Researching Female Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment

1
Researching Female Entrepreneurship and
Self-Employment

• presented to
• The World Bank - Europe and Central Asia Region
• Panel 2 Workshop on Sharing the Growth
  Dividend
• Women in the ECA Region
• by
• Sammie Robinson, PhD
• Assistant Professor
• Department of Management Marketing College of
  Business Prairie View AM University

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Presentation Agenda

• Introduction
• Research Perspective Strategies
• Insights from Current Research
• Reactions?

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Introduction

• Background
• Research Influences and Experiences

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Research Perspective Strategies

• Investigating issues faced by women in Central
  Europe and Asia
• Answers depend on questions raised

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The Appropriate Approach

• Asking New Questions

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Approach to research
The sociology of radical change
Radical Humanist
Radical Structuralist
Subjective
Objective
Functionalist
Interpretivist
The sociology of regulation
Burrell Morgan, 1979
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New questions
Radical Humanist How can the increases in the
number of women entrepreneurs take place in
society ?
Radical Structuralist What kinds of changes would
have to take place in society to enhance the
status of women as entrepreneurs and business
owners?
Functionalist How do women compare to men?
Interpretivist How do women view
entrepreneurship and business ownership (in
their own words)
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New questions
Radical Humanist How can the increases in the
number of women entrepreneurs take place in
society ?
Radical Structuralist What kinds of changes would
have to take place in society to enhance the
status of women as entrepreneurs and business
owners?
Functionalist How do women compare to men?
Interpretivist How do women view
entrepreneurship and business ownership (in
their own words)?
9
Research Approach

• Raises questions that generate different answers
• Privileges womens voices
• Takes context into account

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Methodological Landscape

• Researching in a social context
• Role of theory
• Working with an emergent design
• Collecting case study data
• Generating researchable propositions

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What did we do?

• Broad description of research approach, and
  actual activities

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Model for Data Collection
Preparing forFirst Contact
First Contact
Getting the Participants
Step Two
Step Three
Step One
Setting the Stage
Step Four
The Group Interview
Post Interview Wrap-up
Next Study Site or Research Activity
Step Six
Step Five
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Insights from Current Research

• Attributes represent analogues to traditional
  functionalist criteria
• Transferability
• Credibility
• Confirmability
• Dependability

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Preliminary Themes

• The double minority challenge
• Calling and community orientations
• The significance of family history and family
  support
• The trade off between passion and growth
• The nature of the social networks and social
  organization
• The meaning of success

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Reactions?