Measurement and structural invariance of entrepreneurial investment climate: A cross-country scale development

Abstract

Testing invariance is important in cross-cultural studies because a lack of invariance may bias empirical results and lead to improper theoretical inferences. This study introduces and validates a scale for measuring entrepreneurial investment climate, consisting of four factors: Societal stability, Labor and Regulations, Quality of Infrastructure, and Ease of Finance. The instrument was developed using World Bank Group data from 51,169 firms and 72 institutional profiles to determine investment climate. Confirmatory factor analyses reveal the validity of the scale and its robustness across country types and time. The study's implications for practice and future research are discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.