Mechanisms of entrepreneurship policies for back-home migrant workers and the roles of local government: nine cases from East China

Purpose The study aims to answer three academic questions: (1) What are the policy mechanisms and the roles of local government in different entrepreneurship stages? (2) What are the boundary conditions under which the market and administrative logic work well in the entrepreneurial growth process? (3) What factors have contributed to the symbiotic evolution of entrepreneurship from a few pioneers to mass entrepreneurs? Design/methodology/approach Given the entrepreneurship process's longitudinal nature and complexity, an embedded longitudinal research design was adopted. This study focuses on back-home migrant worker entrepreneurship in rural China from 2010 to 2022 and selects nine sample enterprises in different entrepreneurship stages in three industries. Data were collected from interviews and archives and then coded, applying the grounded theory approach. Findings The main findings are: (1) The mechanisms of entrepreneurship policies and the roles of local government vary during the different stages of the entrepreneurial process. (2) Either insufficient incentives or excessive intervention by local government will lead to the failure of the mechanisms of entrepreneurship policies. (3) Successful entrepreneurs will attract and help more migrant workers engage in entrepreneurial activities through the three mechanisms of boosting the local economy, constructing favourable institutions and reshaping personal societal roles, thus achieving the symbiotic evolution of entrepreneurship. Originality/value This study's core contribution is to propose a mid-range theory based on the entrepreneurial process, which portrays the mechanism of the entrepreneurial policy portfolio and the dynamics of the role of local government. The study examines the boundary conditions for the substitution or complementarity between the two institutional logics in the entrepreneurial process and its complexity and temporal dynamics, elucidating the symbiotic evolutionary mechanism through which entrepreneurship transitions from individual pioneers to mass entrepreneurship. The study also expands the domain of institutional entrepreneurship research.