Entrepreneurship in emerging markets: strategies for new venture creation in uncertain institutional contexts.

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RESEARCH ARTICLE

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Entrepreneurship in emerging markets: strategies for new venture creation in uncertain institutional contexts.

Abstract:

* This paper focuses on the importance of the institutional context in shaping the nature of entrepreneurship in emerging markets. More specifically, the paper argues that while the high degree of institutional uncertainty in emerging markets often acts as a barrier to entrepreneurship, it can also provide important opportunities for entrepreneurs.

* We argue for the usefulness of recent work in neo-institutional theory as an approach to understanding the institutional context of emerging economies, and in particular for exploring the relationship between institutional uncertainty and entrepreneurship in emerging markets.

* Drawing on neo-institutional theory, the paper develops a typology of possible institutional strategies available to entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Three strategies are identified: institutional brokering, spanning institutional voids, and bridging institutional distance. The success factors associated with each strategy are also considered. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the framework for theory development and points to a number of areas for future research.

Keywords: Emerging markets * Entrepreneurship * Institutional uncertainty * Neo-institutional theory * Strategy

Introduction

The role of institutions features prominently in the literature on entrepreneurship in emerging markets. For example, Ahlstrom and Bruton (2006, p.299) argue that "[e]merging economies are characterized by fundamental and comprehensive institutional transformations as their economies begin to mature". Similarly, Meyer (2001, p. 358) suggests that "[r]apidly changing institutions may generate, at any point in time, inconsistency between the requirements of different institutions as well as uncertainty over future institutional changes". This body of work has been very useful for understanding the core institutions required for entrepreneurial activity to take place, and the role that informal structures and practices like family and kinship play in the absence of more formal structures such as laws and regulatory agencies.

An important part of this literature is a discussion of how uncertain institutional contexts in emerging markets inhibit opportunities for entrepreneurship (Aidis 2005; Fogel et al. 2006; Luthans and Ibrayeva 2006; Manolova et al. 2008) by making entrepreneurial activity more risky and/or complex. By contrast, in this paper we consider how uncertain institutional contexts create opportunities for entrepreneurship. The idea that deficiencies in institutional environments may lead to opportunities for entrepreneurs has been discussed by a small number of entrepreneurship researchers (e.g. Smallbone and Welter 2008), but the processes through which entrepreneurs might exploit these opportunities have not been explored. In this p...

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