Entrepreneurial exit intentions in emerging economies: a neoinstitutional perspective

Current research has shown that entrepreneurial exit is driven by individual- and firm-level antecedents. We draw from neoinstitutional theory and propose that contextual factors affect family succession intentions as opposed to family-external exit intentions and theorize how regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive institutional pillars affect exit intentions in the context of transition economies—a special case of emerging economies with no path dependence related to an entrepreneurial exit—characterized by institutional voids, which are filled in by the national culture. We argue and find—analyzing a sample of 222 Polish SME founders’ survey responses—that labor market development decreases, normative pressure of reference groups increases, and paternalistic leadership style decreases family succession intentions. This study contributes to the literature about entrepreneurial exit, family firm succession, and neoinstitutional theory.