Women Entrepreneurship in a Muslim Environment

Author(s):  
Boufeldja Ghiat

Environmental barriers and socio-cultural constraints in Algeria as in all the MENA Region have hindered women entrepreneurs but—without doubt—motivated them to meet the challenges through the adoption of some innovative managerial practices. The culture of a male society is the source of several socio-cultural problems of women entrepreneurs in Algeria. The purpose of the chapter is to point out the impact of local culture influenced by Islam on women entrepreneurship in Algeria and in MENA Region in general. A field research was carried out using a questionnaire to investigate the impact of local culture on managerial practices of women entrepreneurs. Data from a sample of 65 women entrepreneurs were analyzed and results were discussed: the psychological characteristics, their managerial competences, and the socio-cultural constraints they meet in the Algerian environment. The women's abilities to face the different socio-cultural obstacles are outlined.

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grisna Anggadwita ◽  
Bachruddin Saleh Luturlean ◽  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Vanessa Ratten

Purpose Women entrepreneurship has been growing and contributing significantly to economic activities, and it may also reduce unemployment, especially in developing countries. Many women entrepreneurs have begun to experience problems, including within their socio-cultural environment, in the beginning of or when they run their businesses. Among those developing countries, Indonesia has been recognized as having diverse ethnic groups, traditions, religions and languages. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the socio-cultural environment affects women entrepreneurs in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach This study aims at exploring the impact of the socio-cultural environment on entrepreneurial behavior, including the involvement of women in entrepreneurial activities in Indonesia as a multicultural country. A theoretical framework is empirically tested to identify the impact of the socio-culture environment on behavior and on women entrepreneurial activity through an integrated analysis. Findings A quantitative method with a causal descriptive approach is used in this study. The data are analyzed by using a descriptive statistics with the structural equation modeling technique. This study is intended to focus on women entrepreneurs in micro, small and medium enterprises in Bandung, Indonesia. A total of 210 women entrepreneurs have participated in this study. Practical implications include useful information for women entrepreneurs to overcome the impact of the socio-cultural environment in their entrepreneurial activities, and suggest insights for future research. Originality/value The development of women entrepreneurship in emerging economies may continuously face challenges, particularly in countries with multicultural attributes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritika Mahajan ◽  
Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses the role of entrepreneurship, in general, and women entrepreneurship, in particular, in advancing the cause of sustainable development. Future research directions that emerge from the body of knowledge that the paper relied upon have been identified. Second, it presents unique cases of eight women-led enterprises in energy sector spread across three continents, namely, Asia, Africa and the USA; identifies the constraints and opportunities, analyses the business models and their impact on the quality of life pointers to demonstrate the role of women-led enterprises in sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach The paper combines a schematic review of literature at the interface of entrepreneurship and sustainable development coupled with select relevant case studies addressing the interface. The real-life case studies, which are consciously chosen and compiled from secondary data sources, complement and testify the insights drawn from the schematic literature review. The framework for analyzing the case studies is designed around multidimensional drivers and factors that steer the women-led enterprises. Findings The paper identified the need to look at entrepreneurship through the gendered lens not only for studying entrepreneurship as a discipline, in general, but also to gauge whether the inclusion of women as entrepreneurs is actually advancing the cause of sustainable development. Besides analyzing real-life case studies of accomplished women entrepreneurs to gauge their motivations and mindsets, the process of identification of pain points, identifying differentiating and innovative features, or studying the impact on society, economy and environment, the paper eventually created a schematic framework of key enablers, constraints and strategic response of women entrepreneurs. Originality/value Given the dearth of adequate theoretical and empirical contributions on the study of effectuation, mindsets and drivers of how women entrepreneurship steers the process of sustainable development, the paper is an endeavour in that direction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5298
Author(s):  
Daniel Stefan ◽  
Valentina Vasile ◽  
Anca Oltean ◽  
Calin-Adrian Comes ◽  
Anamari-Beatrice Stefan ◽  
...  

This study highlights the perception of women entrepreneurs in Romania regarding specific drivers for a sustainable business model. This study uses a SWOT–AHP method to assess the importance of different factors that enforce or create barriers for the success in women entrepreneurial activities. SWOT analysis was conducted based on an extended literature review. An external expert in risk analysis assessed the importance of the SWOT analysis’ four dimensions—criteria. An AHP survey of 10 women entrepreneurs was conducted to evaluate the impact of each identified factor in sustaining or discouraging the success of their sustainable business model (SBM). The main results of the study present practical implications useful for designing a gender-balanced business environment. In the final part, the paper discusses women’s preference for the sustainable business model, the perceived importance of gender-related stereotypes for the development of sustainable business models, and the relevance of the new digital economy trend to Romanian women entrepreneurship.


Author(s):  
Shazia Nawaz ◽  
Muhammad Ramzan ◽  
Muhammad Sadiq Shahid

This study aims to investigate the impact of microfinance on poverty reduction through women entrepreneurship in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. We also examine if social capital plays any role in microfinance and women entrepreneurship growth that leads towards poverty reduction. This study uses the data collected through a survey of 210 women entrepreneurs, who secured microfinance loans for their new/established enterprises. By applying correlation and regression analysis techniques, this study finds that access to finance is important for female entrepreneurs and it helps them in realizing their potential as entrepreneurs. A range of entrepreneurial characteristics was found to be critical to the success of women led enterprises in general and to poverty reduction among their families, in particular. Our results reveal that microfinance plays a positive role in women's entrepreneurial performance. We also find that Islamic microfinance contributes more to sustainable women's entrepreneurial performance than non-Islamic microfinance. Although this study used a limited sample of Pakistani female entrepreneurs, yet the results can be relevant to women entrepreneurs in other developing countries with contextual cautions. Future researchers may incorporate more relevant variables and increase the sample size to enhance the understanding of our investigated phenomena.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 667-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Grandy ◽  
Wendy Cukier ◽  
Suzanne Gagnon

Purpose This paper aims to extend Lewis and Simpson’s (2010) work on the complexity of (in)visibility and explores what it means to women’s entrepreneurship in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach This piece contributes to the special issue on COVID-19 and the impact on women entrepreneurs. Specifically, it applies an (in)visibility lens to argue that responses to COVID-19 in Canada negatively affect women entrepreneurs disproportionately and that while initiatives such as the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) are threatened, they can also serve as an agitator during this time to advocate for an inclusive recovery approach. Findings Despite progress through such government funded initiatives as the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), which is targeting more than $2bn (Cdn) in investments towards women entrepreneurs, structural inequality and the (in)visibility of women’s entrepreneurship has been amplified during COVID-19. Through a particular understanding of the (in)visibility vortex notion (Lewis and Simpson, 2010), it is concluded the (in)visibility of women entrepreneurs as deeply embedded and that there is a continued need to advocate for a gender and diversity lens, to ensure inclusive recovery that benefits women and diverse entrepreneurs. Originality/value An (in)visibility lens brings an important addition to the literature on women’s entrepreneurship, as well as illuminates the important differences within this broad category, deepening the understanding of these trends and their impact during COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights how the complexities of intersectionality are critical to understand, and their recognition can help to drive a clear evidence base, as well as advocacy. The piece call researchers and practitioners alike to consider the question under COVID-19, will these conditions create a new vortex in this domain, or can the work of organizations and researchers position gender and intersectionality in women entrepreneurship as a disrupter for the future?


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1073-1084
Author(s):  
Agbo Joel Christopher Onu ◽  
◽  
Salimat Modupe Abass ◽  

This paper examined the impact of Women entrepreneurship in the development of Lagos state. Women entrepreneurs have attracted the attention of organizations, policy makers and researchers as they have been identified as an important unexploited source of economic growth and development. An empirical survey was conducted with a longitudinal data of women via secondary data from the National Bureau of Statistics and SMEDAN. Data were analyzed using linear regression with the aid of the Stata software. Findings revealed that women entrepreneurship positively and significantly influence development in Lagos state. The paper recommended that Lagos state government should encourage more women in entrepreneurial activities by providing infrastructural facilities such as trade centers, shops and credit facilities that will enhance their participation in business.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-196
Author(s):  
Samina Rauf ◽  
Nasreen Aslam Shah

Considerable researcher has been carried out for the identification of the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in Pakistan and how these barriers can be removed. Moreover, the research has also attempted to establish the impact of entrepreneurial activities on the lifestyle of women. Qualitative research technique has been employed for the analysis of the data. It was established from results obtained that after starting the business, lifestyle of women entrepreneurs has improved substantially.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 550-562

Drawn upon field research in two peri-urban villages of Hanoi in 2014 and short re-visits recently, the research examines the widespread of gambling and other social issues in Hanoi’s urbanizing peri-urban communities which happened concurrently with the phenomenon of “land fever,” and at the time local villagers received compensation from land appropriation. The article aims to understand the impact of urbanization on these communities and the interface between urbanization and the increase of social problems. It argues that gambling, drug use, and other social problems have been existing in Vietnamese rural communities long before; however, when urbanization came, some people have higher chances to engage in these activities. Those are villagers who want to transform quickly into entrepreneurs or bosses by joining the “black credit” market and gambling. Together with middle-aged and old farmers who greatly relied on agricultural production and face difficulties in transforming their occupation, they formed the group of losers in the urbanization process. Received 6th January 2019; Revised 26th April 2019; Accepted 15th May 2019


Author(s):  
Jeanne LIEDTKA

The value delivered by design thinking is almost always seen to be improvements in the creativity and usefulness of the solutions produced. This paper takes a broader view of the potential power of design thinking, highlighting its role as a social technology for enhancing the productivity of conversations for change across difference. Examined through this lens, design thinking can be observed to aid diverse sets of stakeholders’ abilities to work together to both produce higher order, more innovative solutions and to implement them more successfully. In this way, it acts as a facilitator of the processes of collectives, by enhancing their ability to learn, align and change together. This paper draws on both the author’s extensive field research on the use of design thinking in social sector organizations, as well as on the literature of complex social systems, to discuss implications for both practitioners and scholars interested in assessing the impact of design thinking on organizational performance.


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