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The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of institutions on entrepreneurship in groups of countries classified according to their economic development.

Data used come from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Economic Freedom in the World Index; and from the Global Competitiveness Report.

The results provide useful information for the public and private sectors as evidence that some institutional variables that influence business creation depend on the development stage and report critical aspects to progress in each type of country in order to foster entrepreneurship. In developing nations the “size of the business sector” and “health and primary education” are critical variables, while for transition economies they stack the “integrity of the legal system” and “fulfilling contracts” and for developed economies the “size of the government” and “credit available to the private sector”.

This study constitutes an unusual approach because the literature on the impact of institutions on entrepreneurship is very scarce.

The aim of this study was to determine what facilitators and impediments to regional and global entrepreneurship exist, as identified by the 145 industry contacts globally surveyed, and if education stood out as a critical factor.

An electronic, open‐ended survey was conducted; responses were categorized into three groups of factors – i.e. economic, social and personal – and analyzed accordingly by region and job function of respondent.

The survey revealed many similarities among responses, regardless of country of origin; although education was not the most frequently cited factor critical for successful entrepreneurship, it did rate highly in comparison to others.

Larger studies are needed to corroborate the findings of this initial study, particularly in some regional categories. The open‐ended question format required some subjective interpretation by the researchers; future surveys utilizing an objective answer format would be recommended.

The amount of consensus indicates that if entrepreneurs, academics, and others collaborated and pooled their knowledge and resources, some of the critical barriers to success could be overcome. The field could benefit by future research focusing on identifying specific collaboration strategies among regions or countries leading to the growth of entrepreneurial ventures and economic development.

Surveying experts regarding the facilitators and impediments to entrepreneurship (both regionally and globally) will help to bridge the gulf between theory and practical solutions to drive economic development.