From poverty trap to commodity trap: entrepreneurship and well-being among the poor
研究基于劣势理论和能力框架，探讨贫困经历如何导致创业者陷入商品陷阱（业务缺乏差异化、低销量低利润、劳动密集且产能受限），进而损害其主观福祉，并用厄瓜多尔贫困创业者数据验证了假设。
Abstract Building on disadvantage theory and the capabilities framework, the research explores how two critical aspects of the poverty experience, experienced scarcity, and a limited opportunity horizon, can result in the creation of ventures that struggle to achieve marketplace success, which in turn detracts from the entrepreneur’s perceived well-being. These business struggles are traced to a commodity trap, where the business is not well differentiated in the marketplace, suffers from low volumes and margins, has little bargaining power, and is labor-intensive and capacity-constrained. A set of hypotheses regarding these relationships are tested using data from a sample of entrepreneurs from poverty backgrounds within Ecuador. The results provide support for the hypothesized relationships. Disadvantages from poverty translate into disadvantages within a business, and failure to overcome these disadvantages results in a lower sense of well-being on the part of the entrepreneur. Implications are drawn for theory and practice.