Advances in Consumer Research 1 Advances in Consumer Research pISSN 0098-9258 | eISSN XXXX-XXXX https://acr-journal.com/ Volume-01 | Issue-1 | Jan - Dec 2024 Original Researcher Article DOI: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Strategies for Resolving Critical Incidents in the Start-Up Phase: Perspectives from Necessity Entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso Adrien Tchibinda Nzaou 1 , Théophile Bindeouè Nassè 2 , Nicolas Carbonell Launois 3 1 New Dawn University, Burkina Faso 2 Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Ghana 3 Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain Received: 08 Oct 2024 Revised: 25 Oct 2024 Accepted: 15 Nov 2024 Published: 27 Nov 2024 *Corresponding author. Théophile Bindeouè Nassè Email: nassetheophile2009@gmail.com Abstract From the actual start of activities to the crossing of the milestone, the entrepreneur of necessity encounters a multitude of problems of varying degrees of intensity that must be resolved so as not to jeopardize the sustainability efforts deployed until then. Our research work leads us towards a logical continuum seeking to understand over time, the behaviors adopted by the necessity entrepreneur to resolve critical incidents related to the start-up process. By incident is meant a difficulty that occurs during an entrepreneurial process and the consequences of which can be critical or serious if the entrepreneur does not resolve the incident. The critical (or serious) character here refers to what is not their routine. This means that the incident can slow down, slow down, induce or cause the abandonment of the process of starting the business of necessity. The empirical study is therefore part of an interpretive perspective and mobilizes a qualitative methodology known as the critical incident method. The analysis of research on entrepreneurial processes of necessity underscores the value of adopting a process perspective in the study of the phenomenon. Consequently, the research takes a longitudinal approach. We constituted a theoretical sample of twelve (12) necessity entrepreneurs from Burkina Faso, based in Ouagadougou who were followed through initial and in-depth interviews over a period of 15 months. The results indicate that, during the start-up process, entrepreneurs out of necessity leave with the means at their disposal (effect logic) rather than setting a predetermined goal (causal logic). At times, they mix between Causation and Effectuation according to planned or unforeseen events. Keywords: Necessity entrepreneur, Start-up phase, Critical incidents, Behavior, Process approach © 2024 by the authors; licensee Advances in Consumer Research. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY NC. ND) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). INTRODUCTION The necessity entrepreneur is a special type of entrepreneur, forced to embark on the creation of their business, in the absence of any other realistic alternative. Starting a business is for them like the best option available to employ themselves, but they would not prefer the said option in a sustainable way. Indeed, these individuals commit to entrepreneurship because they have no better possible choices (Reynolds, Camp, Bygrave, Autio, & Hay, 2001, p. 8). Necessity entrepreneurs’ contrast with opportunity entrepreneurs, as the latter engage in business creation by pursuing lucrative business opportunities for their own interests. This motivational approach was subsequently used to understand, explain and predict behaviors such as innovation (Reynolds, Bygrave, Autio, Cox, & Hay, 2002; McMullen, Bagby, &Palich, 2008; Okoro, Nassè, Ngmendoma, Carbonell, &Nanema, 2022) or the strategies of entrepreneurs (Block, Kohn, Miller, &Ullrich, 2015; Carbonell, Nassè, &Akouwerabou, 2020).However, questions still exist on the validity of these predictions of behaviors differentiated by motivations by necessity / opportunity. For some authors, the strict dichotomy of motivation of necessity versus motivation of opportunity is far too simplistic and does not correspond to entrepreneurial reality (Williams and Williams, 2014; Kirkwood and Campbell-Hunt, 2007). Therefore, it is likely that there are several types of entrepreneurs of necessity and / or opportunity. Recent studies show that necessity entrepreneurs behave differently compared to opportunity entrepreneurs. Our research is only interested in entrepreneurs of necessity. Indeed, from the effective start of activities until the crossing of the course, the entrepreneur of necessity experiences a multitude of problems of varying degrees of intensity (critical incidents) that must be resolved so as not to jeopardize sustainability efforts made so far. The problem of resources, training, skills, self-confidence, malpractices (Nassè, 2021), and support are recurrent in the entrepreneurial process of necessity.