Role of Societal Quality-of-Life in National Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: A Cross-National Analysis

Purpose: This study examines the extent to which various societal quality-of-life (QOL) factors affect entrepreneurial behaviours (EB) across countries to evaluate the role of QOL in an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) at the societal level. Adopting the ecological perspective of entrepreneurship, two hypotheses are developed: H1, societal QOL has significant direct effects on entrepreneurship; H2, entrepreneurial intentions (EI) mediate the effects of societal QOL on entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a quantitative approach where secondary data is retrieved from open databases of public bodies including the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA), World Development Indicators (WDI) and Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) of the World Bank, Human Development Reports (HDR) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The sample is an unbalanced short panel consisting of 444 observations of 76 different economies for the period 2010-2018. The data is examined via Fixed Effect and system GMM specifications following rigorous econometric traditions. Findings: Both main hypotheses are confirmed. More importantly, significant dynamics in the effects of various societal QOL factors on entrepreneurship are presented. The results indicate that EI mediates the effects of personal economic resources and health on entrepreneurship; unemployment, public safety and formal education are directly associated with entrepreneurship, societal inequality has both direct and indirect effects on entrepreneurship, while no significant direct or indirect associations between environmental sustainability and entrepreneurship are unveiled. Limitations: The study adopts a quantitative approach which analyses a dataset of a highly unbalanced short panel dominated by observations for high- and medium-income economies. In addition, the measures selected may not fully capture the complex, multi-dimensional, multi-faceted characteristics of each societal QOL factor. These issues may lead to limited generalisation, measurement biases and the lack of in-depth inference which invite future studies. Originality/value: Although QOL has been argued to be an important predictor in entrepreneurship, little empirical evidence has been generated in the literature. By addressing this gap, this study contributes to both entrepreneurship research and practice. The academic contributions are threefold. First, this study is the first comprehensive and systematic empirical evaluation of the effects of QOL on entrepreneurship across countries based on the entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective. Second, this study provides empirical evidence to support the EE perspective, the Human Capital Theory, TPB, and PMM model in entrepreneurship. Third, this study establishes an EE model which formalises the interactions between macro-level factors of society and the individual-level factors in explaining EB. The practical contributions rest with the managerial implications that are informative to the recipients of the study. First, the study informs policymakers in governmental organisations that entrepreneurship policies are contingent on distinctive socio-economic contexts and are subject to constant modifications. Second, the study informs various non-governmental organisations about their supportive role in motivating EI and facilitating high-quality business creations. Third, this study also informs entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs regarding their ventures’ orientational and geographic positioning.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

dba

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Yu, Fang

• HB Damcaniaeth Economaidd

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:2095