Entrepreneurship as a pathway into and out of poverty: a configuration perspective

ABSTRACT Entrepreneurship is widely argued to be an important solution to poverty. While there is a growing volume of work on poverty and entrepreneurial action in developing nations, empirical work in developed countries is more scarce. Drawing on the entrepreneurial intentions and motivations literature together with personal values theory, we explore changes in the economic status and job status of 83 individuals from low-income contexts in Spain. Based on a series of multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analyses of data collected in two periods in time, three profiles of entrepreneurial intentions, motivations, and personal values associated with pathways into and out of poverty through entrepreneurship are identified. Implications are drawn for theory, practice and public policy.