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Governments play a particularly important role for entrepreneurship development in a transition context, particularly with respect to their role in creating the institutional framework that enables and/or constrains entrepreneurship. This article explores how institutional change in Ukraine, resulting in institutional deficiencies, triggered new opportunities for small firms in the emerging business services sector. Drawing on data from a survey and in-depth case studies, the article illustrates the distinctive, albeit transient, nature of opportunities for business services firms in a turbulent environment, where government has yet to fully implement an effective institutional framework for productive entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To date, little research has focused on female entrepreneurship in the context of transitioning countries. This paper compares from an institutional perspective two countries at different stages in the process of transformation. Lithuania followed a rapid transitional path leading to European Union membership, while Ukraine is on a much slower development path. Women entrepreneurs in Lithuania and Ukraine share many common features and problems; however, there are important differences in the experiences of women in these two countries. This indicates a need to recognize the diversity that exists among transition countries, reflecting different inheritances from the Soviet past as well as differences in the pace of change during the transition period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]