Unveiled confidence: Exploring how institutional support enhances the entrepreneurial self-efficacy and performance of female entrepreneurs in constrained contexts

The challenges of female entrepreneurship are magnified in constrained contexts where they lack the same rights and resources as men. Although past research suggests that institutional support may help contribute to female entrepreneurs’ success, it is still unclear how this support affects post-founding entrepreneurial processes and outcomes in constrained contexts. Using a unique sample of Iranian female entrepreneurs, our moderated mediation analysis shows that institutional support moderates the effect of entrepreneurial actions on new venture performance through entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Thus, even though female entrepreneurs face significant challenges in constrained contexts, institutional support can enable them to translate their entrepreneurial action into higher self-confidence and better venture outcomes. Post-hoc comparisons with an American sample of female entrepreneurs suggest that institutional support varies between constrained and less constrained contexts. In sum, these results indicate that institutional support helps female entrepreneurs succeed after the venture founding stage by strengthening the entrepreneurial action – self-efficacy relationship. We discuss theoretical contributions and elaborate on practical implications for a broader investigation of minority entrepreneurship in constrained environments.