| This study explores the determinants of entrepreneurial activity across nations. Taking a macro perspective that focuses on the big picture, national culture and social institutions are hypothesized to interact in interesting ways to set the stage for the creation of a new venture. A recent theoretical development, Institutional Anomie Theory of Entrepreneurship, is used as an integrative theoretical framework to explain the process by which macro level variables such as social institutions and national culture affect individual entrepreneurial activity. The study offers, for the first time, an empirical test of Institutional Anomie Theory of Entrepreneurship and also provides interesting extensions to the theory that are grounded Turner's institutional complex.; Data for 71,694 individuals in 29 countries (i.e., Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, USA) were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling to test twelve cross level hypotheses. Results indicate substantial support for the relationship between national culture and social institution variables and entrepreneurship. Specifically, three of the four national culture variables (individualism, monetary fetishism and achievement) provided significant results. In the case of social institutions, seven of the eight social institutions (i.e., dominance of the economy, family, education, religiosity, political constraints, labor relations and stratification) provided significant results as per theoretical predictions. The results therefore supported a number of the predicted relationships. The study provides insights that are of salience to governments and policy makers seeking to achieve economic growth by promoting entrepreneurship, and scholars interested in understanding the contextual drivers of cross-national differences in entrepreneurial activity. |
