Institutional Context and Entrepreneurship Typologies: The Moderator Role of Environmental Uncertainty

The objective of this paper is to examine the role of institutional context on different types of entrepreneurial typologies and environmental uncertainty as well as a potential key moderator role of these relationships. The debate concerning discovery (Kirznerian) and creative (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurial typologies has been ongoing since the 2000s, and the number of researchers involved in the debate has been increasing (i.e., Alvarez and Barney, Strateg Entrepreneurship J 1:11–26, 2007; de Jong and Marsili, Small Bus Econ 44:19–35, 2015; Foss and Klein, Acad Manag Perspect 34:366–377, 2020; Shane and Venkataraman, Acad Manag Rev 25:217–226, 2000; Smith et al., J Small Bus Manag 47:38–57, 2009). However, empirical studies have not considered the differences in perceptions of the institutional contexts of countries and its effect on entrepreneurial action types. As such, empirical understanding regarding how the normative, regulatory, and cognitive perceptions of institutional contexts influence creative and discovery actions of entrepreneurs will contribute meaningfully to the opportunity recognition debate in this field. A survey was conducted of 805 companies operating in Turkey. The findings show a positive effect of institutional context on both discovery and creative entrepreneurial actions, while environmental uncertainty does not moderate these relationships.