Abstract
In recent years, there has been a growing realisation that beyond the realm of legitimate entrepreneurship is a large, hidden enterprise culture composed of entrepreneurs conducting some or all of their trade off-the-books. Until now, however, few have evaluated how many entrepreneurs start-up their ventures trading off-the-books and why they do so. Reporting face-to-face interviews conducted in Ukraine during 2005-2006 with 331 entrepreneurs, the finding is not only that the vast majority (90%) operate partially or wholly off-the-books, but also that they are not all driven by necessity, as a last resort and as a survival strategy into entrepreneurship. Revealing how many are willing rather than reluctant entrepreneurs; and that even those who were initially reluctant and ventured into it out of necessity, became more willing entrepreneurs over time as their business became established - the paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for both further research and public policy.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 165-180 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2010 |
Keywords
- Enterprise culture
- Entrepreneurship
- Informal economy
- Necessity entrepreneurs
- Shadow economy
- Tax compliance
- Ukraine
- Underground sector
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business and International Management
- Economics and Econometrics