Abstract

An emergent theme in the field of entrepreneurship research focuses on understanding how institutions, ethnicity and culture affect entrepreneurial behaviour. Despite the many scholarly work in this field, very little is known about the links between family, institutions and entrepreneurial behaviour in the African context. By interviewing 50 entrepreneurs and community leaders of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, this paper applies an induction method via the lens of effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001) as a process by which entrepreneurs manage resource and stakeholders to create opportunities. This paper examines the attributes of the Igbos in relation to their entrepreneurial behaviour. In doing so, this paper contributes to bridging the gap in prevailing assumptions on entrepreneurial behaviour that are based on Western values and assumptions. Building on research on effectuation, institutional voids theory, business strategy and business history, this study shed light on an under-researched tribal and family-based behaviour, in an under-theorized setting and institutional uncertainty (African context).