An emergent entrepreneur? : A story of a drug‐dealer in a restricted entrepreneurial environment

Purpose – The identification and exploitation of opportunities requires specific entrepreneurial skills. The purpose of this paper is to present the activities of a drug‐dealer in a provincial town in the UK. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a qualitative approach, specifically a narrative history, an examination of the key motivations and business functions carried out by the dealer is provided. The personal circumstances and entrepreneurial characteristics of the dealer are explored and compared with existing typologies of entrepreneurial individuals. Findings – The paper concludes by suggesting that social research of this kind is not value free, and nor should it attempt to be so. The drug‐dealer outlined in this account exhibits clear and well‐defined entrepreneurial characteristics. Originality/value – The paper develops a more detailed understanding of the nature and function of drug‐dealing activities and how these correlate with an contradict existing theoretical contributions.