'Unleashing Economic Potential Through Institutional Innovation in Traditional and Uncertain Contexts'

PhD Researcher Holly Ritchie wins overall best paper award.

The full title of her award-winning paper is 'Unleashing Economic Potential Through Institutional Innovation nn Traditional and Uncertain Contexts: The Case of a Women’s Food Processing Enterprise in Afghanistan.'

The paper was presented at the The International Symposium on Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ISEI): Entrepreneurial Strategies and Policies for Economic Growth which took place in Venice, Italy on May 23-25 2012 and was organized by the University of Padua, Italy.

The criteria used for the conference paper evaluation included: scientific quality, innovation, relevance and presentation.

Synopsis

This paper explores nuanced entrepreneurial phenomena through the lens of (social) institutions, and the role of both actors and the local context in shaping economic development in the uncertain context of Afghanistan.

Drawing on in-depth qualitative research, the case study examines the creation and design of new market institutions (‘social innovations’) in a women’s food processing enterprise.

The study highlights the strategies of the entrepreneur, local power holders and external actors (agency), and the influence of local conditions (structure) in the process of institutional construction.

It is indicated that entrepreneurship can promote inclusive opportunities for (new) power and wealth through ‘open’ institutions, even in fragile contexts. It can equally foster distorted economies if ‘exclusive’ institutions are allowed to prevail.

About the author

Holly Ritchie is a PhD researcher at ISS. Her thesis is entitled:  ‘Value chain development, entrepreneurship and conflict in Afghanistan’. She is supervised by ISS professors Bert Helmsing (first supervisor) and Peter Knorringa (second supervisor).