A Review of Facilitators, Barriers and Gateways to Entrepreneurship:Directions for Future Research

This article incorporates the results of extensive review of earlier research carried out by the authors in the area of Facilitators, Barriers and Gateways to Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is influenced by both extrinsic environmental factors and intrinsic individual characteristics. Generalized self-efficacy has a significant effect on firm performance through entrepreneurial orientation. Opportunity to be innovative, need for achievement, internal locus of control, and Innovativeness along with pro-activeness and risk-taking influence business performance. Tolerance for ambiguity has also been found positively related to entrepreneurial intentions and actions. Education enhances entrepreneurs’ performance both directly and indirectly. Prior entrepreneurial experience is the most consistent predictor of future entrepreneurial performance. High performing entrepreneurs tend to be more externally oriented and maintained a broad and complex network of ongoing relationship with people both inside and outside of the firm. Insufficient social network creates hurdles in the way of entrepreneurship. Inadequate support in raising required funds is the main constraint in startingup of a new venture. Psychological barriers to entrepreneurship mainly include fear of failure, risk aversion attitude, and feeling of lacking relevant expertise and experience. Low level of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, inadequate or inappropriate infrastructure and legislations also appear as common barriers to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial self-efficacy can be strengthened through social exposure and social networking. Specially designed measures need to be adopted for promotion of entrepreneurship that would help in developing a wide base of population. The phenomenon of entrepreneurship is complex and heterogeneous therefore, it is difficult to suggest that the phenomenon is predictable within a deterministic framework.