Factors affecting female entrepreneurial activity in Bangladesh: a role for formal (institution) and informal (culture) institutional factors at national level research

A considerable agreement exists about the importance of promoting female entrepreneurship as they represent an unrecognised engine for economic growth especially in transition economy. As entrepreneurship is increasingly understood as a process of social phenomenon rooted in social interactions, female entrepreneurs can be influenced by different cultural, and institutional factors at different national level. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of formal (institutions) and informal (culture) institutional factors on female entrepreneurship in the informal sector of Bangladeshi context. The design is a systematic literature review of research published in the related field from 1980 to 2018 focusing on the formal and informal institutional factors that affect female entrepreneurship. North’s classification of formal and informal institutions provides the structural framework. In this study, an explanatory sequential mixed method will be used, and it will involve collecting quantitative data first through validated questionnaire and then explaining the quantitative results with in depth face to face interviews. The questionnaires and the interviews will be analysed using descriptive, inferential statistics and thematic analysis. The findings of the quantitative and qualitative research will be synthesised into a conceptual framework adding to the understanding of macro nation effects of formal and informal institutional on female entrepreneurship. The research contributes both theoretically (advancing knowledge with respect to formal and informal institutional factors that affect female entrepreneurship), and practically (for the design of appropriate institutional initiatives to foster female entrepreneurial activity) in Asian context.