Palestinian Women Entrepreneurs: an Exploratory Study of Intentions Relatedness to Business Sustainability
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Faculty of Business and Economics Palestinian Women Entrepreneurs: An Exploratory Study of Intentions Relatedness to Business Sustainability النساء الرياديات في فلسطين: دراسة استكشافية لعﻻقة الدوافع باستمرارية المشروع Prepared By Mira Simon Salameh Supervisor Dr. Grace Khoury This Thesis was Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master in Business Administration, from the Faculty of Business and Economics at Birzeit University, Palestine Palestine, Birzeit June, 2016 Palestinian Women Entrepreneurs: An Exploratory Study of Intentions Relatedness to Business Sustainability النساء الرياديات في فلسطين: دراسة استكشافية لعﻻقة الدوافع باستمرارية المشروع Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Master in Business Administration Prepared By Mira Simon Salameh Supervisor Dr. Grace Khoury Approved by: Dr. Grace Khoury (Chairperson of Supervisory Committee) __________ Dr. Anton Sabella (Member of Supervisory Committee) __________ Dr. Samah Abu Asab (Member of Supervisory Committee) ____________ I ACKNOWLEGEMENT First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Grace Khoury for her continuous support, patience, motivation, and immense knowledge. Without her guidance and help, this thesis would not have been possible. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank the rest of the thesis committee members for their insightful comments and encouragement. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family members for supporting me spiritually throughout writing this thesis in particular and during my life in general. II TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGEMENT ................................................................................................... I TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... II LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES............................................................................ VI Thesis Abstract .............................................................................................................. VII IX ...................................................................................................................... ملخص الدراسة CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL FRAMEWORK OF STUDY .................... 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Problem Statement ......................................................................................... 3 1.3 Purpose of Study ............................................................................................ 4 1.4 Research Questions ........................................................................................ 4 1.5 Importance of Study ....................................................................................... 5 1.6 Organization of Study .................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW . 8 2.1 Definition of Entrepreneurship....................................................................... 9 2.2 Theories of Entrepreneurship and Motivation ............................................. 11 2.2.1 Cultural Values Theory .......................................................................... 11 2.2.2 Innovation Theory of Entrepreneurship ................................................ 13 2.2.3 Theory of Planned Behavior .................................................................. 15 2.2.4 Expectancy Theory of Motivation .......................................................... 17 2.3 Entrepreneurs Intentions .............................................................................. 19 III 2.4 Entrepreneurship Success Factors ................................................................ 24 2.5 Entrepreneurial Skills ................................................................................... 26 2.6 Women Entrepreneurship in Palestine ......................................................... 28 2.6.1 Background ............................................................................................ 28 2.6.2 Barriers .................................................................................................. 29 2.7 Definition of Business Sustainability ........................................................... 34 2.8 Relationship between Intentions and Business Success ............................... 35 2.9 Research Framework .................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................. 38 3.1 Research Approach ...................................................................................... 39 3.2 Sampling…................................................................................................... 42 3.2.1 Sample Characteristics .......................................................................... 43 3.3 Data Collection Methods and Procedures .................................................... 46 3.4 Content Analysis .......................................................................................... 47 3.5 Thematic Analysis ........................................................................................ 48 3.6 Data Analysis ............................................................................................... 49 3.7 Validity and Reliability ................................................................................ 49 3.8 Limitations of Study ..................................................................................... 51 3.9 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………..52 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ................... 53 4.1 Intentions for Women Entrepreneurs ........................................................... 54 4.1.1 Intrinsic Intentions ................................................................................. 55 IV 4.1.2 Extrinsic Intentions ................................................................................ 59 4.2 Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs ..................................................... 60 4.3 Key Success Factors of Women Entrepreneurs ........................................... 62 4.3.1 Hard Work ............................................................................................. 63 4.3.2 Business Skills ........................................................................................ 63 4.3.3 Support from Family and Friends ......................................................... 64 4.3.4 Education, Experience, and Training .................................................... 65 4.3.5 Marketing Factor ................................................................................... 67 4.3.6 Good Product at Competitive Price....................................................... 68 4.3.7 Other Success Factors ........................................................................... 68 4.4 Business Sustainability ................................................................................. 69 4.5 Relatedness of Intentions to Start Businesses to Business Sustainability .... 70 4.5.1 Intensity of Intentions and Its Impact on Business Sustainability ......... 70 4.5.2 Types of Intentions and Their Impact on Business Sustainability ......... 71 4.6 Barriers Facing Women Entrepreneurs ........................................................ 72 4.6.1 Resource Barriers .................................................................................. 73 4.6.2 Opportunity Barriers ............................................................................. 74 4.7 Overcoming Barriers .................................................................................... 77 4.8 Conclusion . .................................................................................................. 78 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .................... 80 5.1 Conclusion.. .................................................................................................. 81 5.2 Policy Implications ....................................................................................... 82 V 5.3 Practical Implications ................................................................................... 83 5.4 Recommendations for Further Research ...................................................... 86 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 87 APPENDICESAPPENDIX A: QUESTIONS OF INTERVIEWS ........................ 117 VI LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 2.1: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors of Motivations......................................... 23 Figure 2.1: Research Framework ................................................................................. 37 Table 3.1: Sample Characteristics ................................................................................ 44 Table 4.1: Intentions of Women Entrepreneurs in Palestine .................................... 55 Table 4.2: Top Eight Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs in Palestine ......... 61 Table 4.3: Other Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs in Palestine ................. 62 VII Thesis Abstract The main objectives of this study are to identify and explore the intentions for women entrepreneurs in Palestine to start and run their own businesses, the characteristics of women entrepreneurs, the key success factors to women entrepreneurs, business sustainability,