Spontaneous Venturing: An Entrepreneurial Approach to Alleviating Suffering in the Aftermath of a Disaster

Keywords

compassionate venturing, disaster response, human resilience

Abstract

This book is by two entrepreneurship scholars who are interested in understanding the various ways in which entrepreneurship and venturing shape and improve our lives. In particular, this book on venturing to alleviate suffering emerged from our personal experiences with crises and the challenging and inspiring situations that followed. The story of the book began soon after the first author was exposed to the violence and destruction of a natural disaster that struck his home state of Victoria, Australia, in 2009. Moved by a deep desire to learn more about the disaster and the people caught in its path, both authors began an inductive exploration of how some of the victims responded to the crisis in real time. The result was the discovery of the extraordinary capacity for compassion unleashed in the form of venturing to alleviate suffering, or, as we call it, compassionate venturing. This discovery led to a number of projects that formed the early foundations for this book, including publications in management journals, a dissertation, and field research in Haiti. Both authors continue to study compassionate venturing with ongoing projects across a number of contexts.

Original Publication Citation

https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/4138/Spontaneous-VenturingAn-Entrepreneurial-Approach

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2019

Publisher

Cambridge Press

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Marketing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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