Internal and external factors on women’s entrepreneurship performance in the state of Kuwait

Abstract

Aim: This paper aims to identify factors that influence women’s entrepreneurship performance in the state of Kuwait. Method: As the current study is considered as an exploratory in its nature, a qualitative approach based on semi-structure interview was the most suitable method for data collection. Population and Sample: As there is no accurate number of women entrepreneurs, the study depends on a convenience sample and 9 women entrepreneurs were invited to participate in this study. The results revealed a set of factors that influence women entrepreneurs’ performance: internal(personal) factors, such as goals, motives, entrepreneurial orientation, and human capital; external (environmental) factors including cultural (value and religion), social (family and friends), economic, and legal and administrative, and time management. Both sets of factors help women to recognize market opportunity and positively affect women entrepreneurs’ performance. Practical implications: policy and decision makers in the state of Kuwait can devise the tools, methods, and techniques to reduce the negative impacts of these factors to enhance women entrepreneur’s performance. Theoretical implications: future research are invited to explore the impact of the current factors and may be other factors on the sectorial level as women entrepreneurs’ performance influence by general factors that are related to entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country level and there are factors on the sector level. Originality: the originality of this work emerges from two-folds: it modifies the work of Shane (2003) to fit the context of this study and testing the modified version in unique context socially, economically, and politically, culturally, and religiously. In general, it validates some of the well-established assumptions about women entrepreneurship that contend by prior studies.