INFORMAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A REVIEW AND PRIORITIZATION OF RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

Although informal entrepreneurship has attracted attention from entrepreneurship scholars, it remains under-theorized. This systematic review critically analyses, evaluates and integrates data on informal entrepreneurship gathered from studies published in eight (8) leading entrepreneurship journals. Although this form of entrepreneurship is practiced across the globe, it is generally perceived as an activity occurring in the peripheries of mainstream economics and inferior to formal entrepreneurship. This review develops essential knowledge for entrepreneurship research by theorizing informal entrepreneurship as a potent process in business formation and it establishes a future research agenda.