The role of the entrepreneurial logic in export performancethe case of entrepreneurs in transition economies

Abstract

The assessment of a business environment in the transition economies is interesting due to the most rapid temps of growth of the share of small and medium sized businesses in these countries, while these countries rank in the lowest positions in terms of ease of doing business and in indexes of business and political freedom. Notwithstanding a high level of uncertainty this environment could be a good environment to start and run a business. The role of entrepreneurial logic and its effect on the export performance in the transition economy is one of the unanswered questions in the entrepreneurship field. These and other questions are the focus of this study. One of the goals is to provide a theoretical background to the second and third chapters. The discussion of uncertainties in transition economies through the lens of Effectuation theory and Institutional theory. Consequent goal is to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial logic, Causal vs. Effectual, on company’s export performance in Uzbekistan. This study will be built on Effectuation theory (Sarasvathy, 2001). Uzbekistan is a Central Asian country with economic transition, and it is proposed that effectual logic is the one which is plausible for entrepreneurs of this country and which leads to successful export performance. It is proposed that the level of the previous experience and expertise of the entrepreneur does not have impact on the preference to effectual logic rather than causal logic due to the specific characteristics related to the transition economies. The role of perceived environmental uncertainties will be examined in the relationship between the entrepreneurs’ effectual logic and the companies’ export performance. Similarly the effects of the effectual logic on the entrepreneurial orientation will evaluated.