The macro-level determinants of user entrepreneurship in healthcare : an explorative cross-country analysis

Purpose: This article analyses the new venture creation by patient innovators in 40 countries examining the effects of the four macro-level factors on entrepreneurship, adding a fifth sector-specific (healthcare) factor. Design/methodology/approach: By applying the statistical tool of principal component analysis, we find a clustering behavior of health user entrepreneurs across countries, indicating that common macro-level conditions affect this phenomenon in a nonlinear way. Findings: Healthy user innovators are more likely to become entrepreneurs in those countries where creativity, economic opportunities and business environment are increasing from the lower level until a certain threshold. After that level, user entrepreneurship seems to be not relevant. Originality/value: We contribute to the extant literature about macro-level determinants of entrepreneurship by exploring how much such conditions impact on the decision to create new firm by user innovators.