Seite - 276 - in Digital Entrepreneurship - Impact on Business and Society

complexities that may create new challenges and opportunities not usually encountered indevelopedcountries. Indeed, developingcontexts arehurdledby the presenceof institutional voids,with the state having low lawenforcement capacity, and low generalized trust within society (Fainshmidt et al. 2018). Nonetheless, these countries are also characterized by supportive family capital (Samara and Arenas 2017) and sometimes by a high level of knowledge capital, both ofwhich can create opportunities for digital entrepreneurship. In the following, we first draw on institutional theory and the varieties of institutional systems todescribehowthedevelopingcontext canaffect theobstacles and opportunities for digital entrepreneurs. Then, we present two case studies coupled with one expert opinion, to have a closer look on whether the theorized obstacles and opportunities fit with the reality that digital entrepreneurs encounter when they operate in a developing country. While the empirical setting is con- textualized in Lebanon; we argue that the findings can be extrapolated to other developing contexts that are subject to similar institutional pressures. 2 Institutional Theory andVarieties of Institutional Systems: Digital Entrepreneurship in aDeveloping Country Context Institutional theory emphasizes the role of the social context in determining the behavior of individuals and organizations (Meyer andRowan 1977).According to institutional theory, individuals are embedded within a social context that has distinct formal and informal rules and regulations that determine the cognitive process through which individuals and organizations behave (Fainshmidt et al. 2018). In this context, theVarieties of Institutional Systems (VIS) framework has been advanced to discuss how institutions in developing countries may have a distinct impact on individuals and organizations. According to the VIS, there are five institutional dimensions affecting organizational behavior in developing countries: The role of the state, the role offinancialmarkets, the role of corporate governance institutions, the role of human capital, and the role of social capital (Fainshmidt et al. 2018). In developing countries, institutional voids, which are defined as weak or non-functioningmarketmechanisms (Jamali et al. 2017), areprevalent.While these voids may lead to challenges for digital entrepreneurs, they may also open new opportunities. Using theVIS framework,we are able to classify institutional voids into internal factors, which are part of themicroenvironment, and external factors, which are part of themacroenvironment. Internal institutional voids of a business include human capital, along with their exposure to Information and Communi- cationsTechnology (ICT) skills, their level of technological awareness, skill-based resources, financial status, and perceptions and attitudes toward society and tech- nology. The external institutional voids include the government, market Challenges andOpportunities for Digital Entrepreneurship… 285