Dynamics encouraging women towards embracing entrepreneurship

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-389
Author(s):  
Mohammed Abdul Imran Abdul Aziz Khan
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mena Countries ◽  
Government Role ◽  
The Government ◽  
Entrepreneurial Training

Purpose Women entrepreneurship is the fundamental carter of economic development. This study aims to identify the dynamics that encourage entrepreneurial attitudes among women in MENA countries. More precisely, it required to scrutinize the role of the government, role models, the entrepreneurial training and women’s demographic characteristics in encouraging women to embrace entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on primary data, where data were gathered from a sample of 300 women from MENA countries through a self-administered questionnaire and were subjected to one-way ANOVA tests. Different statistical tools were used to draw some valued conclusions from the gathered data. The study reveals that women entrepreneurs acknowledge the role played by the government, entrepreneurship training, role models and demographic variables in encouraging them to embrace entrepreneurship. Findings The government and the entrepreneurial training were found to be the greatest variables encouraging women to embrace entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, the low overall mean exhibited that most women do not believe that these bodies have played their role satisfactorily. Whereas the ANOVA results reveal that age and work experience were not important dynamics behind encouraging women to embrace entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications Data were collected from a sample of 300 women entrepreneurs with a simple random sampling technique from the following MENA countries: Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. It is too difficult to approach the women respondents and then collect data from them especially in MENA countries; hence the sample is small and limited. Practical implications However, such studies are still in the minority, and, with few exceptions, most have been published in the niche. The study finds imperative for policymakers to go beyond measures that aim to address the challenges that individual women entrepreneurs face and to study the institutional framework affecting women entrepreneurship in relationship to motivations and resources. Additional care is desired to compel the environment and context to eliminate barriers to women entrepreneurship at source. The government should play a significant role in encouraging women to embrace entrepreneurship, especially in times of economic slowdown. World-wide, women are under-represented among the population of entrepreneurs, and they tend to have different motivations and intentions. The first, and most obvious, implication highlights governments need to create special funds for unlocking the potential by enhancing their levels of entrepreneurship skills using the traditional instruments such as training. The government should come up with new and specific training programmes, providing support for growth-oriented women entrepreneurs with dedicated business incubator and business accelerator programmes. Social implications Entrepreneurs are strongly influenced by role models and social context. It is therefore important to promote women entrepreneurs as role models and ensure that the education system is gender-neutral and does not discourage women from going into different fields. Finally, more targeted actions can be taken to ensure that family policies, social policies and tax policies do not discriminate against entrepreneurship by women. Originality/value The author believes that only few entrepreneurship researchers are interested in feminist epistemology, disappointingly the more advanced understanding of feminism witnessed in sociology and the political science literature is not reflected in the field of entrepreneurship. Hence, there is a need for investigate the dynamics like government role, entrepreneurial training, role models and demographic characteristics, to have a fuller understanding of how they affect, to ensure a more accurate assessment of the outcomes for the development of women entrepreneurs in MENA countries. This study is an attempt to investigate the dynamics such as government role, entrepreneurial training, role models and demographic characteristics that encourage women to embrace entrepreneurship in MENA countries.

Why research is needed in women entrepreneurship in India: a viewpoint

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1042-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sucheta Agarwal ◽  
Usha Lenka
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Growth Process ◽  
Uttar Pradesh ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gender Biases ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Government

Purpose The spirit of entrepreneurship among nationals of a country leads and contributes significantly to the growth process of a country. In this drive, there cannot be gender biases among men and women. The government in India has taken several initiatives to increase the participation of women entrepreneurs and, thus, making a partner to the growth and development process of the country. The initiatives in this direction were taken up through five-year development policy plans commencing from the fifth five-year plan (1974-1978). The focus of five-year plans since then has been reoriented toward women welfare stressing more specifically on women empowerment through women entrepreneurship programs. The purpose of this paper is to appraise the series of development plans and programs initiated for the empowerment of women entrepreneurship in India. Design/methodology/approach The paper is developed based on the concepts, policies and practices being implemented across the regions to promote women entrepreneurs. The methodology adopted to assess and analyze the relevant components very much matches the existing practices. The paper relates the concepts, programs and practices. This study has revealed certain issues based on the available data and information on women entrepreneurship to establish a view and rational as of why research is needed in the area of women entrepreneurship. To support this concept, the study has considered the experiences of two important states of India, namely, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Findings The study reveals that Government of India has launched several policies and development programs to infuse the spirit of entrepreneurship among the women groups and thereby not only making them financially self-sustained but also to contribute to the growth process of the economy. However, there remain many gaps in achieving the goals due to the variety of factors. This becomes more significant as the level of women entrepreneurship in India is very low as compared to other economies and also between the men and women entrepreneurs within the country. The study brings out the need and importance for the future research in the area of women entrepreneurship and thereby exploring the areas of concern and bringing out needed improvements to strengthen the women entrepreneurship programs and policies. Originality/value This research provides a future direction to the academicians, researchers and policymakers to provide a framework to reorient the programs and policies for the cause of women entrepreneurship growth in India. The paper very much emphasis that the research findings will have influence on government policies and serve as an effective tool for implementation of state programs meant for woman entrepreneurs more effectively and efficiently. The ultimate impact of research findings will be an economic change in the quality of life of woman enterprise in the society.

Understanding the link between government cashless policy, digital financial services and socio-demographic characteristics in the MENA countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amari Mouna ◽  
Anis Jarboui
Keyword(s):  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mena Countries ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

PurposeTo help inform the debate over whether socio-demographic characteristics are related to the use of digital technologies, the authors investigated the effects of age, gender, education, income and being in the workforce on changes in using financial digital services using panel data collected in the MENA countries during 2017.Design/methodology/approachThis study aims to identify the impact of government policy on the determinants of financial inclusion and digital payment services in the MENA region. The authors use microdata from the 2017 Global Findex database on MENA countries to perform probit estimations. The paper focuses on the role of technology adoption by government authorities in extending financial inclusion and digital payment around different people.FindingsThe authors find that poorer people (and, by association, less educated people) and the young (but less so the elderly) are disproportionately excluded from the financial system. Results confirm that better collaboration between the government and the financial sector can help to develop digital financial inclusion through the technology adoption channels. The study confirms the significant impact of the government cashless policy in advancing financial inclusion in the MENA countries, with potentially wider applicability to other developed economies.Practical implicationsPolicies to advance mobile money innovations could stimulate financial inclusion by promoting digital transaction services. The role of government authorities is imperative to harness the beneficial and sustainable gains from digitizing remittances and transfers to promote a cashless economy.Originality/valueFinancial inclusion promotes equality through a broadening of the system and government cashless policy can be a major catalyst for greater financial inclusion. It helps in the overall economic development of the underprivileged population and contributes to poverty reduction.

A comparative study of women entrepreneurship in transitional economies

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhu ◽  
Orhan Kara ◽  
Xiaowei Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Transitional Economies ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare women entrepreneurship in China and Vietnam by examining the motivations, success factors and problems related to establishing women-owned businesses. Design/methodology/approach The sample in this study consisted of 170 women entrepreneurs in Vietnam and 180 women entrepreneurs in China. The authors used the survey instrument developed by H.M. Chu (Chu and Katsioloudes 2001), which has been adopted in a number of small business studies since 2002. To determine whether there is a significant difference between the two countries regarding each factor of motivations, success factors and problems, the authors use the non-parametric Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Findings Women entrepreneurs are motived to earn more income in both China and Vietnam. Vietnamese businesswomen value intrinsic rewards such as gaining personal satisfaction and freedom. They also take business ownership as a way to reduce work–family conflict. Demonstrating the ability and gaining public recognition play a more important role when Chinese women entrepreneurs decide to establish their businesses. Both Chinese and Vietnamese women agree that good management skills are essential to achieve their goals. Women entrepreneurs in both countries share similar challenges, such as the inability to recruit and retain employees, severe competition, a weak economy and limited access to financial capital. Practical implications Given the nature of transitional economies in both countries, the government is required to improve the regulatory environment for protecting private sector employment and private property rights. Policies such as subsidies and tax incentives may assist the development of women enterprises. To support the sustainable growth of women businesses, it is suggested that the government should design effective programs that direct women entrepreneurs to move into high-growth or high-technology sectors. Training programs are also required to improve the knowledge and skills of women entrepreneurs. Making capital accessible to women is also important to stimulate entrepreneurial growth. As a further stimulus, governments should coordinate with financial institutions to provide low-cost loans or even venture capital to facilitate this process. Originality/value This study is among one of the first attempts to compare women entrepreneurship in the two transitional economies of Vietnam and China. It provides insight into motivations, success factors and problems that women entrepreneurs experienced by examining small business owners in Vietnam and China.

Assessing sustainability marketing from macromarketing perspective: a multistakeholder approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soha Abutaleb ◽  
Noha El-Bassiouny
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Planned Behavior ◽  
Planned Behavior ◽  
Purchase Intentions ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Research Methods ◽  
Sustainable Products ◽  
Government Role ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe paper examines three main stakeholders in the market and their roles toward achieving sustainability marketing. Those stakeholders are consumers, companies and policymakers. The current study is examining consumers’ attitudes toward sustainability marketing and their purchase intentions of sustainable products through the use of theory of planned behavior. The paper is also examining the role of companies and policymakers in encouraging consumers to consider sustainability in their purchasing decisions.Design/methodology/approachConcurrent research study is applied, where qualitative and quantitative research methods are conducted at the same time for different purposes with equal weights. Qualitative interviews were applied with fast-moving consumer goods companies and policymakers, while quantitative surveys were applied with Egyptian consumers.FindingsThe results showed that companies are taking serious and effective steps in transforming their marketing strategies into sustainable marketing ones. The government role is still limited as there are no strict laws and regulations that force companies and factories in Egypt to develop sustainability marketing strategies. Consumers’ attitudes were highly affected by firms' sustainable practices as well as subjective norms that led to influencing their intentions toward purchasing sustainable products.Originality/valueAlthough the topic of sustainability marketing is considered by a plenty of researchers in the academic discipline, there are no studies that have combined the main three stakeholders' roles in achieving sustainability marketing in one study. The study highlights the impact of government role and firms' role on consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions toward sustainable products, especially convenient products. This was done through the adoption of the theory of planned behavior.

Christian entrepreneurial activities and micro women entrepreneurship development

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 657-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanny Adams Quagrainie ◽  
Abigail Opoku Mensah ◽  
Alex Yaw Adom
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ventures ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurship Development ◽  
Emergent Strategy ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities ◽  
The Church

Purpose Review of literature suggests mixed findings on the relationship between the church and micro women entrepreneurship development. This signals that questions remain about the roles of churches in entrepreneurial development. Thus, this paper aims to explore what entrepreneurial activities are provided by churches to their micro women entrepreneurs and how do these activities influence their entrepreneurial start up and growth. Design/methodology/approach Phenomenological research methodologies were used to purposive collected data from 38 women entrepreneurs and four church administers in Tema. Results were analyzed using the emergent strategy. Findings The results suggest that churches provided four entrepreneurial activities which are categorized as finance, networking, promotion of self-confidence and impartation of ethical values. These factors promoted the growth of women entrepreneurial growth but not the start-up of entrepreneurial ventures. The study concluded that the church should provide more support for new entrepreneurial ventures. Therefore, embeddedness because of membership of a church is a critical part of women entrepreneurship development. Research limitations/implications Further studies will need to replicate these findings with other types of businesses, in other locations. Practical implications This study suggests that policymakers should be working in conjunction with churches in a bid to promote micro women entrepreneurship development. Originality/value Limited research has been conducted on church entrepreneurial activities in the development of micro women entrepreneurs in developing economies such as Ghana. This empirical research provides important insights into this field.

Entrepreneurial intentions of private university students in the kingdom of Bahrain

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minwir Al-Shammari ◽  
Rana Waleed
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Behavioral Control ◽  
Subjective Norms ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Perceived Behavioral Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Total Response Rate ◽  
Social Valuation ◽  
The Government

Purpose This study aims to explore the level of entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) among students in three private universities in Bahrain. The examined factors that are expected to shape EI are personal attraction toward becoming an entrepreneur, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms and social valuation of entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach A close-ended questionnaire was used to collect data of the study. The total number of questionnaires distributed was 1,530 questionnaires, while the total number of the valid questionnaires retrieved was 550, which makes the total response rate to be 36 per cent. Findings Regression analysis results indicated that students’ personal attraction toward entrepreneurship and perceived behavioral control had a significant strong positive relationship with their EI. In addition, there was a significant moderate positive relationship between students’ perceived subjective norms and social valuation of entrepreneurship with their EI. Originality/value The findings showed that entrepreneurial education is needed to improve students’ skills and knowledge and enhance their EI and perceived behavioral control. In addition, it is important to expose students to entrepreneurial role models and their businesses and to promote entrepreneurial careers as desirable and feasible options that may bring more advantages than working in the government or private sector.

Understanding nascent women entrepreneurs: an exploratory investigation into their entrepreneurial intentions

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 553-566
Author(s):  
Wisuwat Wannamakok ◽  
Yu-Yu Chang
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Fear Of Failure ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Entrepreneurial Knowledge ◽  
Economic Landscape

Purpose Women entrepreneurs are having increasingly profound impacts on the global economic landscape, although little is known about what supports or restricts women’s entrepreneurial attempts. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptual (i.e. presence of role models and fear of failure) and cognitive (i.e. opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial knowledge) mechanisms that influence a women’s choice of an entrepreneurial career. Design/methodology/approach A transnational sample of 9,716 women participating in global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) survey was examined using logistical regression analysis. Findings The results indicate that role models, opportunity discovery and entrepreneurial knowledge have a significant and positive influence on female respondents’ entrepreneurial intentions. Interestingly, fear of failure is not related to their entrepreneurial intention, which challenges the prevailing assumption that the worries about new venture outcomes are the primary suppressor of women’s entrepreneurship. Originality/value This study sheds new light on the intention of becoming women entrepreneurs, which has multiple implications for originality/value. This study sheds new light on the intention of becoming women entrepreneurs, which has many implications for policymakers. Moreover, theoretical contributions and directions for future research are discussed.

Personal wealth and perceptions of barriers to women’s entrepreneurship in the state of Alabama

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravi Chinta ◽  
Anthony Andall ◽  
Shawn Best
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
The State ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Wealth ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Affordable Child Care

Purpose For women entrepreneurs, personal wealth is seen as a promoter, but lack of affordable child care is viewed as an inhibitor. Based on data from 1,284 nascent women entrepreneurs in the state of Alabama, the authors aim to investigate the linkage between personal wealth and barriers to start a business for women entrepreneurs in the state of Alabama. The mediating effect of affordable child care is also examined. Results reveal that lack of personal wealth can thwart business start-ups, and lack of affordable child care mediates this adverse relationship. The authors conclude their study with implications for policy makers and future research. Design/methodology/approach This is a quantitative survey-based study. This is the largest survey ever done in any state in the USA on the subject of nascent women entrepreneurs. The sample size is 1,284 aspiring women entrepreneurs. (Baron and Kenny 1986) method is used for testing mediating effects. Main effects are tested using regression and ANOVA analyses. Findings Results reveal that lack of personal wealth can thwart business start-ups, and lack of affordable child care mediates this adverse relationship. The mediating effect is strong and, thus, becomes a focus for any proposed structural reforms that are suggested in the discussion section of the paper. Research limitations/implications No experimental design. Findings pertain to the state of Alabama and hence generalizability is low. Variables are measured as perceptions of respondents. Practical implications To mitigate the lack of personal wealth, policy makers should increase resource allocations that will increase external funding for women entrepreneurs through such mechanisms as small business administration grants, minority purchase programs, guaranteed loans, government subsidies, angel investments and venture capital, capturing the amount of capital available to start a business (Jennings et al,, 2013). Even infrastructural support such as incubators and university based entrepreneurial programs would reduce the barriers to start a new business. Affordable child care, via its mediating effect, is another issue that needs to be looked into to promote women entrepreneurship in state of Alabama. Less-expensive community-based child-care programs could provide the necessary fillip to encourage women entrepreneurships to take the initial leap into entrepreneurship. Government funded incubators should include onsite child-care facilities to mitigate the concern about affordable child care. Social implications Promoting women entrepreneurship is an integral part of promoting entrepreneurship in the state of Alabama. This study suggests some directions for structural reforms to promote women entrepreneurship in the state of Alabama. Originality/value The largest survey on aspiring women entrepreneurs in any state in the USA. In total, 1,284 women completed responses from the survey. This paper provides empirically rooted suggestions for structural reforms to promote women entrepreneurship in the state of Alabama. This paper corroborates a priori hypotheses drawn from extant literature.

Benchmarking financial inclusion for women entrepreneurship – a study of Uttarakhand state of India

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-175
Author(s):  
Nidhi Goel ◽  
Pankaj Madan
Keyword(s):  
Total Sample ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Help ◽  
New Business ◽  
Future Data ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
The Government

Purpose Benchmarking is a very important tool to know the gap in your performance and best performance. It is possible to apply benchmarking in a wide variety of area. This paper uses benchmarking for assessing women entrepreneurship. Women entrepreneurship is a symbol of the balanced growth of the society. Financial inclusion schemes offered by the government are aimed to encourage a large number of women of the country to entrepreneurship. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of financial inclusion and others factor like family circumstances, benchmarking, entrepreneurial motivation and entrepreneurial intention of women on their decision to take up entrepreneurship as a career choice. Design/methodology/approach This research study is undertaken to understand the relation of financial inclusion schemes on women entrepreneurship and also to develop a cause–effect relationship. Here, financial inclusion effort is an independent variable, whereas women entrepreneurship is a dependent variable. A sample size of 250 women entrepreneur was taken. The sample was selected on the basis of convenience. Out of the total sample, 125 women belonged to the self-help group and 125 women were registered under the RSETI program of lead banks of Haridwar and Dehradun districts of the Uttarakhand state of India. Findings The results of the present study indicate that there is a statistically significant impact of financial inclusion on women entrepreneurship. It provides the platform to the women that help them in establishing a new business. Research limitations/implications Data for present study were collected from two districts of Uttarakhand. In future, data can be collected from different geographical areas of India for generalizing the findings of the study. Practical implications The results of present study indicate that there is a statistically significant impact of financial inclusion on women entrepreneurship. It provides the platform to the women that help them in establishing a new business. For promoting women toward entrepreneurship, the government has launched many schemes. Social implications After the study, the author found that the society will accept the fact that women entrepreneurship is emerging as a dire need for the country. Originality/value The author followed all the guidelines that were concerned about the originality of the paper. This paper is not under review of any journal.

Towards strengthening the development of women entrepreneurship in Malaysia

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 432-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Ming Yen Teoh ◽  
Siong Choy Chong
Keyword(s):  
Women Entrepreneurs ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Women Entrepreneurship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Developmental Issues ◽  
Entrepreneurship Development ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Gender Aspect

Purpose – This paper aims to identify developmental issues associated with women entrepreneurship, with the Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a base. Subsequently, the paper also aims to devise certain stratagems and new policies for ensuring women entrepreneurial growth. Design/methodology/approach – An overview of the issues surrounding women entrepreneurship development in Malaysia is provided, drawing on the extant literature. The issues comprise cultural barriers, lack of spousal support, gender inequality, lack of confidence, weak social and business networking, few laws to support working families and neglected women entrepreneurs in the cottage industry, as well as domestic help and home-based childcare. Findings – Based on the issues identified, strategies are proposed to address them, contextualising on the gender aspect of women entrepreneurship. Practical implications – A summary is provided on the research and practical gaps from the perspective of strengthening women entrepreneurship and with the aim of encouraging further research in this area. The paper posits that an understanding of the gender aspect on issues related to the development of women entrepreneurship in Malaysia is required if policy measures are to be constructive in assisting women entrepreneurs in achieving their full entrepreneurial potential. Originality/value – Very limited studies have been undertaken in the past to assess the issues faced by women entrepreneurs in the context of overall development of women entrepreneurship. This is of great value to an SME-dominated economy such as Malaysia where the paper provides a comprehensive summary of the strategies and policy measures required to strengthen women entrepreneurship development.

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