Institutions and entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe: A four-country comparison of university students' perceptions

Abstract

We compare and contrast the perceptions of the institutional environment for entrepreneurship among university students in four transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, and Russia, using a survey instrument developed by Busenitz et al. (2000) for industrialized countries and validated in the context of emerging markets by Manolova et al. (2008). Our results indicate that the institutional environments are perceived as overall unfavorable in all of the four countries. However, the underlying reasons vary, reflecting differences in regulatory regimes, cognitive structures, and normative traditions. Implications for future research, managerial practice, and public policy are discussed.