The Role of Institutions in Women’s Entrepreneurial Performance

Abstract

Women entrepreneurs play a crucial role in employment creation and societal and economic development. However, in developing economies like Pakistan, women entrepreneurs' contribution lags behind that in developed ones. Thus, the current study aims to explore the institution's impact on women's entrepreneurial performance in Pakistan by targeting institutional theory. The quantitative-based study focused on women entrepreneurs working in Peshawar, Mardan, and Abbottabad divisions. The simple random sampling technique collects primary data through an adopted 7-point Likert scale research questionnaire. The collected data is empirically tested through the path analysis technique of structural equation modeling (SEM) through SmartPLS 3. The study results indicated that formal and informal institutions positively affect women's entrepreneurial performance. The study suggests that government and concerned departments should pay dire attention to determinants like financial constraints, corruption, and social constraints to boost women's entrepreneurial performance. The presented novel work of this study paved foundations in the theoretical literature that acquired researchers’ dire attention to deeply dig-out institutional determinants, i.e., financial constraints, corruption, and social constraints, to boost women's entrepreneurial performance.