Influence of National Institutions on Entrepreneurship: The Case of Women Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The importance of the role of institutions on entrepreneurship is widely accepted. In this paper, we use a specific case (or class) of entrepreneurship, namely women entrepreneurship, to explore how national institutions influence entrepreneurship. Despite evidence showing that women are affected by institutions, little is known about the role of institutions on women entrepreneurship. We contribute to epistemology by exploring the influence of cognitive, normative and regulatory pillars of national institutions on women entrepreneurship. We also explore the impact of interactions of these three pillars of institutions on women entrepreneurship. We rely on the World Development Indicators, the World Value Survey and GLOBE for data. We sensitize readers about how women face hardships in their pursuits of entrepreneurship. Further, we give some pointers as to how policy makers could focus on gradual progression and holistic growth of entrepreneurship in an economy by considering marginalized groups like the class of women entrepreneurs.