Posting on behalf of Emiel Eijdenberg
CALL FOR CHAPTER CONTRIBUTIONS
We invite chapter contributions to an edited volume on "Value creation by entrepreneurs in Asia"
Emiel L. Eijdenberg, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the Netherlands*
Pengji Wang, James Cook University, Singapore
Caroline Wong, James Cook University, Singapore
Thirumaran K, James Cook University, Singapore
The volume will be published by World Scientific (Singapore), managed by Ms Sandhya Venkatesh, Assistant Director
BACKGROUND
Increasingly more businesses in Asia are involved in multiple value creation, i.e., contributing to the environment and community in addition to achieving economic objectives (Chin et al., 2021; Kim et al., 2020; Ndubisi et al., 2021). This trend is evident not only in social entrepreneurs with a blended value mission but also in "traditional" entrepreneurs who are encouraged to generate positive social or environmental impact alongside profit-making (Bhatt, 2022).
In pursuing multiple ways of value creation, businesses contribute significantly to the sustainable development of environments and communities (Agarwal et al., 2020; Kuswantoro et al., 2023; Pathak & Mukherjee, 2021; Ramadani et al., 2022), thereby uplifting the welfare and wellbeing of many people. Digitalization and technology are significant drivers of value creation by entrepreneurs (see the changing nature of Indian innovation: Jain, 2022). Frugal innovation (Ananthram & Chan, 2021; Hossain, 2017, 2018; Khadria & Mishra, 2023)-a product or service that has "substantial cost reduction, concentration on core functionalities, and optimised performance level" (Weyrauch & Herstatt, 2016, p. 1)-often designed and marketed by entrepreneurs, have benefited countless people all over the world and particularly in Asia. A few Asian examples are Mitticool (India), a clay fridge that runs without electricity (Mitticool, 2025); BantayPH (the Philippines), an online platform that aims to educate citizens about good government services (Edukasyon, 2025); Azzura Solar (Indonesia), a home solar power system for low income rural communities (Lifestyle Guide, 2018); or Wateroam (Singapore), a portable water filtration solution to aid affected people in post-disaster sites and rural communities obtain clean drinking water (Wateroam, 2025).
While many successful examples of technologies and digitalization have emerged as response to a pressing need or crisis (e.g., poverty, COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters), much scholarship has remained underdeveloped. Taking this research opportunity as the point of departure, this edited volume combines theory and practice of entrepreneurship and value creation in Asia, in which many contexts happen to be highly emerging markets. The main Research Question that binds all chapters is "How do Asian entrepreneurs create multiple ways of value"? By addressing this question, the book aims to contribute significantly to the understanding of how entrepreneurs in Asia generate economic, social, and environmental impacts (i.e., the Triple P: People, Profit and Planet: Elkington, 1997).
Contributors may contribute case studies, quantitative and qualitative studies, conceptual studies, viewpoints and practitioners' perspectives of entrepreneurs, (small) businesses and value creation in Asia. Empirical chapters must use rigorous research designs and describe methods, sampling and sample size, measures, and results. Conceptual chapters must pose specific and unanswered questions and/or make specific and novel predictions. Below, a list of illustrative chapter subjects is provide.
***Chapter subjects are ILLUSTRATIVE***
- AI and small businesses
- Digital banking of social entrepreneurs
- Going online: entrepreneurs selling online across Asia
- Social media apps used by social entrepreneurs
- Business growth through digital wallets
- Digital entrepreneurs scaling in the health sector
- Using digital innovations during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
- Entrepreneurial education: Digital teaching and learning
- Frugal innovations using technology in hospitality and tourism
- Entrepreneurs' involvement in digital marketing
- Micro-entrepreneurs: Scaling through digitalization
- Preservation of heritage with the support of AI
- Tech-driven entrepreneurship supporting minority groups or women-led businesses, rural communities, or green initiatives
- Recycling industry and entrepreneurial activity in the technology era
***Chapter subjects are ILLUSTRATIVE***
We encourage chapter contributors to connect their work to one or more United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (especially Goal #1, #8, #10, #11, and #16: United Nations, 2025). Hereby, we ask contributing authors to critically think of how entrepreneurs in East Asia and value creation relate to ending poverty, creating decent work and economic growth, reducing inequalities, contributing to sustainable cities and communities, and how their chapter is conducive for peace, justice, and strong institutions.
REFERENCES
Agarwal, S., Lenka, U., Singh, K., Agrawal, V., & Agrawal, A. M. (2020). A qualitative approach towards crucial factors for sustainable development of women social entrepreneurship: Indian cases. Journal of Cleaner Production, 274, 123135.
Ananthram, S., & Chan, C. (2021). Institutions and frugal innovation: The case of Jugaad. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 38(3), 1031-1060.
Bhatt, B. (2022). Ethical complexity of social change: Negotiated actions of a social enterprise. Journal of Business Ethics, 177, 743–762.
Chin, T., Hu, Q., Rowley, C., & Wang, S. (2021). Business models in the Asia-Pacific: Dynamic balancing of multiple cultures, innovation and value creation. Asia Pacific Business Review, 27(3), 331-341.
Edukasyon. (2025). About us. https://www.edukasyon.ph/team
Elkington, J. (1997). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone.
Hossain, M. (2017). Mapping the frugal innovation phenomenon. Technology in Society, 51, 199-208.
Hossain, M. (2018). Frugal innovation: A review and research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 182, 926-936.
Jain, S. (2022). From jugaad to jugalbandi: Understanding the changing nature of Indian innovation. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 39(1), 1-26.
Kim, R. C., Saito, A., & Avvari, V. M. (2020). Interpretation and integration of "creating shared value" in Asia: Implications for strategy research and practice. Asian Business & Management, 19(4), 379-406.
Khadria, B., & Mishra, R. (2023). Technological transformation and the role of frugal innovations in entrepreneurship development in India. The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 32(2 Suppl), S27-S46.
Kuswantoro, H., Sholihin, M., & Djajadikerta, H. G. (2023). Exploring the implementation of sustainable development goals: A comparison between private and state-owned enterprises in Indonesia. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 25(10), 10799-10819.
Lifestyle Guide. (2025). Hemant Chanrai: Social entrepreneurship in agriculture. https://lifestyleguide.com/article/hemant-chanrai-social-entrepreneurship-in-agriculture
Mitticool. (2025). About us. https://mitticool.com/about-us
Ndubisi, N. O., Zhai, X. A., & Lai, K. H. (2021). Small and medium manufacturing enterprises and Asia's sustainable economic development. International Journal of Production Economics, 233, 107971.
Pathak, S., & Mukherjee, S. (2021). Entrepreneurial ecosystem and social entrepreneurship: case studies of community-based craft from Kutch, India. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 15(3), 350-374.
Ramadani, V., Agarwal, S., Caputo, A., Agrawal, V., & Dixit, J. K. (2022). Sustainable competencies of social entrepreneurship for sustainable development: Exploratory analysis from a developing economy. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(7), 3437-3453.
United Nations. (2025). The 17 goals. https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Wateroam. (2025). About us. https://www.wateroam.com/about-us.html
Weyrauch, T., & Herstatt, C. (2017). What is frugal innovation? Three defining criteria. Journal of Frugal Innovation, 2, 1-17.
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Eddy Ng
Queen's University
Kingston ON
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