This paper theorizes the spiritual processes of community entrepreneuring as navigating tensions that arise when community-based enterprises (CBEs) emerge within communities and generate socio-economic inequality. Grounded on an ethnographic study of a dairy CBE in rural Malawi, findings reveal that intra-community tensions revolve around the occurrence of ‘bad events’ – mysterious tragedies that, among their multiple meanings, are also framed as witchcraft. Community members prepare for, frame, cope, and build collective sustenance from ‘bad events’ by intertwining witchcraft and mundane socio-material practices. Altogether, these practices reflect the mystery and the ambiguity that surround ‘bad events’ and prevent intra-community tensions from overtly erupting. Through witchcraft, intra-community tensions are channeled, amplified and tamed cyclically as this process first destabilizes community social order and then restabilizes it after partial compensation for socio-economic inequality. Generalizing beyond witchcraft, this spiritual view of community entrepreneuring enriches our understanding of entrepreneuring – meant as organization-creation process in an already organized world – in the context of communities. Furthermore, it sheds light on the dynamics of socio-economic inequality surrounding CBEs, and on how spirituality helps community members to cope with inequality and its effects.

本文将社区创业的精神过程理论化为在社区内出现以社区为基础的企业 (CBE) 并产生社会经济不平等时出现的紧张局势。基于对马拉维农村奶制品 CBE 的人种学研究，调查结果显示社区内的紧张局势围绕着“坏事件”的发生——神秘的悲剧，在其多重含义中，也被视为巫术。社区成员通过将巫术和世俗的社会物质实践交织在一起，为“不良事件”做好准备、构建、应对和建立集体生计。总而言之，这些做法反映了围绕“坏事件”的神秘和模糊，并防止社区内的紧张局势公然爆发。通过巫术，疏导了社区内部的紧张局势，随着这个过程首先破坏社区社会秩序的稳定，然后在对社会经济不平等进行部分补偿后重新稳定它，这种现象会被周期性地放大和驯服。超越巫术，这种社区创业的精神观点丰富了我们在社区背景下对创业的理解——这意味着在一个已经有组织的世界中的组织创建过程。此外，它还阐明了围绕 CBE 的社会经济不平等的动态，以及灵性如何帮助社区成员应对不平等及其影响。这种对社区创业的精神观点丰富了我们对社区背景下的创业的理解——这意味着在一个已经有组织的世界中的组织创建过程。此外，它还阐明了围绕 CBE 的社会经济不平等的动态，以及灵性如何帮助社区成员应对不平等及其影响。这种对社区创业的精神观点丰富了我们对社区背景下的创业的理解——这意味着在一个已经有组织的世界中的组织创建过程。此外，它还阐明了围绕 CBE 的社会经济不平等的动态，以及灵性如何帮助社区成员应对不平等及其影响。