The roles of big businesses and institutions in entrepreneurship: A cross-country panel analysis

Abstract

This study aims to determine whether big business or institutions comprise a more significant entrepreneurship determinant. In addition, we have three subobjectives: We examine (1) how the relationship between big businesses and entrepreneurship changes according to the economic development stage; (2) if big businesses affect the two different entrepreneurship types, namely, opportunity- and necessity-driven entrepreneurship, differently; and (3) which institutional factors are effective for these two different entrepreneurship types. To this end, we compare the effects of big businesses and institutions on entrepreneurship among 33 countries covering lower-middle-, upper-middle-, and high-income countries during the 2001–2015 period. Among the various determinants of entrepreneurship, we focus on two key factors that affect entrepreneurship, namely, big businesses and institutions while controlling for the demand- and supply-side factors that influence entrepreneurship. This study conducts fixed-effect estimations. We find that the relationship among entrepreneurship, big businesses, and economic development is “N-shaped.” In particular, there is a positive relationship between big businesses and opportunity-driven entrepreneurship in high-income countries. Moreover, among the various institutional factors, only supportive public policies toward new firms and positive social perceptions toward entrepreneurs are effective for opportunity-driven entrepreneurs, whereas none of the institutional factors are effective for necessity-driven entrepreneurs.