Entrepreneurship and Institutions: The Causes and Consequences of Institutional Asymmetry

by Nick Williams Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship, University of Leeds, Tim Vorley Professor in Entrepreneurship, University of Sheffield, Colin Williams Professor of Public Policy, University of Sheffield

Overview

Entrepreneurship does not occur in a vacuum. The institutions which provide the framework for economic activity matter. As countries around the world strive for economic growth, this book examines how institutional arrangements are critical in fostering entrepreneurship. Through 12 case studies drawn from Asia, Europe and America the book demonstrates how different institutional arrangements impact the nature, scope and scale of entrepreneurial activity. Each chapter highlights how the prevailing formal and informal institutional arrangements interact, and how this has consequences for the development of more entrepreneurial economies. By synthesizing empirical and theoretical insights the book explores how fostering more entrepreneurial economies is as much a question of institutional alignment as it is the creation of more supportive formal and informal institutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781783486915
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/19/2018
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.97(w) x 8.74(h) x 0.69(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Nick Williams is an Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship at the University of Leeds.

Tim Vorley is a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Sheffield.

Colin Williams is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Sheffield.

Table of Contents

Introduction - 1. Entrepreneurship and institutional asymmetry / Part I – Europe / 2. Greece: The impact of crisis on institutional change / 3. Bulgaria: How the interaction of formal and informal institutions affects entrepreneurship in transition economies / 4. Croatia: The institutional environment and informal activity / 5. Russia: How corruption serves to undermine the entrepreneurial culture / Part II- Asia / 6. Hong Kong: Intermediaries and the entrepreneurial ecosystem / 7. Malaysia: Promoting entrepreneurial cultures through cluster strategy/ 8. India: The role of social enterprise in overcoming institutional challenges / 9. Pakistan: Determinants of the level of informality of micro-enterprises / Part III – Americas / 10. USA: Entrepreneurial microcosms and institutions / 11. Brazil: Explaining entrepreneurship in the informal sector in urban economies / 12. Mexico: How family businesses navigate institutional challenges / 13. Chile: Scaling up entrepreneurial activity / Part IV – 14. Conclusions: Implications for policy, theory and practice

Editorial Reviews

I highly recommend Entrepreneurship and Institutions, which through rich case studies demonstrates the critical importance of the informal institutions and the alignment between them and the formal ones in promoting entrepreneurship. In today’s world where entrepreneurship is widely acknowledged as an engine of the economic growth, this book bears significant implications for theory development, policy making and practice.

Can Huang

Institutions such as regulations, laws, norms matter for entrepreneurship; and the authors provide an excellent analysis how institutional asymmetries shape the nature and extent of entrepreneurial activity. This book is a must-read for all of us interested in entrepreneurship and institutions, not least because of its theoretical ideas, but also because of the unique country studies from around the world.

Friederike Welter

Williams, Vorley, and Williams do a masterful job of exploring the asymmetry of formal and informal institutions in twelve national economies, making the book a must read for scholars of comparative international entrepreneurship. The book covers a rich variety of provocative issues, from entrepreneurship in a great recession to the promotion of social enterprise to the effectiveness of new policies such as start-up visas. In addition to the deep analyses of hand-collected data from an impressive assembly of entrepreneurs and their respective contexts, readers will appreciate the anchoring to the current research literature as well as the historical overview.

Siri Terjesen

An empirically examined discussion on entrepreneurial institutions worldwide...If you want to know the nuances and the ‘greys’ of entrepreneurial institutions, especially, informality and asymmetry...Read this book - and learn from one of the best in the field.

Anjula Gurtoo

The authors treat us to the scope and international flavours of entrepreneurship and institutions. They deploy the idea of institutions to show us how different contexts shape entrepreneurial processes and outcomes. Particularly interesting is their concept of institutional asymmetry, where formal and informal institution are poorly aligned. The interplay between formal, informal institutions and entrepreneurship is extremely useful.

Alistair R Anderson