Gender effect of entrepreneurial orientation on dairy farming career resilience in Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to examine gender effect of entrepreneurial orientation on dairy farming career resilience in Kenya. Specifically, the study examined the moderating role of gender on the relationship between future orientation (FO), market orientation (MO), risk-taking orientation (RO), social orientation (SO) and entrepreneurial resilience of dairy agripreneurs in Kenya. We surveyed 682 respondents; 480 males and 202 female dairy agripreneurs in Murang’a County, Kenya using a cross-sectional study design. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaire using personal interview. Data were analysed using partial least square-structural equation modelling PLS-SEM and multi-group analysis (MGA). Results show significant gender differences across the agripreneurial orientations. The direct effects relationships indicate that future, market and risk-taking orientation of female agripreneurs had a positive and significant impact on agripreneurial resilience (AR). While, for male agripreneurs, future and market orientation had a positive and significant impact on AR; but social orientation had a negative impact on AR. Gender moderates the entrepreneurial orientation-agripreneurial career resilience relationship whereby female agripreneurs had statistically significant higher risk-taking propensity of (β = 0.189, p = 0.06) compared to their male counterparts (β = 0.054, p = 0.06).