The effect of institutions on intrapreneurship: An analysis of developed vs developing countries

ABSTRACT

This article examines the interaction effects of formal and informal institutions on intrapreneurship in developed and developing countries. We use a multilevel logistic regression technique and data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) for the years 2014–2020 with information from 29 developed countries (237,053 observations) and 31 developing countries (177,201 observations). The main findings highlight that informal institutions (fear of failure and media attention) are more relevant than the social status of entrepreneurs as predictors of intrapreneurship, in both developed and developing countries. In addition, the moderation of economic freedom as a formal institution differs depending on the economic development context. In developed countries, economic freedom enhances to a greater extent the relationship between social status and intrapreneurship, as well as between media attention and intrapreneurship. These findings can be useful for the design of intrapreneurship policies in adapting their strategies to the specific institutional environment.

KEYWORDS:

• Intrapreneurship
• institutional economics
• developed countries
• developing countries

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Managing Editor Professor Eric Liguori and anonymous Reviewers for valuable comments and guidance throughout the whole process. This paper benefited from the presentation at the 34th Research in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Conference (RENT) (Naples, Italy).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ The classification of developed and developing countries is based on the World Economic Situation and Prospects Report published by the United Nations (2016).

Additional information

Funding

David Urbano and Andreu Turro acknowledge the financial support from the project ECO2017-87885-P (Spanish Ministry of Economy & Competitiveness). Additionally, David Urbano acknowledges the financial support from the project 2017-SGR-1056 (Economy & Knowledge Department, Catalan Government) and ICREA under ICREA Academia programme. Finally, Jairo Orozco acknowledges financial support for PhD studies from COLFUTURO PCB 2019 and Universidad EAN (Colombia).