Abstract

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.
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, Associate Professor, Management Studies, Indian Institute of Science, India
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, Associate Professor, Department of Management, American University, Washington, D.C
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, Professor, Head of Department of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategy and Co-Director of Institute for Intellectual Property Management at School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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, Institut für Mittelstandsforschung (IfM) Bonn and University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany
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.
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, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen