Abstract
This paper takes an institutional approach to explore and understand women
entrepreneurship development in Peshawar, Pakistan. Social embeddedness perspective
proposes that institutional framework conditions not only influence type and level of
entrepreneurial activities but also the entrepreneurial behavior. Entrepreneurship flourishes
in countries where formal institutions are strong and functional and informal institutions are
flexible. Formal institutions like laws of entry and exit, contracts for managing business and
laws that ensure equal opportunities encourage entrepreneurship. While informal
institutions determine the likelihood and legitimacy of entrepreneurship; however, little is
known about the impact of informal intuitions on women entrepreneurship development.
Current paper is an effort to unveil the institutional context and its role in women
entrepreneurship development in a developing country (Pakistan). To understand the role of
informal institutions in women entrepreneurship development, qualitative research
approach was adopted. Emergent themes were interpreted using phenomenological lens.
Results revealed that socio-cultural, economic and political factors facilitate and inhibit
women’s entrepreneurship development by shaping social legitimacy and opportunities of
venture start-up. Inferring from the data, informal institutions are stronger in their impact as
compared to the formal institutions.
