Entrepreneurship and Institutions

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.

• 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

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.