< Issue No. 3 (2007)Article
Entrepreneurial Action: Enacting Buddhist Economics in the Small
Valliere, Dave, Ryerson University
Abstract
This paper examines how Buddhist thought can be manifested in the entrepreneurial economic sphere, and particularly in the decision to exploit new business opportunities. It uses elements of diverse social theory to examine how entrepreneurs integrate their individualist roles as innovators and creators within pre-existing social systems and structures, to enact a conception of entrepreneurship within the Buddhist doctrine of Right Livelihood. Empirical qualitative evidence from Buddhist entrepreneurs in Canada and Nepal is provided to support an interpretation in which conceptions of Right Livelihood play an important role in the evaluation and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities and in the day-to-day operations of the resultant new businesses.