In this article, I analyse a theoretical multi-level model of entrepreneurship in which institutional variables associated with different variants of capitalism and individual level differences in resources can potentially explain whether and why new firms are created. Our model answers calls for more research on why countries differ in terms of ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ and whether and how individual level predictors of start-up activity vary across countries and institutional contexts. In addressing these issues, I ‘merge’ insights from ‘entrepreneurship studies’ in management and the varieties of capitalism tradition in economic sociology. The empirical research draws on a database containing information about 188,835 individuals from 21 countries.
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