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Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies (JEEE): Reflecting on the


Past 5-years while Thinking about the Future

Article  in  Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies · November 2021


DOI: 10.1108/JEEE-06-2020-0162

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Thinking
Journal of entrepreneurship in about the
emerging economies (JEEE): future

reflecting on the past five years


while thinking about the future 791
Wen Li Chan and Michael James Mustafa Received 5 June 2020
Revised 24 July 2020
Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Accepted 28 July 2020
Semenyih, Malaysia

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of studies published in the Journal of
Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies (JEEE) between 2014 and 2019. The review also provides
suggestions for future research in JEEE.
Design/methodology/approach – Integrative literature of 90 empirical and conceptual articles
published in JEEE between 2014 and 2019. The selected articles were analyzed using content analysis.
Findings – Analysis of the 90 published articles shows that JEEE has covered a number of relevant topics
related to entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging economies. In particular, scholars have adopted a
variety of methods to describe such activities in emerging economies. The review also highlights the lack of
comparative studies in JEEE and studies, which significantly take into account or focus on the emerging
economy context.
Practical implications – The findings suggest that future scholars wishing to submit to JEEE should
consider taking a more detailed account of the emerging context.
Originality/value – Since its first publication in 2014, this study represents the first review of articles
found in JEEE. Specifically, the study provides a platform for future scholars wishing to submit to JEEE to
take stock of the studies in the journal, thus giving them a better understanding of the field. The study also
provides directions regarding areas of possible future research, which might be of interest to scholars wishing
to submit to JEEE.
Keywords Emerging economies, Systematic review, Entrepreneurial ecosystem, Entrepreneurship,
Institutional environment
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
In 2014, after five years of continuous publication, the Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship
(JCE) became the Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies (JEEE). The rationale
for the change in the name and the scope of the journal was outlined in the Editorial of the
inaugural issue under the new title (Li, 2014), where a principal argument referred to the
growing significance of emerging economies in driving global economic growth,
entrepreneurship and innovation. Li (2014) noted that while the role of emerging economies
in entrepreneurship and innovation had caught the imagination of the world and the
attention of scholars, there was a lack of dedicated outlets to discuss and exchange new
knowledge and ideas on this area. Consequently, JEEE became the first journal to focus on Journal of Entrepreneurship in
Emerging Economies
all areas of entrepreneurship, innovation and government policies that constrain or Vol. 13 No. 5, 2021
pp. 791-818
stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging economies, providing an outlet to © Emerald Publishing Limited
2053-4604
advance empirical research and a platform for debate by policy-makers and practitioners. DOI 10.1108/JEEE-06-2020-0162
JEEE Six years on, JEEE as a journal has made tremendous progress. For example, in 2018,
13,5 JEEE received 152 submissions, which was an increase of 48% over the previous year.
Equally impressively, its CiteScore grew from 1.6 in 2017 to 2.2 in 2018 (Scopus, 2020a). As a
mark of its growing popularity and reputation, in 2019, JEEE was also listed in both the
Chartered Association of Business Schools in the United Kingdom (CABS) and Australian
Business Deans Council (ABDC) journal ranking guides (CABS, 2018; ABDC, 2019). The
792 journal has also made continuous progress in the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), with its SJR
score rising from 0.388 in 2018 to 0.483 in 2019 (SCImago Journal and Country Rank, 2020).
Given its continued growth, it is timely to reflect on the progress made by articles appearing
in JEEE, while also offering suggestions for future research for scholars wishing to submit
to JEEE. Accordingly, this particular study seeks to provide an overview of articles
published in JEEE from 2014 to 2019, while also highlighting areas of future research on the
topic of entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging economies. A core aim of this paper is
to promote a better understanding of the research being published in JEEE, while also
encouraging future scholars to take into account perspectives related to emerging economies
in more detail. It is through the latter approach that we believe that JEEE can strengthen its
standing in the scholarly community and deepen our understanding of entrepreneurship
and innovation in emerging economies.

2. Entrepreneurship in emerging economies


The past 40 years has seen significant scholarly, managerial and public policy interest in the
topic of entrepreneurship (Streb and Gupta, 2011). This interest is in part driven by
evidence, which suggests that entrepreneurship is a driving force for modern economies and
societal development through both economic growth and the generation of employment, and
the promotion of innovation (Bosma and Levie, 2010; Bosma et al., 2009). Broadly,
entrepreneurship can be described as the process of identifying, evaluating and exploiting of
new business opportunities (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000). While this process is critical
to new business creation, it is also central to the corporate entrepreneurial activities of
existing firms’ entrepreneurship endeavors (Sharma and Chrisman, 2007). Hence,
investigations into entrepreneurial activities should not be only limited to the activities of
new small independent ventures (Hughes and Morgan, 2007; Shane and Venkataraman,
2000; Wiklund et al., 2011) but may also be extended to activities taking place in established
organizations (Miller and Friesen, 1983).
A large body of scholarship has thus, been interested in understanding the determinants
(micro-macro-meso level) and the outcomes of entrepreneurial activity across all levels such
as wealth, job and knowledge creation (Alvord et al., 2004). Scholars of entrepreneurship
have been long interested in understanding how institutional arrangements can shape not
only the rate but also the nature of entrepreneurial activities across society (Chiles et al.,
2007). Institutions refer to the formal and informal norms, rules and values governing social
and economic exchanges within a country or society (North, 1990). As powerful forces,
institutions can exert considerable influences to make certain entrepreneurial actions and
behaviors more or less viable than others (Kostova, 1999; Peng and Zhou, 2005). All things
being equal, entrepreneurial activity is more likely to eventuate under circumstances were
the institutional environments are favorable to and supportive of entrepreneurial activities
(Bruton et al., 2008). Hence, important discussions have emerged in the literature with
respect to why some economic and social contexts make entrepreneurial activity either more
or less risky and/or complex the others (Aidis, 2005; Fogel et al., 2006; Manolova et al., 2008).
It is also crucial that future scholars start to take into consideration the context in which
entrepreneurial activity takes place (Zahra and Wright, 2011).
Although institutions are common across countries and societies, considerable Thinking
heterogeneity can nevertheless be found among them. One such difference with respect to about the
institutional arrangements may be observed between developed and developing or
emerging, economies (Bruton et al., 2008). Similar to Hoskisson et al. (2000, p. 249), we define
future
emerging economies as those characterized by low-income, rapid-growth countries using
economic liberalization as their primary engine of growth. Such emerging economies are said
to account for approximately 75% of the world’s population lives in emerging economies [. . .]
[and] the population growth rates of emerging economies are the highest of all countries. 793
Hence, emerging economies can include the transition economies of East Asia, Central and
Eastern Europe and the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, as well as the
economies in the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa (World Bank,
2002).
An interesting feature of many emerging economies is that, compared to developed
economies, they are often characterized by high transaction cost environments, political and
economic instability and an undersupplied skilled workforce (Yiu and Lau, 2008). Such
characteristics have meant that potential entrepreneurs and firms operating in emerging
economies may be faced with distinct institutional challenges. For instance, a lack of
physical infrastructure (e.g. roads, telecommunications, sanitation and power) and
persistently high levels of corruption and political instability can act as a major hurdle for
entrepreneurs in emerging markets (Cavusgil et al., 2012). Similarly, a lack of credible legal
frameworks and financial capital availability and a prevalence of deeply embedded
networks and personalized exchanges, can make it difficult for “outsiders” to engage in
entrepreneurial activities (Meyer and Peng, 2005). Hence, such institutional challenges
suggest that entrepreneurship in emerging economies remains a highly complex, uncertain
and risky process (Zahra, 1993). However, an important caveat must be pointed out here. As
indicated by Meyer and Peng (2016), just as there may be considerable diversity between
developed and emerging economies, considerable within-group differences may be observed
among emerging economies themselves. This suggests that researchers should not treat
emerging economies as a homogeneous group.
In particular, as Meyer and Peng (2016) and others have pointed out (Bruton et al., 2008),
the significant heterogeneity existing within emerging economy institutional arrangements
means that entrepreneurship does occur and often flourishes in emerging economies. In
recognizing that institutional uncertainties and challenges pose very real barriers to many
entrepreneurs in emerging economies, we simultaneously recognize that such situations can
also create significant opportunities for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial firms (Tracey
et al., 2011). For example, in emerging economies, entrepreneurs may find themselves
deliberately leveraging specific resources and strategies to create and/or manipulate the
institutional structures and weakness within which they find themselves embedded
(Dorado, 2005). Hence, it can be assumed that entrepreneurship in emerging economies is
likely to involve a different set of skills than those associated with entrepreneurship in
developed economies because of the former’s unique characteristics (Tracey et al., 2011).
Such peculiarities with respect to differing institutional arrangements among emerging
economies and entrepreneurial activity begs for a better understanding of the drivers of
entrepreneurial practices in such contexts, as well as the important effects of such activities
at the individual, organizational and societal levels. As the first journal specifically
dedicated to entrepreneurship in emerging economies, we urge future scholars and those
wishing to submit to the JEEE to take into consideration more carefully the emerging
economy context. Doing so may provide richer insights to the nuances of entrepreneurship
in emerging economies.
JEEE 3. Method
13,5 3.1 Scope of review
The review focused on all published [1] articles found in the JEEE [2]. This amounted to a
total of 115 published and available articles across 6 volumes and 17 issues between 2014
and 2019. In the end, the authors analyzed only 90 empirical articles, as guest editorial
pieces, book reviews and PhD thesis updates were removed.
794
3.2 Process
The authors followed the following review protocol in examining the 90 articles:
 Each author individually read each of the 90 articles.
 Each author then individually applied the following coding template to each of the
articles – Key Topics Investigated, Method, Sampling Frame, Country Focus,
Comparative Studies, Discussion of Emerging Economy Context.
 The authors met to compare their individual coding of the 90 articles and any
disagreements that emerged. In the end, the authors were able to reach a
satisfactory level of agreement among their coding.

The above process gave us the basis in which to conduct our review. Specifically, we
focused on what has been currently been published in the journal and the areas/topics,
which warrant future investigation in the journal.

4. Findings
Table 1 provides a brief overview of selected studies discussed in this section.

4.1 Bibliometric information


For simplicity and comparability, the bibliometric information in this section is based on
data from Scopus. The quartile rankings of JEEE advanced from the second quartile in 2017
(highest percentile of 65% in the area of business and international management) to the first
quartile in 2018 (highest percentile of 81% in the area of economics, econometrics and
finance) and remaining in the first quartile in 2019 for the same area as 2018, with the
percentile increasing to 86% (Scopus, 2020b).
Table 2 sets out the top 10 most cited articles among the 90 review articles (Scopus,
2020c).
A conceptual study by Ratten (2014b) on the challenges of encouraging collaborative
entrepreneurship in developing countries ranks as the article with the most citations; one of
three conceptual papers that are listed in the 10 most cited JEEE articles. A majority of the
top 10 most cited articles (60%) used quantitative analysis techniques. For instance, Hyder
and Lussier (2016) applied the Lussier model of business success and failure with a sample
of 143 small businesses in Pakistan. Twenty per cent of the said top 10 articles involved
samples of women entrepreneurs. Only one out of the top 10 most cited JEEE articles used
qualitative analysis – Eijdenberg et al. (2015) conducted interviews with 133 Rwandan small
business owners to investigate entrepreneurial motivation and small business growth in the
country.

4.2 Key topics investigated and discussion of emerging economy context


Figure 1 provides a meta-overview of the key topics addressed by the 90 review articles.
Approximately 40% of the reviewed articles focused on topics related to the range of
entrepreneurial activity in emerging economies. For instance, adopting a historical
Country
Authors Research question Sample focus Findings

Acheampong (2018) Evaluate the usefulness of financial Quantitative – 155 farmers Ghana The survival rate of SCPFs is influenced by ties to
institution class ties in SCPFs’ from the national poultry universal banks and cooperative credit unions that have
survival in Ghana support project a positive effect while those with ties to savings and
loans companies have a reduced survival probability
Aldairany et al. Examine the theoretical bases and Qualitative – 57 articles in NA Main conclusion is that more research and empirical
(2018) main themes and issues that have a systematic literature evidence is needed on understanding how
been studied in this area, to map the review (SLR) entrepreneurship flourishes in conflict zones
current knowledge in a clear frame
as an attempt to highlight gaps and
weaknesses in relevant literature
Amrita et al. (2018) Explore the critical success factors Quantitative – Indian India Individual, management and government dimensions
of women’s entrepreneurship (WE) MSMEs take paramount importance while women aim to become
adoption in Indian micro, small and entrepreneurs in Indian MSMEs
medium enterprises (MSMEs)
Anderson and Examine the explanatory power of conceptual N/A While existing theory is good at explaining aspects of
Ronteau (2017) existing theories of entrepreneurship, most theories are discipline bound and
entrepreneurship operate in silos. A theory of entrepreneurship practice is
proposed to connect these disciplines
Anggadwita et al. Analyze how the socio-cultural Quantitative – 210 women Indonesia Practical implications include useful information for women
(2017) environment affects women entrepreneurs entrepreneurs to overcome the impact of the socio-cultural
entrepreneurs environment in their entrepreneurial activities
Asongu and Assess how entrepreneurship Quantitative – 53 African African The creation of an enabling environment for starting a
Tchamyou (2016) affects the knowledge economy in countries for the period of nations business can substantially boost most dimensions of the
Africa 1996–2010 knowledge economy (KE), doing business through
mechanisms of trade globalization has positive effects
from sectors that are not ICT and high-tech-oriented. The
time needed to end the business has negative effects on
KE. Practical implications current technology in African
countries may be more imitative and adaptive for reverse
engineering in ICTs and high-tech products; African
countries should consider producing its own ICT and
high-tech commodities
(continued)

studies from JEEE


Table 1.
795
future

Sample of reviewed
about the
Thinking
13,5

796
JEEE

Table 1.
Country
Authors Research question Sample focus Findings

Abu Bakar et al. Assess the determining factors of Quantitative – data from Saudi Income, fear of failure, perception of high status and
(2017) entrepreneurial business startups in the 2000 Global Arabia knowledge of other entrepreneurs, have a significant
Saudi Arabia from an eclectic Entrepreneurship Monitor relationship with the possibility of a business startup
perspective
Barbara and Li Examine the impact of the Quantitative – 50 students China The most preferred career choice option for Chinese
(2014) dynamics of changes in career in China and 450 overseas students right after leaving university is to work in a
choice intentions, and impacts of Chinese students as part large company and their intention to start an own
career motives, university of the GUESSS project company is low. However, in five years after graduation,
environment and perceived barriers founding an own company is identified as the most
on students entrepreneurial preferred option. The change appears to be primarily
intentions associated with students’ perception of own maturity,
confidence and improved financial position
Bhardwaj (2014) Examine the relationship between Quantitative – 150 women India The study also revealed that due to constraints in time
education and training and entrepreneurs availability and resources, women entrepreneurs find it
performance of women hard to train themselves and equip themselves with the
entrepreneurs (WEs) recent developments in technology and the market
Chai et al. (2016) Are MNEs are often reluctant to Qualitative – employment Hong Kong Host country nationals earn much less than not only the
employ host country nationals at details of civil servants British but also those from third countries. Moreover,
important positions and treat their parent country nationals were placed at important officer
host and parent countries’ and supervisory roles, as oppose to host country
employees differently nationals at the bottom, forming a typically ethnocentric
governance structure
Dai et al. (2015) Examine the role of intra-national Quantitative – 84 firms in China The level of regional financial sector marketization was
institutions in business the pharmaceutical found to be positively associated with the likelihood of
performance industry that are listed on engaging in corporate venturing by firms within the
the Shanghai and region. Moreover, it was found that organizational slack
Shenzhen Stock Exchange significantly decreases the institutional influence on
corporate venturing
(continued)
Country
Authors Research question Sample focus Findings

Dvouletý (2017) Investigate the impact of newly Quantitative – 13 Czech Czech Newly established business companies and the self-
established entrepreneurial activity Regions, during 2003– Republic employed were found on real gross domestic product
on economic development of the 2015 (GDP) per capita. Only the higher rates of newly
Czech NUTS 3 regions during the established business companies and partnership were
period of years 2003–2015 associated with higher levels of GDP per capita in the
Czech regions
Efobi and Orkoh Examine the effects of training Quantitative – data from Nigeria Entrepreneurs who received standard evaluation training
(2018) entrepreneurs and such the national business plan and goes ahead to retrain its workers experienced an
entrepreneurs going ahead to competition in Nigeria expansion in the number of employees by two persons,
retrain its workers on the business (YouWiN!) an increase in innovation index by about three units
high-growth performance
Eijdenberg et al. Investigate the relationship Qualitative – interviews Rwanda Predictors for the growth of small businesses can be
(2015) between entrepreneurial motivation with 133 Rwandan small divided into three factors: one factor with a mix of
and small business growth in business owners motivations related to family background, necessity and
Rwanda opportunity motivations; one factor with items
predominantly related to opportunity motivation; and
one factor with items related to necessity motivation
Hyder and Lussier Examine the factors that lead to Quantitative – 143 small Pakistan Business planning, proper employee staffing, adequate
(2016) either success or failure of small businesses capital flows and partnerships are important for the
firms viability and success of small businesses
Kassa and Raju Empirically examine the Quantitative – 332 Ethiopia Findings showed that the relationship between the
(2015) relationship between corporate respondents from six organization and its employees can be viewed as a
entrepreneurship and employee leather footwear mutually beneficial arrangement in a reciprocal exchange
engagement companies
Hizam-Hanafiah and Examine the extent to which Quantitative – 204 Malaysia Findings suggest that franchisees were satisfied with
Li (2014) franchisees are satisfied with the franchisee entrepreneurs their goal attainments. Additionally, findings also show
attainment of their personal goals in that franchisees were mostly satisfied with intrinsic
business rewards goals, followed by perceived autonomy goals
and family concern goals
(continued)

Table 1.
797
future
about the
Thinking
13,5

798
JEEE

Table 1.
Country
Authors Research question Sample focus Findings

Kumar and Yakhlef Explore the mechanism through Qualitative – single case India A firm’s ability to develop dynamic capabilities is key for
(2014) which the capabilities related to study global service delivery and its growth and survival. It is
internationalization emerge and are suggested that dynamic capabilities emerge as the result
acquired as firms internationalize of a mix of experiential and deliberate learning processes,
being in a constant change in rhythm with changes in
domestic and in international business environments
Li et al. (2016) Develop a framework to facilitate Quantitative – fuzzy China The effectiveness of multi-level governance and
the evaluation of the complexities of analysis hierarchy process partnerships is primarily determined by such factors as
working in multi-level governance (FAHP) of Wuhan Region clarity of framework for partnership, consensus on
and partnership and to assess the in China mission statement of strategic partnership, mechanisms
extent to which collaboration adds for joint initiation and implementation of projects and
value in terms of both process and removal of barriers to flow of resources
outcomes
Meil and Salzman What opportunities are there for Qualitative – Indian India The technology entrepreneurial development in India
(2017) growth among smaller innovative Technology Companies appears to represent quite a distinctive path in terms of
technology entrepreneurial firms both firm development and broader economic
development
Mehrotra and Verma To analyze the activities of Indian Mixed method study – India Strategic and operational capabilities, workforce
(2015) social enterprises, identify the survey of 236 social management, establishing functional scaling up,
reasons/causes for their enterprises and 25 identifying and fulfilling beneficiary pool, identifying
shortcomings interviews with social and fulfilling donor pool and promotional efforts were
enterprise owners identified as the major activities of NGOs
Molaei et al. (2014) Examine the effect of Quantitative – 376 Iran Students with intuitive cognitive style, among the four
entrepreneurial idea dimensions undergraduate students of dimensions of entrepreneurial idea (i.e. idea content,
(the value, content, number and campuses volume, value and novelty), the greatest direct effect
novelty of idea) along with intuitive belongs to the idea volume and idea content. Further, for
cognitive style versus an analytical the students with analytical cognitive style, the idea
style on students’ entrepreneurial volume and the idea value have the maximum direct
intention impacts on their entrepreneurial intention meanwhile the
least direct effect belongs to the idea novelty
(continued)
Country
Authors Research question Sample focus Findings

Montiel-Campos Explore the influence that different Quantitative – 52 Various An entrepreneurial orientation, incubators or
(2018) factors have on the creation of universities countries entrepreneurship support programs and goods market
university spin-offs throughout efficiency are the factors that positively influence the
Latin creation of university spin-offs
America
Mustafa et al. (2015) Explore the impact of psychological Quantitative – 80 family Malaysia Job-based psychological ownership was found to
ownership (both job and owners/managers and significantly predict both types of extra-role behaviors.
organizational based) on extra-role non-family employees Organizational-based psychological ownership, however,
behaviors among family and non- from 40 small overseas was only a significant predictor of voice extra-role
family employees in small overseas Chinese family businesses behavior
Chinese family businesses
Mustafa et al. (2016) Develop an empirical model that Quantitative – 141 Malaysia Findings indicate that a proactive personality and
examines whether a student’s undergraduate students concept development support have significant impact on
proactive personality or the attending an students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Additionally, the
university support environment internationally renowned results showed that a student’s proactive personality had
affects their entrepreneurial university a greater effect on their entrepreneurial intentions than
intentions that of the university support environment
Olomi et al. (2018) Examine the experiences and Qualitative – comparative Tanzania, The informal sector has a small layer that responds to
lessons from formalization case studies of micro- Ghana, the simplification of regulations and a larger one that
initiatives in four sub-Saharan enterprises Kenya and requires a different formalization framework
African countries Rwanda
Pham et al. (2019) Explore the role of the father in Qualitative – semi- Vietnam Findings suggest that the father plays different roles at
supporting the son’s business structured interviews with different stages of the son’s business knowledge
knowledge and development in five father-son succession development process
Vietnamese family businesses pairs
Popkova et al. (2018) Determine the role of innovations in Quantitative – national Russia, Innovations were found as a means for eliminating
provision of competitiveness and comparative data set Republic of structural disproportions in economy of Russia and
innovational development of Belarus countries of Eastern Europe, i.e. overcoming of
economy and overcoming of “underdevelopment whirlpools”
“underdevelopment whirlpools”
(continued)

Table 1.
799
future
about the
Thinking
13,5

800
JEEE

Table 1.
Country
Authors Research question Sample focus Findings

Ratten (2014a) Examine the effects of privacy Quantitative – 270 China, USA Findings suggest that the performance expectancy,
concerns and consumer Undergraduate Students perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use can help
innovativeness toward consumer’s from China and the USA predict intention to adopt cloud computing services in
adoption of a technological both the USA and China, but consumer innovativeness is
innovation in the form of cloud a better indicator in the USA than in China for consumers
computing technology adopting technological innovations
Ratten (2014b) Examine the challenges of Conceptual N/A A number of different types of collaborative
collaborative entrepreneurship in entrepreneurship are found, including cultural
developing countries, in particular collaboration government attitudes and society benefits,
how it differs depending on a community innovations and collaborative capabilities
country’s level of economic and
social development
Rehman (2016) To investigate the innovation Quantitative – 696 Chilean Chile SMEs are less likely to apply for patents and introduce
activities of Chilean firms small and medium product innovations. SMEs that are engaged in quality
enterprises (SMEs) programs are more likely to spend on patents. Finally,
SMEs with public support for innovation activities
positively influence the patent application
Ren et al. (2016) Examine the evolution of Qualitative – single case China Findings suggested that firms should reduce innovation
innovation-based dynamic study of a failures and lower damage degree of dynamic capabilities
capabilities in informal copycat- telecommunication through consistent innovation and paying attention to
style firms company their innovation improvement
Roundy (2017) Develop a framework for studying Conceptual N/A Entrepreneurship in small cities is best conceptualized as
entrepreneurial ecosystems in small the outcome of an ecosystem, which means that although
towns small towns may not have some of the same key
components as entrepreneurial ecosystems in large urban
centers, other elements of the ecosystem may be able to
bolster these deficiencies
(continued)
Country
Authors Research question Sample focus Findings

Shojaei et al. (2018) Explore the barriers that constrain Qualitative – 31 detailed Iran Major formal institutional deficiencies include lack of
the VC financing in Iran based on Interviews with various appropriate financial regulations, inefficacy in tax, labor,
the institutional theory VC stakeholders property rights, financial disclosure, bankruptcy,
investor protection laws and regulations, lack of credit
rating/scoring systems, inefficacy in small and medium-
sized enterprise-supporting policies and capital market
underdevelopment. Moreover, there exist some informal
institutional barriers such as a culture of capitalism
disapproval, a culture of secrecy, individualistic customs
and weakness of managerial skills that constrain VC
activities in Iran
Singh and Kota Examine whether family businesses Quantitative – BSE 500 India Family businesses are more innovative and
(2017) innovate and internationalize more (Bombay Stock Exchange) internationalized when compared to non-family
than non-family businesses and index companies for a businesses
further analyzes the type of family period of 11 years from
businesses “age-wise” and “size- 2005 to 2015
wise” that innovate and
internationalize more
Srivastava and Misra Identify the antecedents of Mixed-method study – India Findings confirms the role of social valuation as an
(2017) entrepreneurial intentions of young survey of 248 female important antecedent of entrepreneurial intentions
women in India students and a focus among women. However, it also identifies that
group of 110 young female entrepreneurship education is also an important element
students that affects the entrepreneurial intentions of young
women in India
Sonfield et al. (2016) To compare the use of non-family- Quantitative – total of 485 US, Egypt, American family businesses engaged the services of non-
members in the higher-level family businesses Kuwait and family-member managers to a statistically significant
management team of Arab/Islamic Lebanon greater degree than did Arab/Islamic family businesses
family businesses versus American
family businesses
(continued)

Table 1.
801
future
about the
Thinking
13,5

802
JEEE

Table 1.
Country
Authors Research question Sample focus Findings

ul Haq et al. (2014) Compare the entrepreneurial Quantitative – 2010 Global China, Chinese entrepreneurs were found not to be significantly
activity in China and Pakistan Entrepreneurship Monitor Pakistan influenced by their fear of failure to engage in
based on: fear of failure, perceived (GEM) data entrepreneurial activity. Gender is also not a significant
capabilities, perceived opportunities predictor of entrepreneurial activity in China. In
and knowledge of other Pakistan, perception of opportunities does not
entrepreneurs significantly predict whether to involve in
entrepreneurial activity or not, while other factors do.
Gender is a significant predictor of entrepreneurial
activity in Pakistan
Urban and To determine to what extent culture Quantitative – 2,220 Madagascar Findings show that cultural dimensions influence the
Ratsimanetrimanana influences entrepreneurship by individuals in self- relationship between perceived desirability and EI only
(2015) connecting the causal chain from employment for the highlander ethnic group. Differences between the
cultural values to perceived ethnic groups are also observed in terms of the
desirability to entrepreneurial indulgence-restraint cultural dimension
intention (EI)
Valliere (2015) To report on the level of EI in Quantitative – national Cameroon Contrary to the expectations for low entrepreneurial
southwestern Cameroon survey prevalence and intention expressed in the literature, there
is actually no significant EI deficit in Cameroon
Yaseen et al. (2018) Explore what predicts the Quantitative – 174 milk Pakistan Intention is a strong predictor to start entrepreneurial
entrepreneurial decisions in the producers activities in the Pakistani dairy industry. Among
dairy industry of Pakistan precursory factors, perceived feasibility, readiness and
conviction were found strongly linked to intention when
explaining the causes of entrepreneurial start-ups
Zhao and Wang Examine how the interactions Quantitative – 165 high- China There is a positive relationship between the
(2015) between the entrepreneur’s technology companies entrepreneurs’ knowledge and the resources acquisition.
technical and market knowledge located in the incubator in The effects of the technical knowledge and the market
and the intra- and extra-industry Xi’an knowledge are contingent on the intra-industry ties and
ties affect resources acquisition the extra-industry ties in different ways
Zheng and Wong Explore why this company can Qualitative – single case Hong Kong Li and Fung Corporation has flourished for over a
(2016) overcome the fatalism that “family study of Li and Fung century because they adopted the “pruning the family
business could not pass on over Corporation tree” mechanism and “listing and de-listing” mechanism
three generations” during critical stages of succession and development
No. of citations
No. Authors Article title (Scopus, 2020c) Sample Country focus

1 Ratten (2014b) Encouraging collaborative 48 Conceptual N/A


entrepreneurship in developing countries:
the current challenges and a research
agenda
2 Hyder and Lussier (2016) Why businesses succeed or fail: a study on 47 Quantitative – 143 small Pakistan
small businesses in Pakistan businesses
3 Anggadwita et al. (2017) Socio-cultural environments and emerging 36 Quantitative – 210 women Indonesia
economy entrepreneurship women entrepreneurs
entrepreneurs in Indonesia
4 Asongu and Tchamyou (2016) The impact of entrepreneurship on 29 Quantitative – 53 African countries African nations
knowledge economy in Africa for the period of 1996–2010
5 Mustafa et al. (2016) Entrepreneurial intentions of university 29 Quantitative – 141 undergraduate Malaysia
students in an emerging economy: the students attending an
influence of university support and internationally renowned
proactive personality on students’ university
entrepreneurial intention
6 Bhardwaj (2014) Impact of education and training on 26 Quantitative – 150 women India
performance of women entrepreneurs: A entrepreneurs
study in emerging market context
7 Anderson and Ronteau (2017) Toward an entrepreneurial theory of 24 Conceptual N/A
practice; emerging ideas for emerging
economies
8 Dvouletý (2017) Can policymakers count with positive 22 Quantitative – 13 Czech Regions, Czech Republic
impact of entrepreneurship on economic during 2003–2015
development of the Czech regions?
9 Eijdenberg et al. (2015) Entrepreneurial motivation and small 22 Qualitative – Interviews with 133 Rwanda
business growth in Rwanda Rwandan small business owners
10 Roundy (2017) “Small town” entrepreneurial ecosystems: 20 Conceptual N/A
Implications for developed and emerging
economies

Top 10 most cited

JEEE articles
Table 2.

articles among the


803
future

reviewed
about the
Thinking
JEEE Main Topics Covered
13,5

804

Figure 1. 1 = entrepreneurial intenons 2 = Entrepreneurialism


Key topics covered
3 = SMEs and Family Business 4 = Determinants of Entrepreneurial Acvity
among the review
articles 5 = Entrepreneurship Educaon 6 = Other

approach, Chai et al. (2016) examined whether first-moving multi-national organizations


treated their local employees in an ethical and reasonable manner, for the employees
entering the service between 1845–1850. Similarly, Miel and Salzman’s (2017) study
explored the opportunities for growth among smaller innovative Indian technology
entrepreneurial firms, while Kassa and Raju (2015) explored how corporate entrepreneurial
attitudes in Ethiopian firms can influence the engagement levels of their employees at work.
A total 20 articles (approximately 22%) focused on critical issues related to the effective
functioning and growth of either small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and/or family
businesses. Some articles focused on growth and development issues in family-SMEs. Singh
and Kota (2017) explored how the innovation behavior of family-SMEs influenced their
internationalization strategies, while Mustafa et al. (2015) examined how non-family
employees feelings of ownership affected their ability to positively contribute to the
development of family-SMEs. Other studies examined issues related to the ability of SMEs
to thrive and survive in emerging economies. Eijdenberg et al. (2015) on the other hand,
explored whether entrepreneurs’ personal motivation affected the survival of their
enterprises in African least developed country, Rwanda, while Dai et al. (2015) examined the
role of intra-national institutions in China in influencing the business performance of
Chinese SMEs.
The majority of the remaining reviewed articles either focused on specific determinants
of entrepreneurial activity (14 articles) or the entrepreneurial intentions of individuals
(11 articles). Many of the articles here focused on determinants of entrepreneurial activity
examined a range of organizational-level (Kumar and Yakhlef (2014), country-level (Roundy Thinking
(2017)) or individual attributes (Hizam-Hanafiah and Li (2014)), which drive entrepreneurial about the
activities. For example, Olomi et al. (2018) focused on how the informal business sector future
responds to the simplification of national regulations, while Amrita et al. (2018) examined a
range of individual attributes that influenced Indian women’s start-up activities. Regarding
entrepreneurial intentions, Barbara and Li (2014) examined the dynamics of changes in
entrepreneurial intentions among Chinese students, while Molaei et al. (2014) looked to 805
examine the effects of students’ thinking styles on their entrepreneurial intentions. Closely
related to the topic of entrepreneurial intentions, a further six studies explored how
receiving training or development with respect to entrepreneurship can influence
entrepreneurial activities. Mustafa et al.’s. (2015) study looked at the effects of students’
receptiveness toward entrepreneurship education on their entrepreneurial intentions, while
Efobi and Orkoh (2018) explored how the Nigerian government’s efforts of training
entrepreneurs may improve their business performance.
The review also highlighted the lack of adequate discussion and consideration of the
emerging economy context among the reviewed articles. As per Figure 2, approximately
35% of articles provided a detailed discussion of the emerging economy context when
framing their respective studies or considering their findings. For instance, Mustafa et al.
(2016) framed their study of a proactive personality and entrepreneurial intentions with
respect to the issue of overcoming institutional barriers and challenges in Malaysia. Ren
et al. (2016) on the other hand, used the development of the Chinese mobile phone industry as
part of her analytical framework in explaining the evolution of innovation-based dynamic
capabilities in a Shanzhai firm. Similarly, Eijdenberg et al. (2015) explained how the
institutional uncertainties and weakness in Burundi can influence the strategic decision-
making processes of entrepreneurs.

Figure 2.
Number of studies
incorporating a
discussion of the
emerging economy
context
JEEE 4.3 Methods and sampling frame
13,5 Figure 3 provides an overview of the chosen methodologies adopted in reviewed articles.
The majority of the articles appearing in the journal used quantitative techniques such as
hierarchical regressions, structural equation modeling or logit-probit models. For instance,
Molaei et al. (2014) used hierarchical regression analysis to investigate the effects of
entrepreneurial idea dimensions along with the intuitive cognitive style of students on their
806 entrepreneurial intentions. Similarly, Acheampong (2018) used lagged-probit model
estimations to understand the usefulness of financial institution class ties in small
commercial poultry farms’ (SCPFs’) survival in Ghana, while Sonfield et al. (2016) used
analysis of covariance to compare differences between American and Arab/Islamic family
business attributes. Close to a third of the published articles used qualitative methodologies
such as single and multiple case studies, semi-structured interviews and/or systematic
reviews of the literature. Meil and Salzman (2017) drew on a comparative case study
approach to explore how opportunities for growth emerge among smaller innovative
technology entrepreneurial firms in India, while Zheng and Wong (2016) examined how
leadership and ownership emerge in corporations using a single in-depth case study.
Shojaei et al. (2018) on the other hand, conducted 31 detailed interviews to understand
how institutional barriers constrain venture capital (VC) financing in Iran, while Aldairany
et al. (2018) provided a detailed review of 57 peer-reviewed articles to develop an overview of
the literature on entrepreneurship in conflict and post-conflict societies. Only four articles
were found to have used mixed-method approaches, while six articles were conceptual in
nature. For instance, in examining the determinants of Indian students’ entrepreneurial
intentions, Srivastava and Misra (2017) used both a survey instrument and a series of semi-
structured interviews.
Figure 4 provides an overview of the different sampling frames adopted by the
reviewed articles. Approximately, 57% of published articles relied on samples from
either organizations [e.g. SMEs (16 articles) or large organizations (12 articles)] or

Methodologies Used

Figure 3.
Key methodologies
used among review
articles Quantave Qualitave Mixed methods Conceptual
Sampling frame Thinking
18 about the
16 future
14
12
10
8 807
6
4
2
0
Figure 4.
Sampling frames
commonly used
among the review
articles

owners/managers of enterprises [e.g. entrepreneurs (13 articles) and business owners (11
articles)]. For instance, Pham et al.’s. (2019) data came from the owner-managers of five
family SMEs in Vietnam in their study exploring the role of the father in supporting the son’s
business knowledge and development, while Zhao and Wang (2015) sampled 165 technology
entrepreneurs to examine how such entrepreneurs’ technical and market knowledge and their
intra- and extra-industry ties affect their resource acquisitions. In total, 13 articles were found
to have sampled either high school or university students, to investigate their willingness to
engage in entrepreneurial activity.
In addition to the sampling of enterprises and student populations, 17 articles were found
to sample general populations of emerging economies, such as Valliere (2015), who
investigated entrepreneurial intentions among Cameroonians or Abu Bakar et al. (2017),
who surveyed working adults from Saudi Arabia to determine their willingness to start their
own business. Of these 17 articles, 7 explicitly focused on the experiences of women
regarding their entrepreneurial actives. For instance, Bhardwaj (2014) sampled 150 Indian
women entrepreneurs to examine whether their education and access to training programs
influenced their performance, while Srivastava and Misra (2017) examined the determinants
of entrepreneurial intentions among young Indian women. Only six articles focused on
specific emerging economies as a unit of analysis. For example, Popkova et al. (2018)
compared the Republic of Belarus and the Czech Republic to show how innovations have a
key role in the provision of competitiveness and innovational development of an economy,
while Li et al. (2016) used data from Wuhan, China to develop a framework to evaluate of the
complexities of working in multi-level governance and partnerships and how they add value
to firms in terms of both processes and outcomes.

4.4 Country focus and comparative studies


Figure 5 provides a graphical representation of the geographic distribution from which the
articles drew their data. For additional clarity, Table 3 sets out a frequency distribution of
the countries within each geographic area that are represented in the reviewed articles.
Currently, a majority of articles sampled in the review have focused on the experiences of
entrepreneurial activity throughout the Indian subcontinent (20 articles), with the most
number of articles having considered samples based in India (15 articles). For example,
JEEE Geographic distribuon of studies
13,5 25

20

15
808 10

Figure 5.
Geographic focus of
review articles

Yaseen et al. (2018) examined the nature of entrepreneurial behavior among 174 milk
producers in the Pakistani dairy industry, while Mehrotra and Verma’s (2015) study focused
on how Indian social enterprises can enhance the performance by using their networks to
increase their donor and beneficiary pools. The review of articles also identified a rapid
emergence of articles focusing on entrepreneurial activities throughout the economies of
Asia (19 articles) and the Middle-east (11 articles). Studies on Asia (19 articles) tended to
exclusively focus on entrepreneurial activities in China (14 articles) or Hong Kong
(4 articles). The review also identified a growing trend of articles (17 in total) focusing on the
emerging economies of Africa, including those of Nigeria (4 articles), Ethiopia (2 articles)
and Tanzania (2 articles). Articles typically focused on a range of African economies. For
instance, drawing on data from the under-researched country, Madagascar, Urban and
Ratsimanetrimanana (2015) explored how the country’s unique cultural values influenced
the entrepreneurial intentions of its population, while Olomi et al. (2018) examined the
business formalization experiences of four sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya, Ghana,
Rwanda and Tanzania).
From the studies on emerging economies that were reviewed, our analysis only identified
seven specific articles, which focused on the experiences of Latin American countries. For
example, Rehman (2016) used the World Bank Enterprise Survey data on Chilean SMEs to
demonstrate how their resource constraint prevents them from introducing product
innovations and applying for patents. In contrast, Montiel-Campos (2018) used a
representative sample of 52 universities from across the Latin American region in his
analysis of what creates university spin-offs. In addition to the lack of articles focusing on
Latin American countries, the review also revealed a dearth of articles drawing on data from
emerging and in particular transition European economies (three articles). These three
articles focused on the experiences of SMEs in such economies. For example, Dvouletý
(2017) used country-level econometric data to demonstrate the effect of new entrepreneurial
activity on Czech regional economic growth.
It was also observed from the review that there is a lack of articles providing a
comparison among emerging economies or between emerging economies and developed
economies. In fact, only 12 such articles were identified. For example, using data from the
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, ul Haq et al. (2014) compared entrepreneurial activity
No. of articles
Thinking
Total per about the
Geographic area Country Country geographic area future
Indian subcontinent India 15 20
Pakistan 5
Asia China 14 19
Hong Kong 4 809
“Asian countries” (Malaysia, Kazakhstan, 1
Iran, Iraq, Thailand)*
Africa Nigeria 4 17
Ethiopia 2
Tanzania 2
Cameroon 1
Burundi 1
Ghana 1
Kenya 1
Madagascar 1
Rwanda 1
South Africa 1
“Four Sub-Saharan African countries” 1
(Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania)*
Middle East Iran 4 11
Turkey 2
Saudi Arabia 2
United Arab Emirates 1
Palestine 1
Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Saudi 1
Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates,
Qatar, Bahrain, Oman)*
Latin America Brazil 2 7
Chile 2
Argentina 1
Peru 1
“Latin American region” (Chile, Panama, 1
Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Brazil,
Honduras, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia and
Venezuela)*
Southeast Asia Malaysia 4 6
Singapore 1
Indonesia 1
Europe UK 1 3
Czech Republic 1
Russia 1
North America USA 2 3
Canada 1 Table 3.
Frequency
Notes: *The figures in this table are intended to present a general overview of the spread of countries
represented in the review articles, and do not take into account any double-counting that may occur owing distribution of
to articles that may have conducted an analysis on a sample of countries selected from across the countries represented
geographic area concerned or across two or more geographic areas in the review articles
JEEE among Pakistani and Chinese working adults, while Olomi et al. (2018) compared the
13,5 experiences of Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania with respect to how they regulate their
informal economy. Only five articles were found to provide a comparison of entrepreneurial
activity between emerging and developed economies. For instance, Ratten (2014) compared
the samples of US and Chinese students with respect to their determinants of their cloud
computing adoption behavior. In another article, Sonfield et al. (2016) compared the cultural
810 values of USA and Middle-eastern family business owners.

5. Discussion and suggestions for future research


The section below provides a brief discussion of the above findings and also suggestions for
future research. The discussion and suggestions for future research will be framed around
the key themes discussed above.

5.1 Key topics investigated and discussion of emerging economy context


The review indicated a particular topical focus on the nature of entrepreneurial activity in
emerging economies along with the factors that influence the growth and development of
SMEs and family businesses. As such, we suggest several promising topical areas for
further research emerge to broaden the fields understanding of entrepreneurship in
emerging economies. In particular, further research is needed to understand and explore the
uniqueness of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activities in emerging economies. For
instance, prior research has shown that the determinants of firm-level entrepreneurial
activity may vary significantly between developed and emerging economies and such
activity may significantly contribute to wealth creation (Gomez-Haro et al., 2011). Hence,
future research may do well to look into the conditions unique to emerging economies and
how they influence the pro-entrepreneurial attitudes of emerging economy firms.
Entrepreneurship involves the study of sources of opportunities, the process of discovery
and the exploitation of opportunities (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000). This suggests that
entrepreneurial activity can take on a variety of different forms in addition to the mere
creation of enterprises. Consequently, we urge future researchers to take into consideration
of the different forms of entrepreneurship, which have been traditionally understudies in
JEEE and how they take shape in emerging economies. For example, sport entrepreneurship
is an emerging field within entrepreneurship research (Gonzalez-Serrano et al., 2019; Ratten,
2010), but one that has received scant attention in the emerging economy context. Future
research on topics such as agripreneurship (Otache, 2017) in Africa, aquapreneurship in
Qatar or eco-entrepreneurship (Palmås and Lindberg, 2013) in Sri Lanka is also much
needed as it may provide unique insights into how different forms of entrepreneurship can
impact the community and national development. We further recommend that future
authors explore under-researched issues in JEEE such as entrepreneurship and
sustainability, entrepreneurship and equality and social justice, and entrepreneurship and
well-being.
Additionally, future research is needed to understand and account for the nuances of
entrepreneurial activity in emerging economies. Compared to other journals in the field,
JEEE places considerable emphasis on research that describes emerging economy local
conditions, ecosystems and surroundings of entrepreneurial activity. In this regard, we echo
calls by Zahra (2007) and others to take “context” more seriously in order to advance
theoretical development regarding entrepreneurship in emerging economies (Welter, 2011).
For example, due to a lack of resources and institutional support, how and why emerging
economies SMEs internationalize may be quite different from that of developed economies.
Hence, future research, which explores topics such as innovation, internationalization or
corporate venturing with respect to emerging economies enterprises is urgently needed. Thinking
Addressing such issues may provide a more evolving and dynamic picture of about the
entrepreneurial activity in emerging economies.
The review also highlighted a greater need to understand how and why individuals in
future
emerging economies may choose to engage in entrepreneurship. In addition to focusing on
entrepreneurial intentions, future research may also explore how entrepreneurs and
individuals identify entrepreneurial opportunities and mobilize the necessary resources to
exploit them. In particular, future research may focus on the individual-level characteristics 811
of entrepreneurs in emerging economies that makes them thrive and survive in such
contexts. Broadly, the above suggestions for future research highlight the importance of
taking into account the emerging economy context, when examining entrepreneurial
activities (Bruton et al., 2013). It may be particularly worthwhile to use relevant theoretical
frameworks such as institutional theory (North, 1990), which takes into account the
regulative, normative and cognitive factors and how they influence entrepreneurial activity
in emerging economies. For instance, institutional theory could be used to explain how
entrepreneurs in Africa recognize opportunities and how financial institutions may or may
not support their entrepreneurial activities.

5.2 Methods and sampling frame


The review indicated a strong usage of quantitative and theory testing approaches among
the relevant studies. While theory testing approaches still remain important in providing
empirical evidence concerning entrepreneurial activities in emerging economies, there still
remains considerable scope for future scholars to adopt more exploratory approaches, such
as case studies, interviews or ethnographic studies in examining entrepreneurial activity.
We encourage future researchers wishing to submit to JEEE to consider a diversity of
research methodologies and the application of rigorous qualitative research methods. In
regard to qualitative methodologies (e.g. case studies and interviews), we strongly urge
future researchers to go beyond simply describing some interesting themes or concepts
about entrepreneurship in emerging economies but to instead explore relationships between
concepts. Additionally, our analysis of the JEEE articles highlight a lack of studies in
developing theoretical models of entrepreneurial activity in emerging economies (Leppänen
et al., 2019). While the application of entrepreneurship theories developed in Western
contexts to emerging economy contexts may help to validate the generalizability of theories,
the lack of, or weak, contextualization of the emerging economy context hinders the proper
understanding of entrepreneurial phenomena such conditions (Welter, 2011). Accordingly,
qualitative methodologies may be well-suited to studying entrepreneurship in emerging
economies as they can lead to theory development through the construction of highly
contextualized models or by explaining how concepts are theoretically linked to one another
(Eisenhardt, 1989). Such approaches may be worthwhile in deepening our understanding of
how the emerging economy context may influence entrepreneurial activity (Hughes and
Mustafa, 2017).
Corporations (either SMEs or family business) and/or their business owners emerged as
the most common source of data among the reviewed articles. However, entrepreneurial
activities in emerging economies may not be solely restricted to such individuals and
enterprises. In fact, not only is there considerable heterogeneity with respect to
entrepreneurial activity in emerging economies but there also may be considerable
heterogeneity with regard to whom is engaging in such activities. A particularly notable
trend among the articles reviewed in JEEE was the growing focus on the entrepreneurial
activities among female entrepreneurs in emerging economies. While we encourage future
JEEE scholars to continue exploring such a group, we also remind scholars that besides women,
13,5 there are also other marginal groups in emerging economies such as indigenous groups, the
youth or religious/ethnic minorities (Dana, 2015). It is highly probable that such groups may
be faced with informal or formal barriers to their entrepreneurial activities. Conversely,
because of their marginalized status, such groups may also have access to unique ethnic or
class resources, which may lead them to entrepreneurial activity through unusual routes.
812 Hence, we encourage future research to also consider exploring the uniqueness of such
groups of entrepreneurial activities and their determinants.
Additionally, future research is also needed to explore the entrepreneurial activities of
informal enterprises in emerging economies. Lindell (2010, p. 5) described the “informal
sector” as “economic activities that lie beyond or circumvent state regulation” and as a
sector that in which most of most entrepreneurial activity in Africa is located in.
Accordingly, we urge future researchers to move beyond investigating formalized
entrepreneurial activities and to also consider specific issues related to enterprises in the
informal sector. For example, possible studies may seek to compare business performance
and growth among informal and formal enterprises. Additionally, future studies may wish
to focus on the uniqueness of entrepreneurial activities among informal enterprises. For
instance, future studies may examine how enterprises in the informal sector develop
“resource-constrained” innovations and business models that create high value at a very low
cost (George et al., 2012).

5.3 Country focus and comparative studies


Currently, the majority of the articles reviewed focused on the entrepreneurial activities
taking place in the emerging economies of the Indian subcontinent (India and Pakistan in
particular) or East Asia (mostly China). The review also highlighted the rapid growth in the
journal of studies focusing on the African continent. Nevertheless, we strongly encourage
future researchers to explore other emerging economy regions such as Latin America,
Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Republics (e.g. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Tajikistan, etc.), as well as the Middle-east and Gulf countries, were there continues to be a
dearth of empirical studies. It may be particularly worthwhile in this respect to provide a
comparative analysis of intra-regional and inter-regional entrepreneurial activity. For
instance, considerable economic and social differences can be observed throughout the
African continent, which, in turn, can have a variety of effects on entrepreneurial activities
throughout the region (George et al., 2012). Hence, future studies may seek to compare the
nature of entrepreneurial activity between Southern and Northern African economies or
among the least developed countries in the continent. Similar approaches are also
encouraged with respect to the emerging economies of Latin America and East Asia.
Equally important may be advancing our understanding of within-country differences in
entrepreneurial activity. For instance, Huang et al. (2020) pointed out that as a country China
consists of significant sub-national, cross-region variations and marked differences between
sub-national institutions, all of which can either facilitate or constrain entrepreneurship in a
variety of ways. Given such differences within a particular country, future research may
wish to explore how variations in regional governments may affect the quality of
entrepreneurial activities and knowledge spillovers and innovation (Pyka et al., 2019). In
sum, we strongly urge future scholars to continue conducting comparative studies, not only
between emerging and developed economies but also among emerging economies
themselves. Such approaches have the potential to significantly enhance our understanding
of the variations in entrepreneurial activity in emerging economies.
6. Conclusion Thinking
The current study is based on an exhaustive review of 90 empirical and conceptual studies about the
published in the JEEE between 2014 and 2019. The review was conducted to better
understand the topics, methods, samples and country focuses published in JEEE. Our
future
findings suggest that studies published in JEEE strongly align with its core scope of
focusing on issues related to entrepreneurship and innovation in emerging economies.
However, the review also uncovered a greater need for future scholars wishing to publish in
JEEE to ensure that the emerging economy context is developed very carefully and 813
extensively. Specifically, we recommend future scholars wishing to submit to JEEE to draw
on meta theories such as institutional theory (North, 1990) to help further understand how
the emerging economy context influences entrepreneurial and innovative activities, as well
as considering how such activities themselves influence the emerging economy context. In
this regard, we also urge future scholars to develop more nauseated theories and models of
entrepreneurial activity in the emerging economy context through the use of qualitative
methodologies. Finally, we also encourage future scholars to adopt more comparative
studies, not only between developed and emerging economies but also among emerging
economies. Such approaches will help the field of entrepreneurship in emerging economies
to better understand how intra-regional and country differences can influence
entrepreneurial activities.

Notes
1. The review focused only on articles, which were assigned volume and issue numbers. Hence, pre-
publication (EarlyCite) articles were not included in the review.
2. The JEEE was previously published under the name of JCE, which was published between
2008–2013. The review did not include articles from the JCE nor the said time period.

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Corresponding author
Michael James Mustafa can be contacted at: michael.mustafa@nottingham.edu.my

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