The impact of institutional environment on entrepreneurial performance in micro E-commerce for Women: The mediating role of entrepreneurial network

It is vital for Chinese women micro e-commerce entrepreneurs facing rapid economic transitions to improve their professional performance by responding effectively to the changing institutional environment. This study explores the influence of the institutional environment on entrepreneurial performance, specifically the mediating effect of entrepreneurial networks using the institutional theory, social network theory, and survey data from 689 female micro e-commerce entrepreneurs in China. The results demonstrate that the institutional environment, both in terms of its regulatory and cognitive dimensions, had a significant positive impact on EP; the Bootstrap test indicated that the entrepreneurial network had a partial mediating effect on this relationship. In addition to contributing to the institutional theory and social network theory in China’s specific social context, this study provides implications for improving female micro e-commerce performance by improving the institutional environment and establishing entrepreneurial networks.