The Role of Meso-Level Institutions on Informal Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa

Salvi, Esther and Belz, Frank-Martin (2021): The Role of Meso-Level Institutions on Informal Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research BCERC Proceedings 2021

Abstract

We conducted a qualitative study in Malian rural communities (SSA), which are characterized by high levels of poverty, illiteracy, institutional asymmetry, and informal enterprises. In this setting, formal macro-level institutions such as national laws and regulations are weakly enforced. Instead, meso-level institutions-formal and informal-are vibrant. Through our data analysis emerges that informal enterprises rely on meso-level traditional informal institutions, and meso-level formal institutions for navigating institutional incongruences and mobilizing financial, human and social resources. With this paper, we provide a new framework for understanding how meso-level institutions influence the way through which informal enterprises mobilize key resources.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Form of publication: Publisher's Version
• Faculties: Munich School of Management > Professor of Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Sustainability
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 300 Social sciences, sociology and anthropology; 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics; 300 Social sciences > 380 Commerce, communications and transportation; 300 Social sciences > 390 Customs, etiquette and folklore
• Language: English