, particularly the highland regions in developing countries such as the Himalayan region of Pakistan, are scarcely explored in the (agricultural) entrepreneurship literature. Therefore, the third study explores context-specific factors constraining marginalized smallholders from engaging in agri-entrepreneurship in the highland Himalayan context, whereas the fourth study analyses the role of community-based organizations such as VACs as an enabling mechanism to address marginalized smallholder constraints and foster agri-entrepreneurship through collective action in the under-explored highland Himalayan context. Research Design This thesis is structured into four interconnected studies. Article 1 uses the systematic literature review (SLR) methodology followed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to synthesize global evidence on constraints to agri-entrepreneurship, particularly for smallholders in developing countries, identify themes, and research gaps. Using the GEM dataset (APS 2020), Article 2 quantitatively (using logit regression and correlation) analyzed the effects of cognitive and social factors on agri-entrepreneurship in developing countries. Article 3 employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing semi-structured interviews with key informants and thematic analysis using Gioia approach, to provide nuanced and contextualized insights into smallholder constraints in the highland Himalayan region. Article 4 uses a qualitative case-study approach to analyze how VACs mitigate smallholders’ constraints and stimulate entrepreneurship through semi-structured interviews with key informants, document reviews of VACs, and informal discussions with farmers in the highland Himalayan region, allowing for in-depth exploration of a potential solution. This mixed-method approach integrates global insights with in-depth regional analysis, creating triangulation and ensuring a thorough understanding of the constraints, determinants, and approaches to agri-entrepreneurship among smallholders in developing countries. The SLR provides a foundation, the qualitative study adds depth, and the case study illustrates strategies to mitigate those challenges, collectively giving a holistic understanding of the dynamics of agri-entrepreneurship in developing regions. Results This thesis contributes to advancing the understanding of agricultural entrepreneurship, particularly focusing on smallholders in developing countries. Article 1 synthesizes global evidence on smallholders’ constraints to agri-entrepreneurship in developing countries. This study systematically identified and classified smallholder constraints into various thematic categories, which include market-related challenges, financial constraints, human capital limitations, institutional factors, technological shortcomings, and infrastructural challenges. These constraints often intersect, exacerbating challenges and limiting entrepreneurial potential. The existing literature on smallholder constraints is usually scattered and fragmented; therefore, by categorizing and prioritizing, this study provides a comprehensive overview of smallholder constraints in the developing world. Article 2 investigates the factors (cognitive and social) that influence early-stage entrepreneurial activity in the agriculture sector in developing countries using two distinct models. Assessment of individual factors found self-efficacy as the sole significant predictor of agricultural entrepreneurship emphasizing the role of knowledge and skills in agricultural entrepreneurial decision-making, while when various elements of cognitive (opportunity perception, risk perception, and perceived self-efficacy) and social factors (role models, social status, media coverage, and desirable career choice) are combined, they significantly influence engagement in agricultural entrepreneurship, suggesting that both individual mindset and societal support systems are crucial in fostering agriculture entrepreneurship. Article 3 attempts to contextualize the constrained agri-entrepreneurship through an in-depth investigation focusing on the marginalized smallholders in the highland Himalayan context. Drawing on in-depth expert interviews and rigorous thematic analysis, this study revealed a deeply interconnected set of structural, sociocultural, spatial-ecological, and institutional constraints that shape the everyday realities of rural livelihoods in this geo-politically sensitive, socio-culturally conservative, and environmentally fragile context. The smallholder farmers