Abstract
Entrepreneurship is a phenomenon associated with wealth generation and economic development in a region or country. However, despite significant advancement in our understanding of this complex concept our understanding of its heterogeneity in countries across the world is limited. In this paper, we utilize barriers to entrepreneurship to explain that heterogeneity. We define barriers to entrepreneurship as conditions that prevent opportunity recognition and/or opportunity pursuit. We propose that cognitive-psychological factors may lead to discovery- lifestyle and growth-well-being barriers; social-institutional factors may create access and legitimacy barriers; and economic-operational factors may erect location and magnitude barriers. Using an abduction method, we enrich this theory by analyzing the stories of entrepreneurs and the coping strategies they use to overcome barriers to entrepreneurship.