INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT: IS IT AN ENABLER OR A CONSTRAINT TO FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

Аннотация

Institutional environment is one of the main factors that influence the creation and maintenance of
self-employment, and hence the entrepreneurship. However, previous research demonstrates that sometimes
institutional environment may serve as a barrier to the development of entrepreneurship. Therefore, based on
previous studies, authors make an assumption that institutional environment has a dual role in female
entrepreneurship’s development of either being an enabler or a barrier. The article analyzes eight female
entrepreneurs and the role of institutional environment in their business in the context of an emerging market -
Kazakhstan. Semi-structured interviews were used in order to identify the role of institutions in female
entrepreneurship’s development in Kazakhstan. The findings illustrate that female entrepreneurs in emerging markets
are mostly provided with informal support from family, friends, and network. However, none of the interviewed
businesswomen were getting formal support from local institutions. The results also demonstrate a positive cognitive
attitude of a society towards entrepreneurship in the country under consideration.