See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/323239241

Why research needed in women entrepreneurship in India: A viewpoint

Article  in  International Journal of Social Economics · February 2018

DOI: 10.1108/IJSE-07-2017-0298

CITATIONS READS

0 278

2 authors:

Sucheta Agarwal Usha Lenka

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
14 PUBLICATIONS   38 CITATIONS    55 PUBLICATIONS   284 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Organizational Change View project

Phd Thesis View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Sucheta Agarwal on 07 July 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 International Journal of Social Economics
Why research needed in women entrepreneurship in India: a viewpoint
Sucheta Agarwal, Usha Lenka,
Article information:
To cite this document:
Sucheta Agarwal, Usha Lenka, "Why research needed in women entrepreneurship in India: a viewpoint", International
Journal of Social Economics, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-07-2017-0298
Permanent link to this document:
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-07-2017-0298
Downloaded on: 10 June 2018, At: 02:55 (PT)
References: this document contains references to 0 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 6 times since 2018*
Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by emerald-srm:405406 []
For Authors
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service
information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please
visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of
more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online
products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication
Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

 Why research needed in women entrepreneurship in India: A viewpoint

Abstract

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
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

five-year development policy plans commencing from the fifth five-year plan (1974-78). The

focus of five-year plans since then has been reoriented towards women welfare stressing

more specifically on women empowerment through women entrepreneurship programs. The

objective of this paper is an appraisal of 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 viz. 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
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

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.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, India, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, women entrepreneurship

Paper Type: Viewpoint

Introduction

“It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless the condition of women

is improved. It is impossible for a bird to fly on only one wing.” — Swami Vivekananda

The word entrepreneurship describes combination of various components that an enterprise

possesses. The major focus of an enterprise remains on the discovery of opportunities,

innovations and creativity in taking up variety of projects that aim at the growth and

development. Based on the needed inputs and resources, the entrepreneur designs and

develops the innovative enterprising models. Entrepreneurship focuses on innovation, and

therefore, entrepreneurs involve in certain unique strategies such as enhancing competitive

advantage, impelling growth, generating employment and wealth, renewing the enterprise

policies, and encouraging the employees for better performance of the enterprise
 (Appelstrand and Lidestav, 2015). Thus, entrepreneurs carry out all the strategies that are

required for entrepreneurial activities. The entrepreneurs are capable of devising new ideas,

discovering and exploiting new opportunities by taking reasonable risks for the effective

functioning of their enterprises.

Globally, entrepreneurship has emerged as a developmental inspiration for the enterprise

world (LaVan and Murphy, 2007; Maden, 2015). The spirit of entrepreneurship and

enterprising nature exists in all human beings irrespective of gender. According to Cabrera
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

and Mauricio (2017), economic growth of the nation would be lop-sided without the

involvement of women in entrepreneurial activities, as women constitute approximately half

of the population and the domain of entrepreneurship is not confined to any particular gender.

The women are almost equal in number but there remains wide disparity in their economic

status particularly in India. Therefore, there is a need to unearth the reasons for economic

disparity and identify measures to promote the status of women. Promotion and

encouragement to women as entrepreneurs are the fundamentals which have been accepted

and implemented across the globe. Women entrepreneurs pursue their altruistic commitment

to society and strongly believe that their new concepts and emerging enterprises will greatly

contribute to economic development in their community as well as generate new job

opportunities. The pace of growth in the women enterprises as well as success of women

entrepreneurs is the testimonial of their intuition and the extent of innovations they capture in

turning their ideas into reality. Policy makers have specifically formulated and implemented

policies from time to time to promote the spirit of women entrepreneurship particularly in

those areas where role of women entrepreneurs has been successful in augmenting their

income and growth. The growth of women entrepreneurship has become more challenging in

view of increased pace of unemployment, poverty and low economic status of women.

Therefore, the growth strategies and effective planning to promote the cause of women
 entrepreneurship assume more significance to achieve the goals of equal justice on one side

while on the other facilitating the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs.

Background of study: women and entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship calls for the participation of all sections in society to achieve the goals

of economic growth. Entrepreneurs are known for variety of skills and abilities as they

belong to different social classes, locations, upbringings, with different education levels.

The main traits they posses include: full determination (Mitchelmore and Rowley,
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

2010), ready to take risks (Boermans and Willebrands, 2017), higher level of confidence

(Ferreira et al. 2017), urge for learning and experiencing new innovations (Lenka and

Agarwal, 2017) , understand the failure and ability to build up from the ashes of a

shattered enterprises Mitchelmore and Rowley, 2013), passionate about entrepreneurial

activities (Agarwal and Lenka, 2016), highly adaptable in nature and so on. Other

personal attributes also include quick response to the changes and the surroundings

(Tehseen and Ramayah, 2015), better understanding in allocation of funds, good

interpersonal skills, connecting and networking with the people (Agarwal and Lenka,

2017) and ability to sell and promote the things as they are creator of innovative

products and services (Smale, 2015). These traits cannot be differentiated based on

gender as they are equally possessed by both the men and women. Thus, as male

counterparts, women also surge for the contribution in entrepreneurship with these

characteristics. Women entrepreneurs have emerged as new drivers for maintaining the

growth and prosperity in developing economies. The World Economic Forum stated

that women entrepreneurs as “the way forward” at their annual meeting in 2012 (Elias,

2013). They are elucidated that women entrepreneurs are considered as ‘New Women’s

Movement’ and also explains as “forget aid, focus on foreign investment in women

entrepreneurs as key drivers for growth and development” (Vossenberg, 2013).

 The question arises why women participate in entrepreneurship and bear all types of

risks like financial, personal, social risk etc.? There are some motivational factors which

inspire women to initiate their own enterprise such as, desire to display their abilities

and skills into use, need for self sustained economically, flexibility in lifestyle, zeal to

being personal improvement and recognition in society, desire to work on own rules and

regulations and to maintain the standard of living of own and family (Orhan and Scott,

2001). These motivational characteristics are categorized into pull and push factors,
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

where pull motives are associated with self independent based on challenge, flexibility

(Agarwal and Lenka, 2015a; 2015b) and positive work environment etc., and push

motives are related with losing a job, death of husband and financial condition of family

etc. (Walker and Brown, 2004; Hughes, 2006).

The growth and promotion of women entrepreneurship have drawn the attention of all,

the academicians, development agencies and policy makers especially in emerging

economies. The international organizations, educational institutions, government, Non

government organizations (NGOs), and enterprise associations focused and initiated the

promotional and developmental policies and programs such as capacity-building of

entrepreneurial skills, strengthen women’s network, effective financial assistance,

entrepreneurship education and training and design schemes that facilitate stronger

start-ups to achieve enterprise growth.

“A woman entrepreneur is a person who is an enterprising individual looking for

opportunities with an uncanny vision, having commercial acumen, tremendous perseverance

and above all, a person who is willing to take risks with the unknown because of the

adventurous spirit she possesses,” as defined by Vinze (1987). Women entrepreneurs are

considered as “untapped source” behind the enhancement of the economic condition in the

developing countries across the globe (Minniti and Naudé, 2010). However, there are very
 few studies in the context of developing economies related to women entrepreneurs

(Anggadwita et al., 2017; Ramadani et al., 2015).

In the present era of globalisation and liberalisation, women have been emerging as

powerful entrepreneurs contributing significantly for the growth process across the globe.

Therefore, the policy makers in any of the economies cannot overlook the valuable

contribution of women entrepreneurs. On the contrary, the agenda of women entrepreneurs’

growth receive priority to make them an active partner in the growth process of the economy
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

in general and society in particular. The growth and strength of an economy can be well

measured in terms of combined contribution of male and female. Women are involved in

entrepreneurship due to various reasons such as glass ceiling issues in corporate world,

demand of work flexibility, social status, self recognition and identity in society, prove their

presence and position in family, society and nation (Ferreira et al., 2017; Sharif, 2015).

Women entrepreneurship is the way through which women manage all the factors of

production and willing to take risks as well as involvement in the creative and innovative

activities enable them to generation of employment for others (Sajid et al., 2016; Agarwal

and Lenka, 2016). The women entrepreneurs do play the role of leaders, innovators, creators

and risk-takers in carrying out the entrepreneurial activities. The women carry out their

journey from micro to high growth enterprises and thus establish their self-identity and

recognition in the society and nation both. They are able to sharpen their skills in managing

manufacturing activities, retail business, service activities and also establishing and

promoting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). They have been successful in making

significant contribution to the economic growth in many countries. The statistics advocated if

participation of women in the workforce reaches near to male, then it will contribute

$1Trillion to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the developing economies (Global

Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), 2012 as cited in VanderBrug, 2013). Figure 1.1 represents
 the percentage of male and female engaged in entrepreneurship activities that focussed

innovative products in both, the developed and developing economies. It has stated that in

mid-Asia, developed Asia, and United States (US); the contribution of women is significant

which adds to the GDP of those countries. In such cases, the women entrepreneurs have

higher contribution as compared to men entrepreneurs. On the other side, in developed and

developing economies of Europe, both men and women contribute equally. However, in

developing economies of Asia, women lag behind in contribution to GDP as compared to

Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

male entrepreneurs.

40%
35%
30%
25%
20% 36%
15% 32%
22% 23% 24% 23% 25% 25%
10% 17%
5% 23% 18% 26% 22% 22% 25% 32% 33% 33%
0%

Female Male

Figure 1.1: Percentage of women and men entrepreneurs engaged in innovative products and
services in different regions across the globe.
Source: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), 2012 as cited in VanderBrug, 2013),

In the Indian context, in majority of the cases, women have to strive for a long to reach a

stage where they could equally become the partner in the growth process by contributing and

taking up entrepreneurial projects. The major obstacle experienced by women entrepreneurs

in India is the conservative approach of male dominancy that causes to suppress their interest

and talents to undertake innovative activities. In the changing global context and in view of

the stress on women entrepreneurship development, the things are getting changed and

women have come forward to take up innovations and enterprising projects rather than
 merely at home. The increased education opportunities including higher and technical

education, extent of awareness, encouraging support through government policies and

programs etc., have contributed to the changing perspective of women entrepreneurs in India

(Radadiya, 2012). According to second annual Gender Global Entrepreneurship and

Development Index report 2014, some of the insights in Indian context are highlighted in a

study (Agarwal and Lenka, 2014) as presented in the following Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Indian women entrepreneurs: scaling new heights

Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

SN Facts Figures
Positive indicators of 1. 60% women recognize opportunities to start enterprise
1 growth of women 2. 52% experience they have entrepreneurial skills
entrepreneurs 3. 57% do not fear failure to do enterprise
1. Only 14% women in leadership place
2. 6% growth oriented women start-ups
Areas that needs
2 3. Less than 30% of Indian women are managers
improvement
4. Only 27% women have access to secondary education
5. Only 18% women have access to bank accounts
3 Ranking India’s rank is 26th among 30 developing countries
Source: Gender Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index, report 2014 as cited in Agarwal and Lenka, 2014

Objectives of the study

Keeping in view the above developments and issues related to women empowerment, this

paper evaluates policies and programs to establish the need for research for the growth of

women entrepreneurs in general and in India in particular.

Methodology

For the purpose of this study, the researcher has made use of the secondary data available

from authenticated sources. The secondary data includes past research studies on the subject,

government policies and programs aimed at women entrepreneurs and development schemes

launched for women entrepreneurs. The available literature and development programs have

been analysed to support and explain as why research studies in the area of women

entrepreneurs are needed in the Indian context? The methodology adopted to assess and
 analyze the relevant components very much matches the existing practices. On the basis

of explanation, a theoretical model has been presented which provides an indication to

future aspirants of research for the growth of women entrepreneurship.

Women entrepreneurship: Indian context

India, officially known as Republic of India, comes under the South Asia Region and known

for the most densely inhabited democracy in the world. In terms of geographical area, India is

ranked at seventh and it occupies 55th position in terms of the global competitiveness (The
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016). India is surrounded by water bodies on three

sides— Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south west, and the Bay of Bengal

on the south east—and is bordered by land with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and

Bhutan, and Myanmar (Burma) to the north-east, and Bangladesh to the east. After financial

sector reforms brought out in 1991, India has liberalized its economy to much extent and this

contributed to its development and growth process. India’s economy has been growing at a

reasonable rate along with major economies. India has become destination to many foreign

investors for capital investments and thereby developing commercial projects through foreign

direct investments. In the developing economy of India, women are actively involved in

different enterprises and they could establish their existence by participating successfully in

various activities at the national as well international level.

In India, women were mainly engaged in household chores in earlier days and their

involvement was just limited to 3Ks—Kitchen, Kids and Knitting. But with the changes in

the economic environment, they became more conscious about their personal growth socially

and economically both. The wider opportunities extended for the growth of female education

changed the very dynamics of their thinking, awareness and a growing sense of financial

independence. This motivated women to shift their priorities initially from 3Ks to 3 Ps—

Pickles, Powder, and Pappad. This motivates them to take up entrepreneurial activities and
 gain recognition, financial independence and thereby reaching at premier positions at both,

the national and international level (Goyal, & Parkash, 2011). One of the best examples to

support the above claim is quoted about Jyoti Naik, who is the President of Shri Mahila Griha

Udyog Lijjat Papad.

During the course of time, the very focus of women entrepreneurs shifted to 3Es—

Engineering, Electronics, and Energy (Figure 1.2) that play a major role in contributing

towards economic condition of our country (Agarwal and Lenka, 2014; Goyal and Prakash,
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

2011). The growth of women owned enterprises has taken place rapidly in India such as

women making solar cookers in Gujarat, operating small foundries in Maharashtra,

mechanized capacitors in Orissa etc.; these types of activities have proved that women

contributions are required for the development of our society (Kaur & Singh, 2013). Some

other worth quoted examples are Ritu Kumar (Fashion Designer), Shahnaz Hussain (CEO,

Shahnaz Herbals Inc), Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Chairman and Managing Director of

Biocon Ltd.), Ekta Kapoor (Creative Head of Balaji Telefilms), Simone Tata (former

Chairperson of LAKME, Chairperson of Trent Limited), Mallika Srinivasan (currently the

Director of TAFE- Tractors and Farm Equipment), etc.

3K's-Kitchen, Kids 3Es-Engineering,

and Knitting Electronics and Energy

3 Ps-Pickles, Powder,
and Pappad

Figure 1.2: A shift in women empowerment and approach in India

Source: Authors

According to the relevant fact available about the contribution of countries in the

economic development to the world economy, it is observed that there are mainly two rising

Asian giants—China and India. Both these countries together constitute more than one-third
 (37%) of the total population of the world and occupy almost the top position among the

developing economies. China has emerged as the world's second-biggest economy. India is

marching ahead to emerge as one of the strong economy in the world. India is turning as a

hub for innovative entrepreneurial activities with added focus and recognition to women

entrepreneur driven projects. According to the available data, Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises (MSMEs) sector contributes approximately 8 per cent to the GDP, 45 per cent of

the manufacturing output and 40 per cent of the total exports of the country. It is estimated
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

that SMEs generate 1.3 million job opportunities every year in the country. The SMEs in

India command largest share in providing employment opportunities followed by agriculture.

Thus, entrepreneurship plays a vital role through its contribution in the country’s GDP

(Arora, 2015). A survey conducted in the year 2015 by Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network

Summit in Berlin ranking countries on the basis of certain dimensions. The dimensions

considered for ranking include enterprise environment, gendered access to resources,

women’s leadership and legal rights, pipeline for entrepreneurship and potential women

entrepreneurial leaders. The results of this study haves been represented in a graph giving

ranking according to the scores obtained by individual countries (Figure 1.3). Australia,

Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom (UK), and United States of America

(USA) dominate in terms of encouraging women entrepreneurship whereas India followed by

Pakistan and Bangladesh have scored the lowest in ranking. In addition the scores also

revealed that in India women occupy only 4 per cent of the chief executive positions, 9.5 per

cent as board members and 15 per cent in the senior management positions (Aidis et al.,

2015).
 80 71 69 69 68
70 65 62 61
56
60 51 49 49 49
46 45 44 44 44 43 43
50 41 40 39 38
36 36 35
40 29
30 24
17 14
20 12
10
0
Poland

Thailand
Canada

France

Chile

Panama
China

Brazil
South Korea

South Africa

Uganda
Ghana
Tunisia
Egypt
USA

UK
Sweden

Spain

Mexico
Peru
Jamaica
Australia

Malaysia
Japan

Turkey

Pakistan
Bangladesh
Russia

Nigeria

India
Germany

Scores are based on business environment, gendered access to resources, women's leadership and
legal rights, pipeline for entrepreneurship, and potential women entrepreneurial leaders
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Figure 1.3: Graph plotted on the basis of scores obtained by countries on the dimensions:
enterprise environment, gendered access to resources, women’s leadership and legal rights,
pipeline for entrepreneurship, and potential women entrepreneurial leaders.
Source: Aidis et al., 2015

The present Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, is strong supporter and

promoter of SMEs. There has been number of initiatives by the government to motivate,

develop and bring efficiencies. The SMEs can enhance product quality that will enable to

participate in the e-commerce enterprise world. With an aim to promote women

entrepreneurs, Indian government initiated ‘Mahila E-Haat’ on March 08, 2016. The website

is developed to facilitate the sale of products developed by women entrepreneurs. Among

Asian countries, India is privileged to have highest number of educated youth and therefore

the government of India has been enthusing spirit of entrepreneurship by implementing

different programs and schemes. Some of the programs launched by the government to

promote entrepreneurship include “skill India”, “make in India”, and “start up India” etc.

However, there is much scope for bringing lager number of women entrepreneurs under these

banners.

The data available with Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation during the

sixth economic census on the status of women entrepreneurs of India (Bureau, 2016) is

depicted in Table 1.2.

 Table 1.2: Information revealed in sixth economic census on status of women entrepreneurs
of India by Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation
SN Facts Figures
Involvement of women in 13.76% of the total entrepreneurs, i.e., 8.05 million out of
1
entrepreneurship the 58.5 million entrepreneurs.
2 Women owned enterprises Provide employment to 13.45 million people.
2.76 million women (34.3% of the total entrepreneurs)
work in agriculture sector whereas 5.29 million womens
3 Sector wise involvement
(65.7% of the total entrepreneurs) work in non-agricultural
sectors.
Livestock dominates (with a share of 31.6 %) among all
4 Involvement in agriculture activities
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

other farming activities.

Involvement in non-agricultural
5 corresponding percentages being 29.8% and 17.8%
activities
Largest share in number of
6 establishments under women
entrepreneurship
Average employment per
7 establishment for women owned
establishments
Total establishments under women
8 entrepreneurs, percentage share of
various social and religious groups
Source: Bureau, 2016
Manufacturing and retail trade are dominant ones with
respectively.
Tamil Nadu (13.51%) followed by Kerala (11.35%),
Andhra Pradesh (10.56%), West Bengal (10.33%) and
Maharashtra (8.25%).
1.67
OBC: 40.60%, SC: 12.18%, ST: 6.97% and Others
(40.25%); Hindus: 65.6%, Muslim: 12.84% and Christian:
5.2%.

A view on promotional measures initiated by Government in India

The government of India has taken series of the initiatives to motivate and thereby increase

the participation of women to bring them in the mainstream of economic development since

the fifth five year plan (1974-1978). Since then, the focus of five year development plans has

shifted from welfare to development and empowerment of women (Figure 1.4).

 Empowerement

Development

Welfare

Figure 1.4: Approach towards women entrepreneurship in India

Source: Authors

Several schemes have been sponsored by the government for the development and
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

empowerment of women. Some of the women entrepreneur focussed schemes include, 1Rajiv

Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescents Girls, National Mission for Empowerment

of Women, Leadership Development of Minority Women, Awareness Generation Programs,

Integrated Scheme for Women Empowerment, Swa-Shakti Project, Rural Women’s

Development and Empowerment, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (Credit for Women), Priyadarshani

and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihood Program. MSMEs, State Small Industries

Development Corporations, Nationalized Commercial Banks and NGOs are involved in

various empowerment and development programs for women. In 1993, the central

government has initiated the Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana to promote self employment of

women between the age group 18 to 45 years. Women entrepreneurs have preference in

receiving loans from banks for undertaking different types of enterprising projects subject to

certain norms for quantum of loan and family income of the entrepreneur. Cluster

Development Programs initiated by MSMEs have a provision for funding up to 90 percent of

the project cost for women owned enterprises. Small Industries Development Bank of India

(SIDBI), a national level institution provides equity and developmental assistance for

encouraging women to start new enterprises in spinning, weaving and embroidery. They

1
Schemes launched by Government of India to support promotion of women entrepreneurship.
 further promote micro credit and women entrepreneurship development programs. Small

Industries Development Organization endorses programs such as TV repairing, leather goods,

screen painting and preparation of circuit boards. Consortium of Women Entrepreneurs of

India is a voluntary association of NGOs, Self Help Groups (SHGs), and individual enterprise

that was launched in 2001 with the objective of providing technical, market and import-

export know-how to women entrepreneurs. Other supporting organizations are Federation of

Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)-Ladies Association, Self Employed

Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Women’s Association, Federation of Indian Women Entrepreneurs, and National Bank for

Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), etc.

According to the official estimates, India will have 125 million women entrepreneurs in

the near future if development plans are implemented in a systematic manner. The scheme

like, “Stand Up” India provides for loan assistance at least one women entrepreneur for

encouraging entrepreneurship in India. The SIDBI has provided corpus of Rs.10,000 crore for

this scheme to start with (Jain, 2016). Government has also launched other welfare and

social schemes like, Save the girl scheme, Educate the girls scheme, Growth of girl child

scheme and Daughter selfie with father focussing on the development and growth of girl

child to enable to empower women in India. Programs like, Swachh Bharat has also been

initiated with the aim of improving the health conditions primarily for women and children

by emphasizing on building of toilets. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana was launched on 8th

April, 2015 by the Prime Minister for “Funding the Unfunded” for providing loans of about

Rs. 10 Lac. Till date, over Rs. 1.22 Lac crores have been distributed among 57.75 Lac

Scheduled Castes, 15.15 Lac Scheduled Tribes and 2.52 crore women entrepreneurs. Thus,

this scheme has proved to be beneficial for women. For intensifying the all-encompassing

growth, the Prime Minister also announced the “Start Up India, Stand Up India” initiative. In

2015, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson of the state-run SBI said that to help women
 approximately 49% of the accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. This

scheme was initiated with the objective of providing banking services to women for

launching their new enterprise (Chatterjee, 2016). Another program ‘Mahila E-Haat’ have

been initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to provide online platform

to women entrepreneurs, especially from rural areas, to sell their products like clothing,

organic product, toys, directly without having to bear any cost. This initiative has benefited a

lot of women entrepreneurs, as a major portion of the profit will go directly to them and this
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

will boost their confidence level (PTI, 2016).

Government and NGOs are encouraging promotion and development of women

entrepreneurship. Therefore, successful women entrepreneurs can be nurtured through

appropriate intervention programs. Table 1.3 presents the involvement of women in small

scale industries in India. Women of Kerala and Tamil Nadu acted as leaders in this front with

a dismal representation shown by Uttarakhand (formerly Uttaranchal), Himachal Pradesh,

and certain north states respectively (Development Commissioner (MSME) Ministry of

Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, 2017). These states are geographically and culturally

different from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The poor representation of women in the economic

development of various regions has raised curiosity among researchers and policy makers.

Table 1.3: State wise distribution of women ownership in small scale industries sector
SN Name of State/ UT No. of Women Enterprises In percentage

1 JAMMU & KASHMIR 5742 0.54

2 HIMACHAL PRADESH 3722 0.35
3 PUNJAB 29068 2.73
4 CHANDIGARH 2243 0.21
5 UTTARANCHAL 8804 0.83
6 HARYANA 9620 0.90
7 DELHI 14383 1.35
8 RAJASTHAN 36371 3.42
9 UTTAR PRADESH 72667 6.83
10 BIHAR 49443 4.65
 SN Name of State/ UT No. of Women Enterprises In percentage

11 SIKKIM 98 0.01
12 ARUNACHAL PRADESH 150 0.01
13 NAGALAND 179 0.02
14 MANIPUR 10745 1.01
15 MIZORAM 3700 0.35
16 TRIPURA 863 0.08
17 MEGHALAYA 3580 0.34
18 ASSAM 11757 1.11
19 WEST BENGAL 69625 6.55
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

20 JHARKHAND 7865 0.74

21 ORISSA 38233 3.59
22 CHHATTISGARH 10034 0.94
23 MADHYA PRADESH 68823 6.47
24 GUJARAT 53703 5.05
25 & DAMAN & DIU & DADRA &
213 0.02
26 NAGAR HAVELI
27 MAHARASHTRA 100670 9.46
28 ANDHRA PRADESH 77166 7.25
29 KARNATAKA 103169 9.70
30 GOA 810 0.08
31 LAKSHADWEEP 67 0.01
32 KERALA 139225 13.09
33 TAMIL NADU 129808 12.20
34 PONDICHERRY 1065 0.10
ANDAMAN & NICOBAR
35 110 0.01
ISLANDS
All India 1063721

Source: Development Commissioner (MSME) Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, 2017

Reasons to conduct the research in women entrepreneurship

The area of women entrepreneurship attracts considerable attention of academicians,

practitioners and policymakers (Anggadwita et al., 2017; Agarwal & Lenka, 2017; Nandy &

Kumar, 2014). Although this movement has been gaining ground all over the world, India is

catching up with the trend. Efforts are made to harness entrepreneurial ability of Indian

women which constitute approximately 50 per cent of the total population. However, in a
 patriarchal Indian society, women’s role in the economic development has a feeble

representation in the mainstream. They have poor status in terms of social structure with 32.7

% illiteracy, 21.6 % unemployment, and 59.6 % economically backward. Furthermore, 23.4

% of rural women and 13.9 % of urban women have not been involved in decision making

(Women and Men in India, 2013). For economic empowerment of Indian women, there is

need to promote entrepreneurial culture. Greyhound Sculpt, of Greyhound Knowledge Group

conducted a survey on 1,000 women entrepreneurs of different regions of India like

Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, National Capital Region and observed

that about 50 % respondents are happy to become an entrepreneur. The findings revealed the

reasons behind women’s contentment and encouragement of becoming self-employed; some

of the reasons are sense of freedom, desire to fulfil their passion, achieve satisfaction, attain

better standard of living etc (Pophale, 2013).

There are variety of factors that explain the substantial gap in the percentage of men and

women engaged in entrepreneurial activities. The primary cause for this kind of gap can be

attributed to unequal inheritance rights and restrictions on work for women. This limits their

access and approaches for taking initiatives to take up entrepreneurial activities by masses.

The five states that have the largest ratio of educated women include Tamil Nadu, Kerala,

Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra and these states constituted 53 % (4.3

million) of all enterprises owned by women nationwide. According to another analysis,

although not more than 33 % of India’s women live in these states, as mentioned in India

Spend after analyzing the data released by Economic Census, 2012. Moreover, as per Census,

2011, the women literacy rate was 65.5 % but women workforce participation was only 25.5

% (ILT Staff Reporter, 2016). The factor responsible for this gap may be dual responsibility

of women entrepreneurs to manage home as well the enterprise. This poses a challenge for

women entrepreneurs to take up the projects successfully. In addition to this, non availability
 or insufficient availability of financial help also a challenge that women entrepreneur often

faces despite the fact that government has many schemes to help. There is lack of awareness

and also lack of motivational mentors who could enthuse and motivate women to become

successful entrepreneurs. Rashmi Bansal recently published “Follow Every Rainbow:

Inspiring Stories of 25 Women Entrepreneurs whose Gentle Touch Created Strong

Enterprises”, wherein, she stated that reading of more stories about successful women will

encourage them to attract more women and involve them in this entrepreneurial sector. Many
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

roles and jobs are gender specific similar to entrepreneurship, which is considered as a man’s

territory (Sharma, 2016). However, emerging entrepreneurial culture, supportive government

and accessibility of financial resources have made India the world biggest democracy and

have purged strong economic times.

The National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) conducted a survey for Sixth

Economic Census wherein it is stated that Indian women traverse a long path for becoming

entrepreneurs but they are still lagging behind their male counterparts. According to the

survey, women entrepreneurs run only approx 14 % of the total enterprises which means that

women owned enterprises are only 8.05 million out of 58.5 million functional enterprises.

After examining the gathered data, it is observed that women run small scale enterprises and

approximately 79 % of those enterprises are self-financed (Sharma, 2016).

According to the data available from International Labor Organization (ILO), it is

observed that there is drop of 10 % in the ratio of working age in case of women in India

since 2005 on account of glass ceiling effect, unfriendly working conditions, less work

flexibility, etc. The survey suggested that the only solution to this problem is that women

must be encouraged to enter the world of SMEs as it is expected that India will become a $5

trillion economy by 2025, hence, major effort needs to be given to strengthen the backbone of
 economy by reinforcing SMEs. Thus, it is the requirement of policymakers and researcher to

focus on the encouragement of women entrepreneurs (Das, 2017).

An Appraisal of women entrepreneurs in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India

India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and multi-ethnic society. India is considered as

a federal union comprising of 29 states and 7 union territories. Among them, Uttar Pradesh

(UP) and Uttarakhand are the most populous states of India in terms of density of population.

Women in these regions are hard working and dexterous in handicrafts and knitting woolen
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

yarns. UP is also counted as the most densely inhabited subdivision of the country in the

world. It was formed on 1st April, 1937 and named as ‘United Provinces’ during British rule,

and renamed after independence in 1950 as ‘Uttar Pradesh’. Lucknow is the capital city of

this state; and

Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Raebareli, Moradabad, Bareilly, Al

igarh, Sonbhadra and Varanasi are some of the cities known for their industrial importance.

UP is the fourth largest Indian state and accounts for 6.88% of the total area of the country. It

is spread over in 243,290 square kilometres. In the beginning of 2011, the population of UP

state was 199,581,477. The ratio among female and male in the state was 908 women to 1000

men that was lesser than the national ratio. Economically, the state ranked third with a GDP

of 9,763 billion (US$150 billion). The majority of the state economy comprises of agriculture

followed by service sector. In the services sector of the state, the major services activities

comprised of travel and tourism, hotel industry, real estate, insurance and financial

consultancies. Women of this state are hard working and mainly involve in engineering

products, electronics, electrical equipment, cables, steel, leather, textiles, jewellery, frigates,

automobiles, railway coaches and wagons manufacturing units.

Another state is Uttarakhand, which is situated in northern part of the country. It has a distinct

identity as a holy land and known as “Devbhumi” (literally: "Land of the Gods"). This is on
 account of the fact that this region has plenty number of Hindu temples and pilgrimage

centres in 13 districts across the state. Garhwal and Kumaon are two dominant regions having

distinct culture and traditions. The natural beauty of the Himalayas, the Bhabhar, and the

Terai make Uttarakhand famous for its exquisiteness. This state was formed On November 9,

2000 as the 27th state of Indian Republic comprising of Himalayan and adjoining north-

western districts of UP. The state is densely covered by mountains forest. According to 2011

census, Uttarakhand had a population of 10,116,752 (5,154,178 males and 4,962, 574
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

females). The state is dominated by rural population which comprises of 69.45 % of the

population in rural areas (Census, 2011).. Uttarakhand is the second fastest growing states of

India. Women of this region are considered as core strength and contribute significantly in

the state’s economy due to their close involvement in the developmental programs. They are

mostly engaged in processing raw materials and knitting wool yarns. They are engaged in

commercial activities such as, carpets weaving, handicrafts making, bed sheets/quilts making,

wool sweaters, shawls and stoles.

In view of the enterprising nature of women, the government of UP state has initiated a

scheme in 2014 known as Women Entrepreneurship Promotion Scheme 2014-2015 with the

objective of encouraging and empowering women by involving their participation in the

industrialisation process (Rawat, 2014). The UP government has decided to launch a special

‘Mahila Bazaar’ for women entrepreneurs where they can sell their products and services

(Verma, 2016).

The state of Uttrakhand is known for the production of woolen handlooms, cotton

handlooms, silk products and textiles made of natural fibres. The woolen products produced

in Uttarakhand are primarily made of Pashmina wool and wool from Angora rabbit. Both of

these wools have tremendous demand in the international market. The silk products are

mainly produced using high quality silk like Mulberry or Tassar silk. In Uttarakhand, more
 than 40 natural fibres are found to design various combinations in cotton. For preserving the

traditional rich culture and promoting these activities commercially, the government has

launched a scheme under Uttarakhand Handloom & Handicraft Development Council

(UHHDC). UHHDC acts as a facilitator for motivating, guiding and organizing artisans as

well as providing common platforms for direct interaction between creators and buyers and

connoisseurs of art. The Chief Minister of Uttrakhand on July 15, 2016 had launched an

Entrepreneurs Park, exclusively for women entrepreneurs.

Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Even though the state governments in both the states have implemented various

entrepreneurial schemes to motivate women entrepreneurs but there remains a gap in active

participation by women in these activities and gain the benefits. This calls for more

awareness and entrepreneurial education among women entrepreneurs. It raises the need to

develop the holistic framework that provides the direction to academicians and

policymakers to emphasize on the encouragement of women entrepreneurs through

developing their competencies. This becomes more relevant, as only the competent

entrepreneurs are able to develop and lead successful strategies by identifying and

utilizing the favourable opportunities present in surroundings towards the success of

their enterprises.

The Table 1.3 presents the feeble representation of women entrepreneurs in India.

Therefore, government and NGOs have initiated various strategies to implement

entrepreneurial schemes and development programs with active participation of women.

Active participation of women enables them to earn recognition and status at national and

international level and also contributes in the economic development of country (Daymard,

2015).

There is very scanty research studies that had been carried out on women entrepreneurs

though they make huge contribution to the economy of the nation (Ahl, 2006; Anggadwita et
 al., 2017). From the available literature on entrepreneurship, it is observed that only 10% of

research has been conducted on women entrepreneurs (Brush & Cooper, 2012; Welsh et al.,

2014). Therefore, this study intends to understand essential factors that motivate women

entrepreneurs to take up entrepreneurial programs. The internal and external factors that

motivate women to involve in entrepreneurial activities include the zeal and enthusiasm of

owning an enterprise, quest for financial prosperity, ability to work within the regulatory

framework, looking after family welfare etc. Thus, the factors influencing entrepreneurial
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

spirit among women involve personal, social, organizational and environmental. The study

also emphasized on whether an individual’s previous and present learning and competencies

play any significant role in the growth and performance of an enterprise. The study also

focuses if there is any relationship among various factors such as, personal, social, and

environmental and entrepreneurial learning as well in between the entrepreneurial learning

and competencies of women entrepreneur. The association among these factors is

presented in Figure 1.5.

Personal driven
motivational
factors

Social driven
motivational Entrepreneurial Competencies Enterprise
factors learning performance

Environmental
driven
motivational
factors

Figure 1.5: Theoretical model of study

Source: Authors
 Conclusion and future scope of study

India is an emerging economy and role of women entrepreneurs becomes more crucial as a

development partner in the overall growth of the country. The study brings out various

initiatives taken by government which are responsible to improve those factors that impact

the growth of women entrepreneurs. Resource dependence theory (RDT) (Davis & Cobb,

2010) states that the performance of an enterprise depends on the external resources (social

and environmental factors); and resource based view (RBV) (Oly Ndubisi & Iftikhar, 2012;
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Wernerfelt, 1984) that elucidates that intangible resources (learning and competencies) within

the enterprise are imperative for sustaining its competitive advantage. Keeping this in view,

the present study proposes the need to understand and explore the relevant factors responsible

for the development of competencies of women entrepreneurs to understand the relationship

between the competencies of women entrepreneurs and enterprise performance and thus

develop a holistic framework of developing competencies of women entrepreneurs. The

government, NGOs and various supporting organizations emphasize on development

programs that focus on the development of competencies of women entrepreneurs. As

women are self confident in their own skills and abilities, there may not be any hindrances in

taking up entrepreneurial activities. The rationale for the present study is to examine the

deeper understanding of the factors influencing the entrepreneurial learning which contribute

to the development of entrepreneurial competencies. The identification of entrepreneurial

competencies is essential for the success and growth of enterprises initiated by women

entrepreneurs. There are lots of initiatives taken by supporting organizations towards

development of women but the effects of expected and desired growth of women

entrepreneurs are yet to be visualized. This raises the need of holistic framework for the

development of competencies among women entrepreneurs.

 The above propositions call for longitudinal research focusing on the relevant parameters to

be undertaken by future researchers. There is also a need for developing a suitable policy

framework and developing programs keeping in view these parameters. The findings of this

study may prove as cornerstone for women entrepreneurs as it highlights the competencies

required for building one’s recognition and identity. This will motivate women entrepreneur

to emerge stronger in terms of social, national and international status. This study also

provides certain inputs to academician, researchers and policy makers to take up further
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

policies and programs aiming holistic growth and development of women entrepreneurs and

their competencies. The ultimate impact of the study will be an economic change in the

quality of life of women enterperneurs in the societal, national and international level.

Implications of study

Theoretical and policy implications of the study

This study focussed on participation and sensitivity of women as necessary measures to

promote women entrepreneurship. Formal and informal supports are equally

important that help in developing confidence, recognition, and identity of women in

society. The current study stresses promotion of women entrepreneurship through

competency development. The theoretical agenda discusses cause and effect relationship

between antecedents and consequences of competencies. Overall, this study theoretically

enriches existing body of knowledge on women entrepreneurship by developing a

holistic conceptual framework. This study will be a guiding tool for academics and

researchers to reveal some of major barriers of entrepreneurial learning. A continuous

learning would help in the development of skills, abilities and knowledge (essential for

the success of an enterprise) of women.

Active involvement of women in entrepreneurial activities helps women in gaining

recognition and confidence, brings a positive changes in the perception and attitude of
 society and also provides a direction to policymakers to upgrade entrepreneurial related

programs, policies and schemes as per requirement. The findings of the study

emphasize the importance of competency development as an empowerment tool for

opening up opportunities for women and providing assistance in framing promotional

programs and policies for encouraging women entrepreneurs in the future endeavour.

The research emphasizes that government and other organisations should focus on

promotional schemes, policies, education and training and skill developmental

Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

programs for the enhancement of competencies. This will help women to acquire more

knowledge, skills and abilities to analyse their own strengths and weaknesses.

“We need to get women to the point where they aren’t apologizing. It’s time to take

ownership in our success”-Tory Burch, CEO and Designer

References

Agarwal, S. and Lenka, U. (2014), “A Conceptual Framework on Women Entrepreneurs:

Problems and Prospects”, Advances in Economics and Business Management, Vol. 1 No. 3,
pp. 155–159.
Agarwal, S. and Lenka, U. (2015a, February 13–14), “Review on Motivational Factors of
Women Entrepreneurship”, in The Proceedings of the International Conference on Creating
Opportunities in Emerging Markets– A Global Approach, Noida, India: Symbiosis Centre
for Management Studies, pp. 86–96.
Agarwal, S. and Lenka, U. (2015b), “Study on work–life balance of women entrepreneurs–
review and research agenda”, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 47 No. 7, pp. 356–
362.
Agarwal, S. and Lenka, U. (2016), “An exploratory study on the development of women
entrepreneurs: Indian cases”, Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Vol.
18 No. 2, pp. 232–247.
Agarwal, S. and Lenka, U. (2017), “Does growth of ventures depend on competencies?:
selected cases from India”, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small
Business, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 227–243.
Ahl, H. (2006), “Why research on women entrepreneurs needs new
directions”, Entrepreneurship theory and practice, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 595–621.
 Aidis, R., Weeks, J. and Anacker, K. B. (2015, March). The 2015 Global Women
Entrepreneur Leaders Scorecard: Data and Methodology. Retrieved November 29, 2015,
from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285458368_The_2015_Global_Women_Entrepre
neur_Leaders_Scorecard_Data_and_Methodology
Anggadwita, G., Luturlean, B. S., Ramadani, V. and Ratten, V. (2017), “Socio–cultural
environments and emerging economy entrepreneurship: Women entrepreneurs in
Indonesia”, Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 85–96.
Appelstrand, M. and Lidestav, G. (2015), “Women entrepreneurship–a shortcut to a more
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

competitive and equal forestry sector?”, Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 30
No. 3, pp. 226–234.
Arora, R (2015, January 27). Why India Is the Land of Rising Entrepreneurship. Retrieved
November 29, 2016, from http://www.inc.com/rohit–arora/why–india–is–the–land–of–
rising–entrepreneurship.html
Boermans, M. A. and Willebrands, D. (2017), “Entrepreneurship, risk perception and firm
performance”, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 31 No 4,
pp. 557–569.
Brush, C. G. and Cooper, S. Y. (2012), “Female entrepreneurship and economic
development: An international perspective”, Entrepreneurship & Regional
Development, Vol. 24 No. 1–2, pp. 1–6.
Bureau, G, N. (2016, April 5). Fact sheet: Women entrepreneurs in India. Retrieved
November 29, 2016, from http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular–story/fact–sheet–
women–entrepreneurs–in–india
Cabrera, E. M. and Mauricio, D. (2017), “Factors affecting the success of women’s
entrepreneurship: a review of literature”, International Journal of Gender and
Entrepreneurship, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 31–65.
Census. (2011). Retrieved December 15, 2016, from http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011–
common/census_2011.html
Chatterjee, P. (2016, May 19). Modi's Schemes To Encourage Entrepreneurship Among
Women. Retrieved November 02, 2016, from http://businessworld.in/article/Modi–s–
Schemes–To–Encourage–Entrepreneurship–Among–Women/19–05–2016–98173/
Das, A. (2017, February 03). The future of India’s economic growth lies in the hands of
women entrepreneur. Retrieved March 20, 2017, from http://tech.firstpost.com/biztech/the–
 future–of–indias–economic–growth–lies–in–the–hands–of–women–entrepreneurs–
360625.html
Davis, G.F. and Cobb, J.A. (2010), “Resource dependence theory: past and future”,
Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 21–42.
Daymard, A. (2015), “Determinants of Female Entrepreneurship in India”, OECD
Economics Department Working Papers, Vol. 9, pp. 1–40.
Development Commissioner (MSME) Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
(2017, July 3). Participation of women in SSI sector. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from
http://www.dcmsme.gov.in/ssiindia/census/ch11.htm
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Elias, J. (2013), “Davos woman to the rescue of global capitalism: Postfeminist politics and
competitiveness promotion at the World Economic Forum”, International Political
Sociology, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 152–169.
Ferreira, J. J. M., Fernandes, C. I., Peris–Ortiz, M. and Ratten, V. (2017), “Female
entrepreneurship: a co–citation analysis”, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and
Small Business, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 325–340.
Goyal, M. and Parkash, J. (2011), “Women entrepreneurship in India–problems and
prospects”, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol. 1 No. 5, pp. 195–
207.
Hughes, K. D. (2006), “Exploring motivation and success among Canadian women
entrepreneurs”, Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 107–120.
ILT Staff Reporter. (2016, October 4). Tamil Nadu and Kerala are India’s largest number
of establishments run by women. Retrieved December 28, 2016, from
http://www.indialivetoday.com/tamil–nadu–and–kerala–are–indias–largest–number–of–
establishments–run–by–women/41480.html
Jain, S. (2016, June, 01). PM Narendra Modi launches ‘Stand Up India’ scheme for SC/ST;
says today’s job seekers will be tomorrow’s job creators. Retrieved December 02, 2016,
from http://www.financialexpress.com/economy/pm–narendra–modi–launches–stand–up–
india–scheme–for–scst–says–todays–job–seekers–will–be–tomorrows–job–
creators/232893/
Kaur, G. and Singh, D. S. (2013), “Women Entrepreneurs in India: Problems and
Prospects”, Third Front Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp.64–73.
LaVan, H. and Murphy, P. J. (2007), “Southeast Asian culture, human development, and
business competitiveness”, Journal of Asia Business Studies, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 14–22.
 Lenka, U. and Agarwal, S. (2017), “Role of women entrepreneurs and NGOs in promoting
entrepreneurship: Case studies from Uttarakhand, India”, Journal of Asia Business Studies,
Vol. 11 No. 4 (forthcoming).
Maden, C. (2015), “A gendered lens on entrepreneurship: Women entrepreneurship in
Turkey”, Gender in Management: An International Journal, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 312–331.
Minniti, M. and Naudé, W. (2010), “What Do We Know About The Patterns and
Determinants of Female Entrepreneurship Across Countries?”, The European Journal of
Development Research, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 277–293.
Nandy, S., & Kumar, S. (2014), “Women Entrepreneurship in 21st Century India”, Global
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Journal of Finance and Management, Vol. 6 No. 9, pp. 967–976.

Oly Ndubisi, N. and Iftikhar, K. (2012), “Relationship between entrepreneurship,
innovation and performance: Comparing small and medium–size enterprises”, Journal of
Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 214–236.
Orhan, M. and Scott, D. (2001), “Why women enter into entrepreneurship: an explanatory
model”, Women in management review, Vol. 16 No. 5, pp. 232–247.
Pophale, K. (2013, August 21). 50% women in India are happy being entrepreneurs:
greyhounds sculpt. Retrieved January 15, 2017, from www.business–
standard.com/article/companies/50–women–in–india–are–happy–beingentrepreneurs–
greyhound–sculpt–113082100340_1.html
PTI (2016, March 08). Centre launches 'E–haat' to promote women entrepreneurs.
Retrieved January 15, 2017, from
http://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/centre–launches–e–haat–to–promote–
women–entrepreneurs/51304590
Radadiya, S. (2012), “Women entrepreneurs in India”, International Journal of
Managment, IT and Engineering, Vol. 2 No. 11, pp. 399–413.
Ramadani, V., Hisrich, R.D. and Gërguri–Rashiti, S. (2015), “Female entrepreneurs in
transition economies: insights from Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo”, World Review of
Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 391–413.
Rawat, V.S. (2014, December 1). Uttar Pradesh to promote women entrepreneurs.
Retrieved December 15, 2016, from www.businessstandard.com/article/sme/uttar–pradesh–
to–promote–womenentrepreneurs–114120101212_1. html .
Sajid, M., Ansari, D. A. and Siddiqui, M. N. (2016), “Women Entrepreneurship: The
Dynamic Need of Modern India”, An International Journal of Research & Innovation, Vol.
3 No. 2, pp. 27–31.
 Sharif, M.Y. (2015), “Glass ceiling, the prime driver of women entrepreneurship in
Malaysia: a phenomenological study of women lawyers”, Procedia–Social and Behavioral
Sciences, Vol. 169, pp. 329–336.
Mitchelmore, S. and Rowley, J. (2010), “Entrepreneurial competencies: a literature review
and development agenda”, International journal of entrepreneurial Behavior &
Research, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 92–111.
Mitchelmore, S. and Rowley, J. (2013),”Entrepreneurial competencies of women
entrepreneurs pursuing business growth”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise
Development, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 125–142.
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

Sharma, K (2016, May 10). 14 Percent of Indian Businesses Run By Women Entrepreneurs.
Retrieved August 22, 2016, from https://www.indianweb2.com/2016/05/10/14–percent–
indian–businesses–run–women–entrepreneurs/
Smale, T. (2015, March 11). 10 Traits All Successful Entrepreneurs Share. Retrieved
November 01, 2017, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243792
Tehseen, S. and Ramayah, T. (2015), “Entrepreneurial competencies and SMEs business
success: The contingent role of external integration”, Mediterranean Journal of Social
Sciences, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 50–61.
VanderBrug, J. (2013, September 4). The global rise of female entrepreneurs. Retrieved
February 12, 2017, from https://hbr.org/2013/09/global–rise–of–female–entrepreneurs
Verma, A. (2016, April 29). UP CM Akhilesh plans special ‘Mahila Bazaar’ for women
entrepreneurs. Retrieved January 14, 2017, from
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current–affairs/290416/up–cm–akhilesh–plans–
special–mahila–bazaar–for–women–entrepreneurs.html
Vinze, M.D. (1987). Women Entrepreneurs in India: A Socio–economic Study of Delhi,
1975–1985. New Delhi, India: Mittal Publications.
Vossenberg, S. (2013), “Women entrepreneurship promotion in developing countries: what
explains the gender gap in entrepreneurship and how to close it?”, Working Paper No.
2013/08, Maastricht School of Management, pp. 1–27.
Walker, E. and Brown, A. (2004), “What success factors are important to small business
owners?”, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 577–594.
Welsh, D. H., Memili, E., Kaciak, E. and Al Sadoon, A. (2014), “Saudi women
entrepreneurs: a growing economic segment”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 67 No. 5,
pp. 758–762.
 Wernerfelt, B. (1984), “A resource–based view of the firm”, Strategic Management
Journal, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 171–180.
Women and Men in India. (2013). Retrieved December 15, 2016, from
http://mospi.nic.in/Mospi_New/upload/women_men_india_2013_part1.pdf
Downloaded by University of Southern Queensland At 02:55 10 June 2018 (PT)

View publication stats