Institutional Voids in an Emerging Economy: From Problem to Opportunity

Much has appeared in the literature about institutional voids, a component of institutional theory. Little has been written, however, about the effects of institutional voids on individuals in emerging market nations and how they might react in proactive ways, including leaving their home country problems to pursue opportunities elsewhere. This article focuses on how institutional voids can create opportunities not only for such individuals but also for the firms that they join and the national economies of their host countries. We illustrate this juxtaposition from problem to opportunity by providing background on institutional voids in Russia as well as the welcoming institutional environments experienced in the United States. We do so by presenting some early findings from a larger ongoing research project. We emphasize not only the individual successes of migrants we interviewed as they seized opportunities afforded by their substantial backgrounds but also the resulting benefits to the U.S. firms that they joined or founded, as well as to the U.S. innovation economy. As illustrations, we offer the profiles of three professionals who came from Russia around 2000. They are part of a much larger group that came from various countries of the former USSR whom we interviewed in the Silicon Valley and Boston–Cambridge innovation hubs.