Entrepreneurial Promotion and Sustainability: The Community as a Unit of Analysis

Abstract Purpose To introduce researchers to useful techniques and methodologies that are effective in the African environment that reflect both the unique context, challenges, and opportunities of community-based research. Methodology/approach We argue that strategic research methods should be utilized that reflect the variation that is found environmentally and geographically. Because the field of strategy emerged in the United States followed by Europe, it lacks an adequate methodology to examine comparative underdevelopment by communities in Africa and the developing world. We provide a case study example of an action research project that highlights an effective way to introduce strategic change at the community level in an African context – a small rural town in Uganda. Research limitations Our example is based on a single case study in Uganda and may or may not have generalizable implications. Originality/value We explain the necessity and the process by which the action research takes place, longitudinally, providing a strategic solution to the problem of behavioral poverty. We introduce our process of community entrepreneurship as an alternative to strategic methods based primarily on existing organizations reflecting resource munificence. We demonstrate the importance of extensive community debate, collaborative decision making, and solidarity in supporting positive action-research outcomes.