Abstract:

Dark entrepreneurial actions may emerge when urgent, unorthodox behaviour occurs in ambiguous and weakly regulated spaces. Based on three years of firsthand observation, this autoethnographic study introduces the concept of Sadean heterotopic hustling to explain the genesis and escalation of harmful entrepreneurial practices.

The study presents the case of a multifaceted entrepreneur who occupied a vacant lot owned by a local university to operate illicit and quasi-legal services. Conceptualizing this site as a heterotopic space, the analysis shows how spatial insulation enables hustling to shift from necessity-driven survival to excessive, destabilizing action. As spatial protection intensifies, entrepreneurial activity becomes increasingly unstable and detached from institutional limits. By theorizing the entrepreneur as a “heroic villain” of regional development, the analysis highlights the subversive potential of hustling within contested spaces. This work emphasizes the destructive and ateleological dimensions of entrepreneurship, as a foundation for future studies that prioritize harmful forms of hustling.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Entrepreneurship

Keywords: Entrepreneurship Theories;Informal Economy & the "Dark Side" of Entrepreneurship

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Prof duncan pelly