Journal of Entrepreneurship Research

Journal of Entrepreneurship Research

Identifying the Individual and Organizational Impediments of Women's Digital Businesses Growth (A Case Study of Female Entrepreneurs in the City of Tehran)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Shaghayegh Jalilvand 1
Meisam Modarresi 1
Mohsen Shafienikabadi 2
1 Department of Entrepreneurship Management, Faculty of Economics, Management and Administrative Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.
2 Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Economics, Management and Administrative Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.
10.22034/jer.2024.2026034.1096
Abstract
Introduction: The digital environment is a relatively new field. Many women entrepreneurs prefer the digital space to the physical space for entrepreneurship. In addition, women have an ever-increasing participation in digital environments. Despite the reduction of barriers in the digital environment, women are still struggling with many impediments in this field. In this regard, the present research aimed to identify individual and organizational factors that inhibit the growth of women's digital businesses in Tehran.
Methodology: The research is exploratory and applied in terms of its purpose and qualitative content analysis in terms of data and information collection. The research adopted purposive sampling and kept it until theoretical saturation, which was accomplished after conducting 15 interviews with female entrepreneurs. Data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method.
Findings: According to the findings, the factors preventing the growth of women's digital businesses in Tehran at the individual level encompass personality traits, including excessive perfectionism, excessive openness, low self-confidence, and excessive introversion, among others. Another important inhibiting factor is the family, which includes the family's disbelief in the individual's entrepreneurial activities, the family's explicit opposition, and the traditional approach to women's roles at home. Among the other identified individual inhibiting factors of limited growth goals is the lack of networking. Also, inhibiting factors at the organizational level were found to include human resources, gendered organizational culture, financial barriers, market-related barriers, and the digital nature of the business. The factors that hinder one's own limited growth goals include such parameters as the priority of individual comfort over business growth and the lack of focus on business. In addition, the digital nature of business at the organizational level includes factors such as the lack of awareness of the Internet and the digital space within some classes in society, the unwillingness of investors to invest in digital businesses, and the lack of access to modern technologies.
Conclusion/ Implications: This research identified individual and organizational barriers to the growth of women's digital businesses. The results indicate that although the digital environment reduces some barriers to women's entrepreneurship, there are still significant obstacles for women, and the obstacles to women's entrepreneurship are reflected from the physical environment to the online environment. It is necessary to take measures to improve the conditions of women’s digital businesses, including enacting more protective laws by the government for digital businesses and creating a suitable platform for developing the culture of this field of women's business.
Keywords
Business Growth
Digital Business
Digital Entrepreneurship
Women's Entrepreneurship

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 06 April 2024
  • Revise Date 05 May 2024
  • Accept Date 05 May 2024