Political entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship ecosystem perspective

We use the entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective to study political entrepreneurship as a form of alignment between disruptive and unproductive entrepreneurs with authorities aiming to get privileged access to resources. Political entrepreneurship (PE) has emerged as a phenomenon in transition and developing economies and may compromise the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) objectives. Combining interview and survey data, this study provides an in-depth assessment of entrepreneurial ecosystems in a transition economy and the role that political entrepreneurs play in moderating the effect of resources on the quality of entrepreneurship. Our findings are generalizable to other transition and developing economies as we demonstrate what various configurations of factors increase stakeholders’ perception about EE and directly affect its quality. Our findings reveal that stakeholders appreciate the evolution trends towards mature and productive entrepreneurship, but the progress is slow, nonlinear, with setbacks, still seriously threatened by corruption, lack of competence, and the interference of the political factor as well as regional differences. This study offers implications on how to adopt a place-based and holistic approach to institutional reforms when policymakers aim at creating productive entrepreneurial ecosystems. This study implications are in the adoption of a place-based and holistic approach to institutional reforms when policymakers aim at creating productive entrepreneurial ecosystems. While political entrepreneurship may significantly distort an ecosystem, this study offers recommendations to managers and policymakers who plan to start a business in an environment with weak institutions and the rule of law.

Ethnicity nexus in federalism and the [mis]management of diversity in Africa

Studies on the promise that federalism holds in constituting political order by way of devolutionary mechanisms in a plural society and the seemingly elusive management of diversity in African federal states are in the legions. However, scanty attention has been devoted to the cog attributable to ethnicity in constraining the management of diversity in spite of the promising roles of federalism in the federal states of Africa. The article examines the ethnicity nexus amidst the dominant political and socio-cultural realities that shape the management of diversity in African federal states. Four mutually reinforcing factors— uncritical state-making, political entrepreneurship and elitist power plays, ethno-regional nationalisms, and prebendal politics— undermining federal practices and, ultimately, exacerbating the management of diversity are reported. The article also considers relevant empiricism and critical conceptual questions that emerge from ethnicity in Africa. Empirical illustrations are restricted to Nigeria and Ethiopia: Africa’s appreciably largest federations.

Interactive Political Leadership

In what this book boldly defines as the age of governance, citizens and other relevant and affected stakeholders are active partakers in governing Western liberal societies. This reality is out of tune with traditional sovereign perceptions of political leadership. Drawing on recent theories of interactive governance and political leadership, Eva Sørensen develops a concept of interactive political leadership that aims to capture what political leadership looks like in a society of active, anti-authoritarian, and politically competent citizens. The key message is that although interactive political leadership is no panacea, it is a step forward in developing a mature perception of what political leadership means in a democratic society with a strong participatory political culture. Hence, interactive political leadership stands out as a promising way of promoting the legitimacy and effectiveness of democratic governance by establishing a bridge between representative democracy and emergent forms of political participation, promoting political learning and accountability, strengthening the political entrepreneurship of elected politicians, and mobilizing relevant resources in society. The book develops twenty propositions that sets the agenda for a new and much-needed field of empirical research into political leadership in the age of governance.

The Practice of Political Entrepreneurship in a Rural Javanese Village

This qualitative case study aims to explore the practice of political entrepreneurship in a rural Javanese village. Political entrepreneurship is dictated by the special interest of political entrepreneurs, incentives gained from the political system, and awareness about targeting the change of political institution, an explanation theorized by McCaffrey and Salerno (2011). Unlike the theory, this study assesses the importance of cultural explanation of political entrepreneurship which provides room in an academic discussion. The study reveals the role of Javanese (and Islam) values in encouraging the political entrepreneurship of a village head. Philosophical values of Javanese leadership promoting an exemplary leader (ing ngarso sung tulodo) and leadership behavior that is andap asor (humble) have favored public acceptance of the practice of political entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the doctrine (akhlak) and practices of Islamic rituals by the village head explain the direction of political entrepreneurship. This study discovers also the concept of ‘sungkan’ demonstrated in respect for the performance of the village head. Moreover, the ability to provide solutions to villagers’ problems practiced through suwuk and petungan add gratitude for the village head. Leadership behavior adhering to these cultural and religious values directly or indirectly induced a ‘sungkan’ effect in a reelection bid (the 2013 Village Election). ‘Sungkan’, which is equal to electoral accountability, explicates the outcome of political entrepreneurship for the electoral process in the village that were relatively clean from vote-buying. Lastly, the casework expands political entrepreneurship theory, indeed, cultural and religious values can also drive the practice of political entrepreneurship.