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Starting-up unregistered and firm performance in Turkey

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  • Colin C. Williams

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Abbi M. Kedir

    (University of Sheffield)

Abstract

Recent years have seen a questioning of the negative representation of informal sector entrepreneurship and an emergent view that it may offer significant benefits. This paper advances this rethinking by evaluating the relationship between business registration and future firm performance. Until now, the assumption has been that starting-up unregistered is linked to weaker firm performance. Using World Bank Enterprise Survey data on 2494 formal enterprises in Turkey, and controlling for other determinants of firm performance as well as the endogeneity of the registration decision, the finding is that formal enterprises that started-up unregistered and spent longer unregistered have significantly higher subsequent annual sales and productivity growth rates compared with those registered from the outset. This is argued to be because in such weak institutional environments, the advantages of registering from the outset are outweighed by the benefits of deferring business registration and the low risks of detection and punishment. The resultant implication is that there is a need to shift away from the conventional eradication approach based on the negative depiction of informal entrepreneurship as poorly performing, and towards a more facilitating approach that improves the benefits of business registration and tackles the systemic formal institutional deficiencies that lead entrepreneurs to decide to delay the registration of their ventures.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin C. Williams & Abbi M. Kedir, 2017. "Starting-up unregistered and firm performance in Turkey," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 797-817, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:intemj:v:13:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s11365-016-0425-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11365-016-0425-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Colin C. Williams, 2023. "A Modern Guide to the Informal Economy," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 18668.
    2. Nesma Mohamed Ali, 2017. "Towards a better integration of the informal sector: three empirical essays on the interaction between formal and informal firms in Egypt and beyond," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph17-05 edited by Manon Domingues Dos Santos & Boris Najman.
    3. Colin C. Williams & Abbi M. Kedir, 2019. "Explaining cross-country variations in the prevalence of informal sector competitors: lessons from the World Bank Enterprise Survey," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 677-696, September.
    4. García-Lillo, Francisco & Seva-Larrosa, Pedro & Sánchez-García, Eduardo, 2023. "What is going on in entrepreneurship research? A bibliometric and SNA analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    5. Colin C. Williams & Abbi Kedir, 2018. "Explaining Cross-National Variations In The Prevalence Of Informal Sector Entrepreneurship: Lessons From A Survey Of 142 Countries," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(01), pages 1-22, March.
    6. Kean Lip Teh & Sazali Bin Abdul Wahab & Suzana Idayu Wati Osman & Ahmad Shaharudin Abdul Latiff & Nur Fadiah Mohd Zawawi & Syed Ali Fazal, 2018. "Factors of Sustainable Firm Performance and the Mediating Role of Strategic Opportunity Recognition: A Conceptual Study," International Journal of Asian Social Science, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 8(11), pages 1048-1058, November.
    7. José Ernesto Amorós & Luciano Ciravegna & Vesna Mandakovic & Pekka Stenholm, 2019. "Necessity or Opportunity? The Effects of State Fragility and Economic Development on Entrepreneurial Efforts," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(4), pages 725-750, July.
    8. Heredia Pérez, Jorge A. & Kunc, Martin H. & Durst, Susanne & Flores, Alejandro & Geldes, Cristian, 2018. "Impact of competition from unregistered firms on R&D investment by industrial sectors in emerging economies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 179-189.
    9. Katharina Fellnhofer & Susan Mueller, 2018. "“I Want to Be Like You!”: The Influence of Role Models on Entrepreneurial Intention," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 26(02), pages 113-153, June.
    10. Colin C. Williams & Ioana A. Horodnic, 2017. "Explaining participation in the undeclared economy in Central and Eastern Europe: a demand-side approach," Post-Communist Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(3), pages 297-312, July.
    11. Rajeev K. Goel & Ummad Mazhar & Rati Ram, 2022. "Informal competition and firm performance: Impacts on input‐ versus output performance," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(2), pages 418-430, March.
    12. Alexandre Oliveira & Fernando Carvalho & Nuno Rosa Reis, 2022. "Institutions and Firms’ Performance: A Bibliometric Analysis and Future Research Avenues," Publications, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-20, February.
    13. Colin C WILLIAMS & Slavko BEZEREDI, 2018. "Explaining informal entrepreneurship in South-East Europe: a tax morale approach," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 9, pages 47-68, December.
    14. Mike Herrington & Alicia Coduras, 2019. "The national entrepreneurship framework conditions in sub-Saharan Africa: a comparative study of GEM data/National Expert Surveys for South Africa, Angola, Mozambique and Madagascar," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, December.

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