Skip to main content

Informal Institutional Domains and Informal Entrepreneurship: Insights from the Nigerian Movie Industry

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Informal Ethnic Entrepreneurship
  • 680 Accesses

Abstract

Most studies on ethnic entrepreneurial organizations within the informal economy view the activities of such organizations as illegal or unauthorized. Building on a more recent definition of the informal economy, this chapter investigates the planning, hiring and distribution practices of both ethnic and non-ethnic entrepreneurial organizations within the informal economy that are officially registered. We use data from a study of organizations in the Nigerian movie industry. Our analysis reveals that organizations embedded in diverse institutional domains such as family, friendship, ethnicity and religious tend to exclusively hire members of the same socio-cultural group and plan their daily activities based on habitual improvisation. However, ethnic entrepreneurial organizations tend to distribute products to wider markets due to their commercial orientation. Our findings provide insights for policymakers, academics and practitioners.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adebayo, A. G. (1994). Money, credit, and banking in Pre-colonial Africa. The Yoruba experience. Anthropos, 89, 379–400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agbola, T., & Oloaoye, O. (2008, January 15). Labour supply and manpower development strategies in the Nigerian building industry. A paper presented at the first departmental staff/students seminar, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Ibadan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardhan, P. K. (2000). Understanding underdevelopment: Challenges for institutional economics from the point of view of poor countries. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), 156(1), 216–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bascom, W. R. (1952). The Esusu: A credit institution of the Yoruba. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 82(1), 63–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway, A. (1965). Continuing education for Africa’s school leavers: The indigenous apprentice system. Bulletin-Inter-African Labour Institute, 12(1), 61–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clayton, J. (2010, April 3). Nollywood success puts Nigeria’s film industry in regional spotlight. The Times. Accessed August 13, 2018, from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nollywood-success-puts-nigerias-film-industry-in-regional-spotlight-vk6zwfn2nf8

  • Clemens, E. S., & Cook, J. M. (1999). Politics and institutionalism: Explaining durability and change. Annual Review of Sociology, 25(1), 441–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dana, L.-P., & Morris, M. (2011). Ethnic minority entrepreneurship. In L.-P. Dana (Ed.), World encyclopedia of entrepreneurship (pp. 149–157). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, J. P., & Eisenhardt, K. (2011). Rotating leadership and collaborative innovation: Recombination processes in symbiotic relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 56(2), 159–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, J. P., Eisenhardt, K. M., & Bingham, C. B. (2007). Developing theory through simulation methods. Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 480–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eboh, S. O. (1984). Church-state relations in Nigeria: A juridical survey of the church-state relationship from, 1960–1983. Romae: Pontificia Universitas urbaniana, Facultas iuris Canonici.

    Google Scholar 

  • Economist. (2006). Nollywood dreams: Nigerian films are so successful that the government wants to get involved. Accessed March 12, 2018, from https://www.economist.com/node/7226009

  • Economist. (2014). Nigerian films try to move upmarket: Nollywood’s new scoreboard. Accessed March 12, 2018, from https://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2014/07/nigerian-films-try-move-upmarket

  • Eisenhardt, K. M., & Graebner, M. (2007). Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 25–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faraj, S., & Xiao, Y. (2006). Coordination in fast-response organizations. Management Science, 52(8), 1155–1169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedland, R., & Alford, R. R. (1991). Bringing society back in: Symbols, practices, and institutional contradictions. In W. W. Powell & P. DiMaggio (Eds.), The new institutionalism in organizational analysis (pp. 232–263). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Globerman, S., Peng, M. W., & Shapiro, D. M. (2011). Corporate governance and Asian companies. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 28(1), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golden-Biddle, K., & Locke, K. (2007). Composing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Helmke, G., & Levitsky, S. (2004). Informal institutions and comparative politics: A research agenda. Perspectives on Politics, 2(4), 725–740.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendershot, H. (2010). Shaking the world for Jesus: Media and conservative evangelical culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hipango, W., & Dana, L. P. (2012). Culture and entrepreneurial efficacy: Using GEM data to explore opportunity and capability in relation to firm longevity. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 16(2), 199–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, S. (1921). The history of the Yorubas from the earliest times to the beginning of the British protectorate. London: C. M. S. Bookshop.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. (2002, April 5–6). Opening questions. Paper presented at the conference Informal Institutions and Politics in the Developing World, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lekan, S., & Munta, A. F. (2008). Traditional apprenticeship system of labour supply for housing production in Saki, Southwestern, Nigeria. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management, 1(2), 16–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobato, R. (2010). Creative industries and informal economies: Lessons from Nollywood. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 13(4), 337–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mair, J., Martí, I., & Ventresca, M. J. (2012). Building inclusive markets in rural Bangladesh: How intermediaries work institutional voids. Academy of Management Journal, 55(4), 819–850.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meagher, K. (2005). Social capital or analytical liability? Social networks and African informal economies. Global Networks, 5(3), 217–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2005.00116.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miles, M. B., Huberman, M. A., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. Los Angeles: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, C. C., Cardinal, L. B., & Glick, W. H. (1997). Retrospective reports in organizational research: A reexamination of recent evidence. Academy of Management Journal, 40(1), 189–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nigerian Copyright Act. (1990). Collection of laws for electronic access. Accessed December 8, 2013, from http://www.nigerianlawguru.com/legislations/STATUTES/NIGERIA%20COPYRIGHT%20ACT.pdf

  • North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Onasanya, S. A. B. (1998). Effective personnel management and industrial relations. Lagos: G.M.D.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, M. W., Wang, D. Y., & Jiang, Y. (2008). An institution-based view of international business strategy: A focus on emerging economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 39(5), 920–936.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramadani, V., Rexhepi, G., Gërguri-Rashiti, S., Ibraimi, S., & Dana, L.-P. (2014). Ethnic entrepreneurship in Macedonia: The case of Albanian entrepreneurs. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 23(3), 313–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramadani, V., Dana, L.-P., Ratten, V., & Bexheti, A. (2018). Call for book chapter: Informal ethnic entrepreneurship. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ratten, V. (2014). Encouraging collaborative entrepreneurship in developing countries: The current challenges and a research agenda. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 6(3), 298–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rezaei, S., Gail, M., & Dana, L. (2013). Informal opportunity among SMEs: An empirical study of Denmark’s underground economy. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 19(1), 64–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sauerwald, S., & Peng, M. W. (2013). Informal institutions, shareholder coalitions, and principal-principal conflicts. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 30(3), 853–870.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stinchcombe, A. L. (1965). Organizations and social structure. Handbook of Organizations, 44(2), 142–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutton, R. I. (1997). Crossroads—The virtues of closet qualitative research. Organization Science, 8(1), 97–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uzo, U., & Adigwe, J. O. (2016). Cultural norms and cultural agents in buyer-seller negotiation processes and outcomes. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 36(2), 126–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uzo, U., & Mair, J. (2014). Source and patterns of organizational defiance of formal institutions: Insights from Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 8(1), 56–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldinger, R., Aldrich, H., & Ward, R. (Eds.). (2006). Ethnic entrepreneurs: Immigrant business in industrial societies. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, J. W., Bruton, G. D., Tihanyi, L., & Ireland, R. D. (2013). Research on entrepreneurship in the informal economy: Framing a research agenda. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(5), 598–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Uchenna Uzo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Uzo, U. (2019). Informal Institutional Domains and Informal Entrepreneurship: Insights from the Nigerian Movie Industry. In: Ramadani, V., Dana, LP., Ratten, V., Bexheti, A. (eds) Informal Ethnic Entrepreneurship. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99064-4_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics