Institutional environment differences and their application for entrepreneurship development in India

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to contribute to the understanding of regional entrepreneurial development by constructing an institutional environment index in India, where high heterogeneity is found in the economic development and entrepreneurial activities across its states. It tries to fill the gap of research which hampers the effectiveness of policy efforts to promote job growth through entrepreneurship development in India and contributes in understanding the phenomenon why the relative contribution of entrepreneurship varies across states.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a composite index of institutional quality based on the Penalty for Bottleneck (PFB) methodology to capture the institutional environment differences across the states of India. The relationship between the institutional environment and the measures of entrepreneurship is established through various statistical and econometric techniques such as correlation and regression.FindingsThe paper finds the regional and contextual institutional environment differences in India starker and more varied than is generally viewed. The empirical evidence suggests that the differences in institutional quality scores can play a significant role in explaining the variations in the extent of entrepreneurial activities across the Indian states. The findings of this paper demonstrate a differential influence of the local institutional environment on the entrepreneurial activities at a regional level in a developing economy like India.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited by the data sources and index design; therefore, it cannot completely specify all institutional factors and their combined influences on entrepreneurial activities at the regional level. However, it makes a significant contribution to expanding the current body literature of institutional environment reform and entrepreneurship development in developing countries.Practical implicationsThe policy implication of the paper highlights the need of policymakers to think outside the individual policy silos and consider the institutional environment as a whole. Priority attention of the policymakers should be on the institutional reform for any type of entrepreneurship development. A corollary implication of the O-ring theory of development and the PFB methodology is that the policy effort is allocated most effectively when it seeks to alleviate bottlenecks.Social implicationsThe main implication of this paper for the policymaking is that it is necessary to focus more on the weak institutional factors (bottlenecks) and on the general environment improvement for any entrepreneurship development.Originality/valueThe study contributes to study the problem of entrepreneurship discrepancy in India through the lens of institutions and institutional environment. This study is an improvement over the previous studies by testing the statistical significance of the institutional environment on the entrepreneurship.