The Role of Finance, Work-family Interface, Societal Support,

Education and Network Accessibility on Women Entrepreneurs

Performance in Bangladesh
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter provides the background of the analysis by showing the present performance of
female entrepreneurship in SMEs. The study addresses the performance of small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh run by women. The problem statement
justifies the need of carrying out this study by correcting deficiencies in the previous
document. The purpose of the analysis, research matters, research aims, theories, importance
and thesis outlines, terms description and, finally, delimitations of the study, is then presented
in this chapter.

1. Background of the Study

The primary source of value creating in the Marketplace and Society is entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is regarded around the world as the foundation of economic growth.
Entrepreneurs perceive many business opportunities, creating jobs, reducing unemployment
and generating sustainable economic growth. The brilliant ideas of entrepreneur in various
areas, such as science, technology and culture, have advanced the world today (Gerlach,
2014). In recent times, therefore, governments which put entrepreneurs' business in the center
of their economic development agenda have become more and more aware of the importance
of enterprise.

Researchers, international development organizations, and decision-makers described

entrepreneurship as a panacea for developed country’s global development challenges. Most
research has been carried out in the developed and developing world to understand better
business and its impact on economic growth (Van Stel et. l., 2005). Nevertheless,
entrepreneurial growth appears as an area of enquiry and, in particular, analysis into the
conditions that affect entrepreneurial growth and the way entrepreneurial business growth
takes place (Gilbert 2006; Wright and Stigliani, 2013; Achtenhagen, Naldi, and Merlin,
2010). The philosophy of entrepreneurship requires a debate to research the influence of
entrepreneurship on economic growth and understand what defines entrepreneurship
expectations for growth. Over the years, new definitions and categories have modified
entrepreneurship's meaning and calculation. Discipline scholars argue that entrepreneurship is
a diverse concept with multiple interpretations and concepts (Desai, 2016; Szerb et al., 2017).
The lack of clarification on entrepreneurship's role in the economic development phase in the
literature may be partially due to different concepts and indicators of entrepreneurship. The
multi-dimensional essence of entrepreneurship has led to some studies that aim to set limits in
the business sector to understand 'what is not entrepreneurship' (Bruyat and Julien, 2001;
Busenitz et al., 2003, p.298). The impact of other areas, such as strategic management, is
stressed by Hitt et al. (2011) and Ferreira et al. (2015), making it difficult to define the limits
of business discipline. For example, Dividsson (2016) claims that a substantial overlap
between enterprise and small businesses has been observed for some time. However, several
influential reports (for example, Birch 1979, 1987) have pointed out that most new jobs are
generated by a new entrepreneurial company with creative and growth-oriented potential
rather than small businesses per se. Birch's studies have affected a change in paradigm, as
small businesses are necessary to take advantage of the current entry's importance
(Haltiwanger et al., 2013; Davidsson, 2016). In tandem with this change in the model,
Audretsch et al. (2007) maintain that the policy-making community was still focused more on
policies relevant to entrepreneurship than on policies relating to small businesses. Some
recent studies have nonetheless recognized that entrepreneurship is an entrepreneurial
function in businesses, for instance, Corbett et al., 2013; Braunerhjeml et al., 2018. The
development of new economic practices is what entrepreneurship is, according to Wiklund et
al. (2011), irrespective of the form of the economic agent. The literature between
entrepreneurship and creativity is also necessary to note another major overlap. For example,
Hong et al. (2013) relate the enterprise to the degree of advancement in the product, which is
further explored in this study. Despite increased research interest in entrepreneurial growth,
only a few studies have investigated entrepreneurial growth in developing countries (Nichter
and Goldmark, 2009).

According to Davidsson (2003), the diversity of entrepreneurship concepts is related to the

multi-dimensionality of the company term. Attempts to describe entrepreneurship is made
with I provisions – human aspects inherent in the process; (ii) behavior: mechanisms in which
innovative businesses are to be found and profit opportunities exploited (Kirzner, 1983) and
(iii) effects – achievements or defeats. Researchers have identified companies focused on the
economic sphere, i.e., business and social entrepreneurship (e.g., Estrin et al., 2016). Also, as
stated earlier, scientists have wondered whether entrepreneurship is related only to small
businesses or in other organizational contexts and whether the word is related to the goal, the
growth, innovation, and the company's achievement. Baumol (1968) underlined the
complexities of identifying and evaluating entrepreneurs' influence by noting, at the same
time, that "the entrepreneur is, in the case of an economic analysis, one of the most intriguing
and elucidating characters." Four ways to help researchers achieve a concept of
entrepreneurship are defined by Casson and Wadeson (2007). In its opinion, the position,
including the owner's role, the personal qualities, including personalities, and the actions,
which involve an individual's leadership competencies, need to be evaluated to classify
someone as a business entrepreneur. The position, like personal characteristics, shall be
affected by the purpose. The feature, the position, and personal characteristics are then
combined with the entrepreneur's distinctive behavior. Entrepreneurship is characterized in
the form of decisions at individual levels involving practices such as autonomous jobs
(Blanchflower 2000), development of new businesses, such as Garnter, 1988; Reynolds et al.,
2005) and the identity of prospects in the sector (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000; Kirzner,
1973). A decision-maker such as Casson, in 2005, and an imaginative person, then an
explorer, an explorer and a builder of relations like Shackle, 1979, as a 'business orientation'
of man and enterprise (Lumpkin and Dess, 1996; Davidsson, 2015). (Baumol, 1968).
Schumpeter, 1934. The following columns describe the idea of entrepreneurship from
Cantillon's period more thoroughly and extensively.

Richard Cantillon was the first economist to see the businessman as the main motivator. He
adds that an arbitrator is an entrepreneur who balances the economy with risk and
uncertainty. In theory, an entrepreneur is not a productive force but an individual that takes
risks to balance supply and demand in the economy (Iversen et. l., 2008). The Marshall
Corporation was like the "genius," a company that he considered a special class. They are
intimate, over-coordinated, over-innovative and risk-prone. They are artless. They are artless.
He differentiates between management and entrepreneurship (Cuevas, 1994). Schumpeter
then argued that an entrepreneur is an innovator. He says that an entrepreneur does not
generate new combinations, but can determine the development of new combinations. He
stated that contractors move away from the economic system's static balance by developing
new items or manufacturing techniques and redundant other products. It is referred to as
creative destruction and is considered a driving factor for the evolution of capitalism.

1.2 Women Entrepreneurship Performance of SME in Bangladesh

This study was conducted to understand the women entrepreneurship performances of SME
in Bangladesh. Though the previous article is only focused on the challenges and
opportunities. The journey of entrepreneurship, condition and the importance women
entrepreneurship in Bangladesh has been explained.

After Bangladesh's bloody free-market war, more than three decades have passed.
Freedom generated great expectations for rapid industrialization to accelerate economic
growth. In order to guide emerging entrepreneurs, successive governments have announced
from time to time industrial policies that take account of the changing needs of the country.
Announced in 1972, the primary industrial policy highlighted the role of both the public
sector and the role of the private sector. Since the announcement of the first industrial policy,
private sector investment was limited to the investments of only the Taka 25 lac ceiling. The
policy has several times been revised and changed. In 2005 we announced a last industrial
policy. The Government reiterated its strong commitment to fast industrialization and
extended more liberal aid to entrepreneurs and made the government's role as facilitator
rather than regulator clear in policy. The Bangladesh government has given priority over its
policies to privatization, particularly for the development of small, medium and micro-
industries. Human Resources development efforts must be supported by necessary
appropriate implementation measures for existing and potential entrepreneurs. The country
has innovative grassroots income-generating schemes, but inadequate programs of business
enterprise development at the advanced level have been detected. It is important that
production activities, especially industrialization, create incremental wealth. Rapid
industrialization is an indispensable necessity in creating jobs to address critical education
and job losses.

Bangladesh is a heavily populated, resource-limited country with greater socioeconomic

stratification. Economic, political and social recognition is handled in accordance with the
WED (2001) on the basis of gender, class and situation. The metropolitan areas are more
likely to expand business whereas rural areas are behind. Almost half of the population is
female (sex ratio 106). Because few women take part in economic activity, the huge potential
of the public is not used. For example, of 66% of self-employed women, just 16% are
independent (based on entrepreneurship status). In rural Bangladesh, new classes are
growing, women entrepreneurs who have accepted the daily obstacles and emerged as leaders
in socioeconomic growth, earning their own living and their families and contributing to
women's socio-political development. Consequently, entrepreneurship in both rural and urban
areas has become a significant career for women. Females work for different small and
medium-sized firms in metropolitan regions, such as crafts, fashion houses, saloons, home
textiles, food, cooperatives and chain stores (Ahmed and Moudud-Ul-Huq, 2013). As
entrepreneurs, areas are self-employed in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. These
activities include cultivation, cattle breeding, poultry breeding, fish farming, planting of
nursery and tree, tools, crafts, food processing, customization, rice processing and so on. But
the operation of these firms is not so straightforward because they are covered by several
challenges which function as an obstacle to female entrepreneurship growth and
development.

Although the focus is on gender and women's empowerment prospects, Bangladesh has been
making a major effort to integrate women into its financial markets. Bangladesh is
considerably different from the broader FFA objective in terms of the inclusive financing
method. Bangladesh Bank, the Finance Ministry, the Industry Ministry and other authorities
have developed specific work towards this goal to recognize that sustained growth would not
be possible without assuring women's involvement and increasing their entrepreneurial
capabilities. For example, Bangladesh Bank has issued a policy that permits women
undertakings for flat-rate lending to make their lending easier (i.e., + 5%). At the same time,
banking and financial institutions are only authorized to lend up to 2,500,000 BDT in their
own right when they are a dominant business unit for women and men. While women
entrepreneurs still have not sufficient participation in the financial sector and continue to face
many market access challenges, recent studies have demonstrated that these policies are
gradually creating an atmosphere for enterprises which will help women to participate in
small and medium-sized enterprises.

1.3 Problem Statement

Literature shows that entrepreneurship contributes through innovation, change and
competence to economic and social development (Wong et. l., 2005). Studies also show that
entrepreneurship plays a major role, especially in job opportunities, in economic growth and
development. Many governments are seeking to encourage and direct entrepreneurs to the
maximum possible use of the facilities and achievements of research by entrepreneurs only as
their role in the economic development is central.
Businessmen with their skills to spot opportunities and opportunities are seen as pioneers of
economic and social growth and development in this business context (Ghavami and
Lotfalipoor, 2008).
Small and medium-sized companies are formed, with large volumes of economic deals and
workforce allocated and a large part played in the country's socio-economic development. In
this development strategy, development of small and medium-sized enterprises is considered
to be a key element. The matching development of SMEs is considered crucial for double-
digit production growth. Enhanced rural and backward micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises are a key component of rural development, poverty and regional disparity
strategies (GOB 2011). In order to alleviate rural poverty, the role of the small business
sector is immense. In densely populated countries such as Bangladesh, small and medium-
sized enterprise companies are especially suited for providing large-scale jobs with much
lower capital investment. They are expected to create jobs, reduce poverty and lead to a
robust domestic economy.

The Country Report (2012) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) states that
Bangladesh-based SMEs account for more than 99% of the industry's private sector and
create employment opportunities for 70% to 80% of the non-agricultural workforce.
Although SMEs play a dominant role in Bangladesh's national economy, they are expected
not to flourish in Bangladesh since there are several problems, such as lack of institutional
funding, lack of infrastructure, lack of knowledge of technology, poor managing and
engineering skills and lack of encouragement for women entrepreneurs and social support. A
country may have resources, but the development problem is putting these resources into the
production process. Although natural and physical resources are available, machinery and
capital can be under-used or misuses if human resources are not appropriately used (Hossain
& Rahman, 1999). Developing entrepreneurship is clearly a prerequisite for the development
of a nation of all kinds.

In addition, the development of entrepreneurship for women is the main variable that links
the socio-cultural environment to economic development. As Bangladesh is a developing
country with 30 per cent of the population below income poverty, without women's active
engagement in the economy Bangladesh cannot reduce gender inequality. Women can
participate in business activities in which they can contribute directly to their family and
economy. Women make up over half the population and the socio-economic growth of the
country can therefore profit from a huge potential. In this respect, Chowdhury (2001)
addresses the importance of awareness of developed countries all over the world, including
Bangladesh, among the most disadvantageous groups in society in recent years. All involved
have gradually learnt that approximately half of society's human resources are incapable of
discriminating against sex. The increasing awareness of government has led to national
policies to assist a process of women's growth in all areas with a special focus on business
development. In Bangladesh, business has become a significant occupation among women at
many levels in society. Entrepreneurship development is difficult and requires numerous
courses and examinations. One of the key tasks in encouraging entrepreneurship for
economic growth in our country is to identify the difficulties that entrepreneurs confront. The
evaluation and identification of these hurdles can be utilized as a guide for developing the
strategic and business context further. The paper evaluates many problems and impediments
to entrepreneurial development in Bangladesh on the basis of empirical data analysis.

The concept of social capital theory has induced a new and significant challenge for dominant
paradigm of economic growth. Robert Solow's neoclassical growth model recognized
physical capital as the most commonly accepted idea as a source of economic growth.
Whereas the endogenous growth theory of Paul Romer (1986) injects into growth model a
new factor, knowledge and pattern, nothing like social capital has changed the generation of
growth. However, in recent Putnam (1993, 2002), on the basis of the contributions of Jacobs
(1961) and Coleman, the importance and relevance of social capital have been recognized
(1988). However, a key constraint on social capital is that the impact on economic
performance is not unequivocal. That's because all-embracing social capital. The same social
capital can in particular function as an obstacle to change and entrepreneurship that can
encourage the maintenance of the status quo. The objective is to propose a certain
comparable, although clearly different, concept of entrepreneurial capital.

Corporate capital is a certain sort of social capital and relates to an enterprise's ability to
generate business. The study in particular indicates a positive impact on regional economic
performance on high entrepreneurial endowments. This study introduces business capital
performance and explains why regional economic growth should be promoted. In the Asian
region, there are many women. However, the region still does not make very good use of
them to contribute much to economic development. One of the causes for this could be
women entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized companies. Although the largest proportion
of female entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized businesses in the region, particularly in
Dessie, is acutely lacking in studies aimed at analyzing the performance of female companies
in terms of personal and organizational performance, economic, social, and administrative
activities. This study is intended to address the gaps by providing particular variables for
evaluating the performance of female entrepreneurial SMEs and shades of light on women's
distinctive performance gains.

1.4 Research Question

Is women entrepreneurs restricted by financial issues the primary subject of research?' and
are these limitations impair the company's sales performance? The study considers that
women are generally confined by social, economic and political variables from the common
sense perspective, but we have inadequate knowledge on the extent and potential impact on
company development. Taking into account the latest women's entrepreneurship promotion
measures. Access to financing has little impact on the formation of sales and capital. The
orthodox assumption, therefore, that access to finance will help encourage entrepreneurship
among women through the promotion of sales and capital development, presupposes the
alternative hypothesis.
Based on this study it is thought to assess the different factors that affect the performance of
women entrepreneurs in SMEs in Asian region. In light of this, the study attempts to answer
the following basic questions:
1. Does Access to Finance (ATF) influence the Women Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP)
in Bangladesh?
2. Does Work-family Interface (WFT) influence Women Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP)
in Bangladesh?
3. Does Lack of Societal Support (SS) affect Women Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP) in
Bangladesh?
4. Does Levels of Skills, Knowledge, Relevant Education and Experience (EE) affect Women
Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP) in Bangladesh?
5. Does Access to the Network (ATN) affects Women Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP) in
Bangladesh?
6. Does Access to Information (ATT) affect Women Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP) in
Bangladesh?
7. Is Marketing Innovation moderate the relationships between antecedents (ATF, WFT, SS,
EE, ATN, and ATT) and Women Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP)?

1.5 Research Objectives

Researchers and politicians have always concentrated on economic growth determinants
(Wennekers and Thurik, 1999; Hasan and Tucci, 2010). The newcomers who have entered
new and existing sectors with creative items, new technology, or new business conditions
have shown that Schumpeter (1934; 1942) will promote economic growth. The study of
Schumpeter has contributed to several theoretical and analytical investigations on the
influence of industrial economic expansion (Urbano et al., 2018). However, Baumol (1990)
highlighted a significant shortcoming of the literature, which proposed that researchers
differentiate between efficient and 'unproductive' business activity. According to Baumol
(1993), productive entrepreneurship is all business practices that directly or indirectly
contribute to the economy's net production or productive enterprise activity. Baumol (2010)
implies that organizations with creativity, i.e. creative business projects, generally have
prosperous businesses. Unproductive commercial practices, by comparison, are primarily
related to the use of the juridical method for rental hunting (Baumol, 1990). Although it is
proposed that productive entrepreneurship has a more substantial impact on economic
development (Bosma et al., 2018), there is insufficient proof that this is impacting the
economic economy or, more broadly, that there is a difference between productive
entrepreneurship and other forms of enterprises.
In comparison, the literature on entrepreneurship creation expectations remains inadequate
(Hermans et al., 2015). Two identified shortcomings in the literature on
entrepreneurial/economic development and business expectations sparked this investigation.
The study also focuses on two-fold innovative entrepreneurship driven by growth.
Accordingly, the thesis has the following specific objectives:
1. To examine the influence of Access to Finance (ATF) influence the Women
Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP) in Bangladesh.
2. To measure how Work-family Interface (WFT) influence Women Entrepreneur’s
Performance (WEP) in Bangladesh.
3. To examine the influence of Societal Support (SS) affect Women Entrepreneur’s
Performance (WEP) in Bangladesh.
4. To measure how Levels of Skills, Knowledge, Relevant Education and Experience (EE)
affect Women Entrepreneur’s Performance (WEP) in Bangladesh.
5. To measure how Access to the Network (ATN) affects Women Entrepreneur’s
Performance (WEP) in Bangladesh.
6. To examine the influence of Access to Information (ATT) affect Women Entrepreneur’s
Performance (WEP) in Bangladesh.
7. To examine the influence of Marketing Innovation moderate the relationships between
antecedents (ATF, WFT, SS, EE, ATN, and ATT) and Women Entrepreneur’s Performance
(WEP).

1.6 Significance of the study

This study is expected to be important for women entrepreneurs, since it outlines factors
affecting entrepreneurial women's success. The survey was helpful in alleviating women
entrepreneurs' problems in Bangladesh. Financial institutions will produce goods tailored to
the financial needs of women. They also influence social responsibilities in women's groups
through the financial institutions. In addition, the knowledge obtained in the study will
provide policymakers and planners at different levels in the country with useful guidance.

1.7 Scope Limitations of the study

The study was restricted to the small business sector specifically the quest factors influencing
women entrepreneurial in Bangladesh.
Although various attempts were made, during this study the research faced many challenges.
Firstly, it leads to negligence in the questionnaire to the fact that the majority of the education
record of the respondent is poor. Some respondents do not send the questionnaire values, and
some respondents return the questionnaire fully. In addition, some others see the
questionnaire politically despite guidelines. In addition, given the tight work being done by
respondents, some were not ready to complete the questionnaires as well. Finally, when
respondents were dispersed around various places, they encountered some difficulties with
guidance, follow-up and answers. These factors may also influence certain aspects of the
content of the document.

1.8 Organisation of the Thesis

The report of this study is organized in the following steps. The first chapter introduces the
background of the study by providing an overview of Entrepreneurship challenges and
understand the performance measuring. The debate of female entrepreneurship in the Asian
region is followed by the discussion as an area of research. The problem statement justifies
the need for the study to address the gaps in existing studies. The problem statement The aim,
research issues, research goals, and research hypotheses, importance of the study, the outlines
of theses, definition of terminology and, lastly, the bounds for the investigation, are discussed
in this chapter. Reveals the problem and the setting of the study. The reasons for the study are
provided. Chapter two provides an overview of the literature, summary and research gaps
pertinent to this subject. The methodologies for investigation and data gathering and analysis
are described in Chapter 3. It presents the design of research and the techniques for the study.
First, the research paradigm explains why the quantitative approach is used in this study.
Secondly, the study is designed that includes the use of the data collection retrieval survey.
Thirdly, the population, sample and sample techniques employed in the study are discussed.
Chapter four contains data presentation, analysis and discussion and the summit, results and
suggestions of the study are presented in Chapter 5. The last section of the study is covered
by references and appendices.

1. 9 Operational Definitions of Terms

1.9.1 Women Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship Perspective
The first economist to consider the businessman as the main economic driver was Richard
Cantillon. He says a contractor is an arbitrator, who balances the economy with risk or
insecurity. An entrepreneur is not a factor of development in his theory; he is an agent who
risks balancing supply and demand in the economy (Iversen et. l, 2008).
Marshall equated entrepreneur to the "genius" business, which he regarded as a particular
class of people. They have specific personal features like artlessness, superior coordination
and innovative capacity and risk-prone. He does not distinguish between entrepreneurship
and management (Cuevas, 1994).

Schumpeter subsequently argued that a contractor is an innovator. He points out a

contractor's capacity to identify how new combinations can be used during development does
not inherently invent new combinations. Furthermore, he argued that entrepreneurs are
moving the economic system away from the static balance by producing new goods or
methods of production, rendering other products redundant. The creative destruction is
considered as the driving force behind capitalism's economic growth (Iversen, Jørgensen &
Malchow-Møller, 2008).
 The term businessman meaning to do something, is developed from businessman (Long,
1983; Swedberg, 2000). The study focuses on this doing, in which performance is doing. The
term entrepreneur is interpreted as an intermediate or intermediate in the Middle Ages
(Hisrich, 1990, p.209). This became the respective noun in the 15 th century – entrepreneur,
who used this term formally for the first time with Richard Cantillon, a French economist. He
described the contractor as an arbitrator, who purchases for a certain price and wants to sell at
a precise price (Blaug, 1986). The contractor was defined as one self-employed by Cantillon.
The mention of uncertainty from Cantillon may be seen as an attempt to emphasize the
difference between self-employed and self-employed; (Long, 1983). Aron (1950), who drew
on Marx's reference to economic categories for categorizing his worker, also highlighted a
further distinction between the entrepreneurs and employed. The categories were first, the
ones which work for entrepreneurs, the employees and, secondly, the categories which own
the production facilities known as entrepreneurs. This distinction separates the contractor
from the group (Zaleznik, 1977). The different perspectives of entrepreneurship are laid down
to understand the entrepreneur further and what they do. In entrepreneurship literature the
main points of view are the perspective of functional resources, the psychological perspective
and the behavioural perspective.

1.9.2 Access to Finance (ATF)

Capital is a very important element of production and without it no business can survive.
Access to financing is one of the obstacles to the growth of women entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs are facing various financial restrictions, including higher borrowing rates,
higher bank charges, inadequate collateral and weak family background. The inaccessibility
of credit and the growth of women entrepreneurs was greatly affected in the city of Iringa and
elsewhere in the world. The loan cap has a gender perspective (Arius and Minniti 2005).

1.9.3 Access to Networks (ATN)

The network is an important factor affecting women's companies under UNECE (2004;
Mahbub 2000). With a strong network of important people, any business without many
entrepreneurs is a key to the success of the company. Women have less corporate
connections, less experience of how to negotiate with governmental bureaucracy and less
negotiating capacity. Since most women entrepreneurs work on a smaller scale and are not
usually members of professional associations or members of other networks, knowledge is
often difficult for them to obtain. The majority of current networks are masculine and often
not especially welcome to women.

1.9.4 Access to Information (ATT)

According to Ewoh (2014), female contractors in developed nations are unable to lobby
policies for their companies, with little or no access to policymakers. Men can easily
influence strategies and choices for large corporations because they have access to
policymakers known as their peers. Moreover, most women are not leaders of major business
organizations in developed countries. This limits their access by lobbying and negotiation to
decision-making.

1.9.5 Entrepreneurship Education (EE)

The reasons for improved success, productivity and development are education and training.
Many articles of research show that women entrepreneurs are less educated than men. Ewoh
(2014) states that entrepreneurs with the requisite education and skills have the ability to
improve market performance in a specific business field. But it is harder for women than men
to receive proper education and training because most women entrepreneurs have other
commitments such as family and household duties, which take great time. Consequently, lack
of adequate education and training, lack of management skills and experience generate
problems for women to succeed. Restricted access to expertise and training is, according to
Nieth Amer (2013), one of the biggest obstacles to the progress and development of women's
companies.

1.9.6 Societal Support (SS)

Social attitudes towards the cultural and religious convictions in developing countries do not
often favor working women or enterprising women (Jamali, 2009; Baughn et al, 2006;
Vossenberg, 2013). In developing countries, entrepreneurship is perceived to be a suitable
career choice for males and not women.

1.9.7 Market Innovation (MI)

An important characteristic of the contractor has been innovation (Rauch and Freese, 2000;
Rieger, 2012). Another Schumpeter study (1939) showed that entrepreneurs are ingenious
and knowledgeable as innovators (LeBlanc, 2013). Peprah (2012) highlighted the need of
innovative entrepreneurs because the absence of properties could cause women entrepreneurs
to have a small survival rate. Hassan et al. (2014) understands the ability of entrepreneurs to
propose and develop new ideas to their companies with creativity and innovation. Women
entrepreneurs encounter several barriers to business development, as has already been
mentioned. However, undertakers tend to be more innovative to tackle their business success
and growth challenges (Bakri and Mardziyah 2012). In addition, the promotion of women's
products and services is typically perceived to be more inventive. Innovation is one of the key
success criteria but also the effects for female entrepreneurs should not be overlooked (Lai et
al., 2010).
1.10 Summary
This study mainly analysis the performance of women entrepreneur in the Asian region.
There are five chapters in this work. Chapter One highlights the problem and its context. The
reason for the study is given. Chapter two reviews the literature, syntheses and research gap
that are pertinent to the topic. Chapter 3 addresses research and data collecting and analysis
technique and processes. The presentation, analysis and debates of data, while the summary,
conclusions and suggestions are provided in Chapter Five. The last section of the study is
covered by references and appendices.