An Empirical Evidence from Malaysia: What Makes the Muslim Entrepreneurs Succeed?

Abstract

The objectives of this study are of two fold, first: to examine the profile of successful Muslim entrepreneurs and the information of their entrepreneurial activities, second: to examine the associated factors influencing their success. The successful Muslim entrepreneurs who are beneficiaries of the micro-credit financing from Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) particularly in Manjung Branch, Perak have been selected as the sample of this study. Only those who have been running their businesses for at least 10 years are selected. The data were collected using a self administered questionnaire. The non-financial performance indicators are used to represent the success factors while the following four factors are considered as independent variables: the source of capital, cultural environment, religious values and characteristics of entrepreneurs. The regression analysis was taken place to discover the existence of any relationship after the factor analysis was carried out. The result of the regression analysis thus indicated a significant relationship for all the factors with the exception of social environment in relation to the non-financial performance. Based on the result, some recommendations were proposed together with the limitation of the study which provides opportunity for further research. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]