Entrepreneurship and ethics under extreme conditions of poverty: “Exploring the realities” Tendai Chikweche and Richard Fletcher Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia Abstract Purpose – This article investigates the relationship between entrepreneurship and ethics under extreme poverty conditions to unearth context-specifc nuances faced by entrepreneurs in these conditions. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study, research method approach was used to collect data from established frms engaged in some form of entrepreneurship and new entrepreneurs. Findings – Findings from the study indicate that a different mindset is required for entrepreneurs to conduct business in conditions of extreme poverty, and therefore a different approach is needed to evaluate business ethics instead of a wholesale adaptation of Western-based ethical values and practices. The study identifes and provides evidence of imitative entrepreneurship undertaken by both new entrepreneurs and established frms to address basic human needs such as for food and personal hygiene. Research limitations/implications – The emic focus on Zimbabwe, which has its own inherent circumstances, has the potential to minimise the generalisability of fndings from the study. However, this does not detract from the fndings of the study but actually provides a basis for further research in other markets that have extreme poverty conditions. Practical implications – Coping strategies are outlined for managing constraints faced by entrepreneurs and opportunities for interacting with consumers. A conceptual framework is developed for use in understanding and managing the relationship between entrepreneurship and ethics in markets where there are conditions of extreme poverty. Originality/value – Previous studies have largely focused on Western developed markets. This article extends the debate to markets under conditions of extreme poverty. Keywords Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Extreme poverty Paper type Research paper Introduction There have been calls for international business to expand the scope of research in different research felds beyond Western developed markets to include emerging and underdeveloped markets and to draw new insights which practitioners can use (Ni and Wan, 2008). Entrepreneurship and ethics in markets characterised by desperate poverty are examples of research streams where there is scope for new research (Branzei and Abdelnour, 2010; Seelos and Mair, 2007). There is evidence to demonstrate that entrepreneurship has potential to emancipate people from extreme poverty (Branzei and Abdelnour, 2010; Mahajan and Banga, 2006). Whilst research in both entrepreneurship and ethics has increased over the last 20 years, limited attention has been paid to entrepreneurs in markets characterised by extreme poverty, although, there is growing evidence of entrepreneurship’s contribution to poverty alleviation in these markets and subsequent calls for increased ethical behaviour (Cross and Morales, 2007; Hannafey, 2003; Weiser et al., 2006). A signifcant amount of research studying consumers and frms in markets under extreme poverty has focused on the base of pyramid or bottom of pyramid (BOP), that is consumers who live on less than $2 a day. Focus of BOP literature has been largely on The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1746-5680.htm SBR 12,1 4 Received 19 October 2015 Revised 2 November 2015 Accepted 5 November 2015 Society and Business Review Vol. 12 No. 1, 2017 pp. 4-19 © Emerald Publishing Limited 1746-5680 DOI 10.1108/SBR-11-2015-0065