Institutional Environments for Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Emerging Economies in Eastern Europe

In this article, we sought to empirically validate an instrument for measuring country institutional profiles for the promotion of entrepreneurship in a sample of 254 business students from three emerging economies: Bulgaria, Hungary, and Latvia. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis suggest high reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity of the instrument. Further, we find important differences in the three dimensions (regulatory, cognitive, and normative) of the institutional profiles across the three emerging economies, reflecting their idiosyncratic cultural norms and values, traditions, and institutional heritage in promoting entrepreneurship. Implications for future research, managerial practice, and public policy are discussed.