Untangling the Link between Institutions & Women’s Entrepreneurial Performance: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explores the extent to which local institutional forces affect female entrepreneurial venture performance. Drawing upon a unified theoretical framework of social cognitive and institutional perspectives, the authors scrutinize the complex interplay among institutional support, entrepreneurial cognitions and entrepreneurial success. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a unique sample of 202 female entrepreneurs in 30 provinces throughout Japan, this paper grounded social cognitive theory and attempted to clear the relation between women’s entrepreneurial self-efficacy and venture performance empirically by statistical analysis. Findings: The findings of structural equation modeling indicate that women’s entrepreneurial self-efficacy is a strong and useful mediator of the effect of informal institutional support on venture performance. Unexpectedly, formal institutional support shows no correlation with entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Practical implications. This study proposes that perceived social legitimacy may lead to increased entrepreneurial self-efficacy, thereby enhancing venture performance. This finding can clarify the institutional force pathways to foster entrepreneurial confidence. Originality/value: This study contributes to the field of female entrepreneurship by examining institutional antecedents of women’s entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Focused on the case of Japanese female entrepreneurs, this study is unique and valuable.