Institutional Voids, Strategic Entrepreneurship, and Wealth Creation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the Nigerian Context

This dissertation theorizes and empirically tests the relationship between institutional voids and strategic entrepreneurship outcomes in Nigeria, with implications for Sub-Saharan African economic development. Institutional voids, defined as the absence of credible market-supporting institutions, have been identified as defining features of emerging markets, yet their role in shaping strategic entrepreneurship and wealth creation patterns has not been adequately theorized. Institutional theory, strategic entrepreneurship theory, and African management studies provide the integrated theoretical foundation. Using a mixed methods research design, the study combines a quantitative panel analysis of 200 Nigerian entrepreneurial firms over five years with deep qualitative case studies of twelve firms that have successfully created significant wealth amid institutional voids. Panel regression models tested the relationship between institutional void exposure and entrepreneurial wealth creation, while case studies illuminated the strategic mechanisms employed. Findings indicate that institutional voids have a dual effect: they create barriers that eliminate less adaptive entrepreneurs while providing opportunity spaces for entrepreneurially capable firms with void-spanning capabilities. The study develops the concept of institutional arbitrage strategy as a theoretically new construct describing how elite entrepreneurial firms convert institutional voids into sustainable competitive positions. The dissertation makes significant theoretical contributions to institutional theory and strategic entrepreneurship by providing Africa-grounded conceptual extensions. Keywords: institutional voids, strategic entrepreneurship, wealth creation, Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria.