The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgementTown of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Cape Published by the University ofof Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University Doing entrepreneurship in Uganda: The social construction of gendered identities among male and female entrepreneurs Town Kikooma Julius Fred Cape of ThesisUniversity presented for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the School of Management Studies Faculty of Commerce UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN December, 2006 CONTENTS Dedication ...................................................... i Acknowledgment ................................................. ii Abstract ...................................................... iii Chapter One Introduction and problem identification 1.0 Introduction ........................................ 1 1.1 Historical overview .................................. 1 1.1.1 Political and economic changes ...................... 4 1.1. 2 Government's responses to changes .................... 7 1.2 Significance of women in Uganda's economy ........... 8 1. 2.1 Challenges to female entrepreneurship ................ 9 1.3 Background to the study ............................ 11 1.4 Research question ..................................Town 15 1.5 Aims of the study .................................. 15 1.4 Definitions ......................................... 15 1.5 Overview of thesis chaptersCape ........................ 17 Chapter Two of Theoretical perspectives on entrepreneurship 2.0 Introduction ....................................... 19 2.1 Orthodox perspectives .............................. 20 2.1.1 Entrepreneurial trait approaches ................... 21 2.1. 2 Behaviour and cultural characteristics ............. 26 2.2 CritiqueUniversity of orthodox studies ........................ 29 2.2.1 Feminist critique ................................... 30 2.2.2 Paradigmatic critique .............................. 33 2.3 Process perspectives ............................... 35 2.3.1 Gender, culture and entrepreneurship ................ 36 2.3.2 Gender and culture in research practice ............. 37 2.3.3 Gender in research practice ......................... 38 2.4 Conclusion .......................................... 40 Chapter Three Theoretical approach and study conceptual framework 3.0 Introduction ........................................ 41 3.1 Defining social constructionism ..................... 41 3.1.1 Conceptual foundation of social constructionism ..... 43 3.1. 2 The social construction of entrepreneurship ........ 46 3.2 The actor oriented paradigm ......................... 48 3.2.1 Applying the concept of the cultural interface ...... 50 3.3 Methodological implications of framework ........... 55 3.3.1 The logic of a narrative inquiry ................... 56 3.4 Conclusion .......................................... 60 Chapter Four Research methodology 4.0 Introduction ....................................... 62 4.1 Research approach ...................................Town 63 4.1.1 Participant selection .............................. 63 4.1. 2 Data collection ..................................... 67 4.1. 3 Life story interviewing .............................Cape 69 4.1.4 Data management ..................................... 71 4.2 Data Analysis .......................................of 73 4.2.1 Transcription ....................................... 74 4.2.2 Computer assisted qualitative data handling ......... 75 4.2.3 Analytic Framework ................................. 83 4.3 Conclusion ......................................... 86 Chapter Five University Cultural entrepreneurship practices in Uganda 5.0 Introduction ....................................... 87 5.1 Construction of an 'African' (male) entrepreneur ... 88 5.2 Construction of African woman entrepreneur's story and identity challenges ................................ 95 5.2.1 Female entrepreneur's identity challenges .......... 99 5.2.2 Social construction of 'man' and 'woman' .......... 101 5.3 Entrepreneurial success ........................... 104 5.4 Conclusion ........................................ 114 Chapter Six Gender and entrepreneurship 6.0 Introduction ...................................... 116 6.1 Doing and saying gender in entrepreneurship ....... 117 6.1.1 Gender and entrepreneurship as doing ............. 117 6.1. 2 Gender and entrepreneurship as saying ............. 126 6.2 Changing gender order and masculinity patterns .... 130 6.3 Conclusion ........................................ 136 Chapter Seven Discussions and conclusions 7.0 Introduction ...................................... 138 7.1 The social construction of entrepreneurship in Uganda ............................................. 138 7.2 Beyond dichotomies ................................Town 141 7.3 Study contributions ............................... 143 7.3.1 Matching method to lens ........................... 143 7.3.2 Contribution to entrepreneurshipCape knowledge ......... 144 7.3.3 Attention to context and voice ..................... 145 7.3.4 Contribution of conceptualof tools .................. 147 7.3.5 Implications of the study .......................... 150 7.4 Personal reflections .............................. 152 7.4.1 The man question and feminism ..................... 153 7.5 Conclusion ....................................... 156 References ...................................................University 157 Appendices ................................................... 190 List of figures Figure 1 Research journal viewed in NVIVO .................. 76 Figure 2 Personal reflections on theoretical and methodological issues ............................................. 77 Figure 3 Reflections on assumptions ................ 79 Figure 4 Cases shaped in nodes ............................... 81 Figure 5 Overview of theoretical framework, methodology and method ............................................. 82 Town Cape of University Dedication This work is dedicated to my parents. To my late father Edmund Ki timbo I say that from you I derivedTown courage to go on even when things were tough. For you mother Louisa this work will always remain testimony to your selfless devotion to your child f s futureCape against all odds. Thank you mother. of University i Acknowledgements This work would not have got this far without efforts of a number of people and whose contributions as follows: First, I wish to thank supervisors: Professor Burger van Lill and Professor Bagraim Jeff in the School of Management Studies at the University of Cape Town for the supervision, crit and intellectual guidance they to me. In same spir it I thank Dr. Martin Birt formerly with the School of Management Studies at UCT for the guidance he gave me earlier on the program. Indeed the intellectual growth that I have experienced as a result of this ect is a reflection of their guidance and encouragement. Thank you so much. Secondly, I wish to thank the members of my family, brothers and sisters as well as all my friends who Townhave at all times provided social support all the way. My employer, Makerere University provided me with study leave and sponsorship for this program.Cape I am indeed grateful for that. My appreciation In thisof also goes to the colleagues at the Institute of Psychology at Makerere University for their encouragement and support. Lastly I wish to give my sincere appreciation to the support I got from the University of Cape Town. ifically I am very grateful for Universityfinancial support I received from the Harry Oppenheimer Institute for African Studies as well as the Postgraduate Funding Off ice. Special thanks also go to the staff of the University of Cape Town's Chancellor Oppenheimer Library especial the people In the interlibrary Loan section who always put every effort possible to source for material that was not available at the UCT I To you I say thank you so much. ii Abstract Despite the vastness and depth of existing theories of entrepreneurship, there is a gap between women's experiences of entrepreneurship and the explanations that traditional research has produced. Entrepreneurship scholars tend to and seem concerned mostly with testing hypotheses intended to refine and add to long lists of features and contingencies for the 'ideal' entrepreneur. An alternative approach that takes 'women's experiences I ' as central empirical and theoretical resources for research about the entrepreneurial process, was taken in this study. This necessitated a shift in emphasis from traits and behaviours to meaning making in entrepreneurship practice. A process approach to entrepreneurship is presented as a more appropriate way to develop knowledge about entrepreneurship.Town Recognizing that doing business is influenced by the community, as well as the socio-economic,Cape cultural, political and historical environments, a social constructionist perspective was utilized asof the framework through which entrepreneurs' experiences were viewed. As a theoretical framework, social constructionism is concerned with explaining the process by which people use language to describe, explain or account for the world in which they lives. This framework acknowledges that familial, social, cultural, political and historical environmentsUniversity influence how entrepreneurs talk about their experiences.