Human-Centered Entrepreneurship

Challenging the assumption that organizations must be built around profit, process, or growth, this insightful book explores how human-centered entrepreneurship centers the individual as the organizing principle of the enterprise itself. At its core is the Three E’s framework—Empathy, Enablement, and Empowerment—and expert contributors examine a range of ventures to demonstrate the benefits of conducting human-centered business.

Drawing on examples from seven countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, chapters explore how, despite differing cultures and industries, consistent patterns of success emerge within human-centered enterprises. Through detailed analysis, authors address the challenges of sustaining a people-first strategy in the age of accelerating artificial intelligence. Each case study yields practical tools that leaders can apply directly, such as frameworks for diagnosing an organization’s culture, leading with empathy, designing human-centered ventures, and building institutions that put people first, giving businesses a clear pathway to humanize and, in turn, optimize how they operate.

Human-Centered Entrepreneurship is an essential resource for scholars and students of business, entrepreneurship, and management. Its case-based structure makes it highly useful to educators in the field, as well as practitioners, business leaders, and policymakers engaged with the SDGs and small business development who seek an alternative to profit-driven models.