Shahid, M.S., Williams, C.C. and Martinez-Perez, A. orcid.org/0000-0002-8831-6346 (2020) Beyond the formal/informal enterprise dualism : explaining the level of (in)formality of entrepreneurs. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 21 (3). pp. 191-205. ISSN 1465-7503
Abstract
Rather than portray formal and informal sector entrepreneurs as discrete groups, an emergent scholarship has conceptualized a continuum from wholly formal to wholly informal entrepreneurs. The aim of the paper is to advance a degree of (in)formality approach by evaluating whether the institutional determinants found to explain whether an enterprise is formal or informal are also valid when explaining the level of (in)formality of enterprises. To do so, a 2017 survey of 500 retail micro-enterprises in the city of Lahore in Pakistan is reported. The finding is that higher levels of formality are more significantly associated with individual-level characteristics of the entrepreneur and enterprise, such as educational level and sales, than with formal and informal institutional conditions, as proposed by institutional theory. The paper thus concludes by offering new theoretical implications and exploring some innovative policy measures to tackle informal entrepreneurship.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Author(s). This is an author-produced version of a paper accepted for publication in International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | entrepreneurship; informal sector; micro-enterprise; Pakistan; Asia |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 10 Dec 2019 12:36 |
Last Modified: | 04 May 2021 13:00 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1465750319896928 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:154407 |