Studies on the internationalization of entrepreneurial firms have ignored women's entrepreneurship as a distinct research area before the 1970s. However, women's entrepreneurship started to get the attention of researchers a few decades ago and it is still in the adolescence stage. In addition, there is very little research on the internationalization of women entrepreneurial firms from emerging markets particularly those from Bangladesh. Researches that have been conducted on the challenges of Bengali women entrepreneurial firms often focused on the challenges of developing a business within the domestic context. The study seeks to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the challenges the women entrepreneurs in emerging markets are facing while growing a business within the international context, with a focus on Bangladeshi women entrepreneurial firms. This study was conducted using qualitative case studies using semi-structured interviews of three women entrepreneurial firms. The empirical findings show that two Bengali women entrepreneurs are involved with both inward and outward internationalization and one is involved with outward internationalization. The research identified networking as the greatest challenge faced by women entrepreneurs when it comes to internationalizing the business from an emerging market where insufficient funding is also another greatest obstacle. The findings also revealed that entrepreneurs should concentrate on expanding their knowledge and learning further in order to improve their skills and dynamic capacities, which is still insufficient and requires extensive effort to ensure the successful internationalization of the businesses. The findings also showed that Bangladesh is still lagging behind other developed economies in terms of digitalization and innovation. The smallness of the business also significantly affects the business activities when it comes to competing globally.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study presents an empirical investigation into the association between motivation and performance of women entrepreneurs in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Motivations behind women starting their own businesses are defined. It assesses the performance of women entrepreneurs and their contribution to the economic growth (turnover, size of business, number of people employed) of the country. By applying statistical evaluation methods (frequency analysis) this research adds to existing knowledge in this field, by defining the association between the intention of starting a business and the performance of their businesses. Analysis shows that the women's motives for starting their businesses are generally positive. However, there are still a high number of women whose motives are influenced by negative factors (such as loss of income sources). Also, the overall performance of their businesses is still low in terms of revenues generated and the number of people that they employ on a full-time basis. Networking levels are high, indicating a desire to succeed. An association between motivation and performance has been established. However, findings have indicated no significant association between the type of motivation (positive or negative) and performance. The present study concludes with recommendations to enable women to improve the performance of their businesses. Findings have indicated a higher level of positive factors of motivation, in comparison with negative factors of motivation; which implies that there are other factors which could be hindering them from improving the economic performance of their businesses. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie bied 'n empiriese ondersoek van die verband tussen die motivering en die werkverrigting van vroue entrepreneurs in die Wes Kaap provinsie van Suid-Afrika. Die dryfveer van vroue entrepreneurs word omskryf. Verder assesseer die studie die werkverrigting van vroue entrepreneurs en hulle bydrae tot die ekonomiese groei (arbeidsomset, grootte van die besigheid, getal personeel) van die land. Deur die aanwending van statistiese evaluasiemetodes (frekwensie analise) dra die studie by tot die bestaande kennis in hierdiee studieveld, en word gedoen deur die definieering van die verband tussen die besluit om 'n besigheid te begin en die uiteindelike prestasie van hulle besighede. Analise toon dat die vroue se motiewe vir die begin van hulle besighede gewoonlik positief is. Daar is egter ook nog 'n groot aantal vroue wie se motiewe beinvloed word deur negatiewe faktore (soos verlies van inkomstebronne). Die algehele prestasie van hulle besighede is ook nog swak in terme van inkomste gegenereer en die getal werknemers wat op 'n voltydse basis in diens geneem word. Netwerkvlakke is hoog, wat 'n aanduiding is van die wil om te slaag. 'n Assosiasie tussen motivering en prestasie is vasgestel. Daar is egter gevind dat geen beduidende assosiasie bestaan tussen die tipe motivering (positief of negatief) en prestasie of werkverrigting nie. Die studie sluit af met voorstelle vir die verbetering van prestasie vir vroue aan die hoof van besighede. Bevindinge toon dat in vergelyking met negatiewe motiverende faktore, daar 'n hoer vlak van positiewe faktore is, wat impliseer dat daar ander faktore bestaan wat die ekonomiese prestasie van hulle besighede kan verhinder.

The textile industry in Kenya was once an important sector in the country but due to theliberalisation of trade and the second hand industry’s impact, the industry has declined inrecent years. The increased competition from import has boosted the costs of raw material andoutrivaled the local textile production. Further, the government’s lack of investments in thecountry’s electric power supply has also contributed to the current situation. Consequently,the domestic textile entrepreneurs are today facing a complex and competitive marketplacebut despite these obstacles there are women that have managed to overcome the entrancebarriers.It is an unfavourable climate for being a woman entrepreneur in Kenya since the socioculturalnorms restrain women to work outside their homes and in some business sectors. Though, ourfindings have shown that the Kenyan women have the handicraft skills but lack access tofinancial resources as well as management skills to start-up businesses in the textile industry.Access to credit is regarded as one of the main obstacles to establish a firm. There are lendinginstitutes but the interest rate is high and the collateral requirements hard to fulfil. Moreover,there are micro-loan institutes but the loans are not sufficient to companies with growthpotential.The purpose of this study was to map-out key success factors for becoming a womanentrepreneur in the competitive textile marketplace in Nairobi, Kenya. We aimed tounderstand how some entrepreneurs have managed to overcome the obstacles women face intheir social- and cultural context and how mapping of their shared supportive variables canencourage other females to become entrepreneurial.Our results find that there is not one way to handle difficulties along the dynamic andcompetitive textile market in Kenya. The respondents come from different social- and culturalcontexts that in diverse ways have influenced their management ways. We have though beenable to map out shared factors that have been supportive when overcoming obstacles in theprocess of a business start-up; being a visionary and opportunity seeker, counterbalancemissing knowledge, effective use of limited resources, fighter instinct, find a niche in themarketplace, networking skill and manage employees and unsupportive surroundings.Textilindustrin i Kenya var en gång en betydelsefull sektor för landet men under de senareåren har dess relevans minskat på grund av ett ökande inflytande från frihandeln samt enväxande försäljning av andrahandskläder. Konkurrensen från import har lett till högreråvarukostnader som succesivt spelat ut den lokala textilproduktionen. Vidare har regeringenvarit sparsam med att investera i landets elförsörjning vilket också har bidragit till denrådande situationen. Följaktligen står den inhemska textilindustrins företagare idag inför enkomplex och konkurrensutsatt marknad, men trots många hinder finns det kvinnor som harlyckats övervinna inträdesbarriärerna.För kvinnliga entreprenörer i Kenya är företagsklimatet ogynnsamt då det föreliggersociokulturella normer vilka begränsar kvinnor att arbeta utanför hemmet och även inom vissabranscher. Vår studies resultat har visat att kenyanska kvinnor besitter ett hantverkskunnande,men saknar tillgång till finansiella resurser samt färdigheter för att starta och leda ett företag itextilindustrin. Tillgängligheten till ekonomiska medel har betraktas som ett av de störstahindren för att upprätta en verksamhet. Det finns utlåningsinstitut, men där är räntan hög ochkraven på kreditsäkerhet svåra att uppfylla. Det finns dessutom mikrolånsinstanser men lånensom ges där är inte tillräckliga för företag med tillväxtpotential.Intentionen med denna studie var att kartlägga viktiga framgångsfaktorer för att bli enkvinnlig företagare på den konkurrensutsatta textila marknaden i Nairobi, Kenya. Vårt syftevar att förstå hur vissa entreprenörer lyckats övervinna hinder som kvinnor möter i sinsociala- och kulturella kontext samt kartlägga gemensamma stödjande variabler som i sin turkan inspirera andra kvinnor till att bli företagare.Vårt resultat belyser att det finns flera sätt att hantera svårigheter på den dynamiska ochkonkurrensutsatta textila marknaden i Kenya. Respondenterna i denna rapport kommer frånolika sociala- och kulturella kontexter vilket på olika sätt har påverkat deras sätt att hanteraföretag. Vi har dock kunnat kartlägga gemensamma faktorer som har hjälpt att övervinnahindren i processen med att starta företag; vara en visionär och en möjlighetssökare, hanteraavsaknad av kunskap, effektivt använda begränsade resurser, ha en kämparinstinkt, hitta ennisch på marknaden, vara skicklig på att använda sitt nätverk och att hantera sina medarbetaresamt en icke stödjande omgivning. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Submitted by Donatella Basdereff (donatella.basdereff@sciencespo.fr) on 2017-01-12T16:46:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MPGI thesis Donatella Basdereff.pdf: 3103307 bytes, checksum: 81229e62c776eb807b676993989d2880 (MD5) / Rejected by Josineide da Silva Santos Locatelli (josineide.locatelli@fgv.br), reason: Boa tarde Donatella, Você deve fazer algumas correções e postar novamente: • O seu nome deve está completo DONATELLA FRANÇOISE NATHALIE BASDEREFF e não apenas DONATELLA BASDEREFF; • Não pode alterar o título sem autorização do seu orientador, no sistema seu trabalho está registrado assim: SOCIAL CAUSE MARKETING & WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: EXPLANATORY CASE STUDY OF A WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CAUSE-RELATED MARKETING INITIATIVE IN BRAZIL, você alterou para: Social-Cause Marketing & Women Empowerment: Explanatory case study: exploration of women empowerment elements in a cause-related marketing initiative in Brazil; • Retire 4 espaços antes do seu nome na página 4; • A numeração deve estar no lado superior direito; • Retire os números das páginas antes da introdução, por exemplo, se houver 8 páginas antes, na introdução deverá aparecer 9 e continua nas próximas; • Centralize as palavras “Abstract e Resumo”, retire o excesso de espaços antes dessas palavras ( cerca de 11 espaços); on 2017-01-12T17:31:40Z (GMT) / Submitted by Donatella Basdereff (donatella.basdereff@sciencespo.fr) on 2017-01-13T18:25:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MPGI thesis Donatella Basdereff 2.pdf: 3104704 bytes, checksum: a2f268cf97eee544487ec26a4f096bef (MD5) / Rejected by Josineide da Silva Santos Locatelli (josineide.locatelli@fgv.br), reason: Ainda precisa fazer algumas correções. O tema registrado no Sistema é: SOCIAL CAUSE MARKETING & WOMEN EMPOWERMENT:EXPLANATORY CASE STUDY OF A WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CAUSE-RELATED MARKETING INITIATIVE IN BRAZIL Excluir 6 espaços antes do seu nome na página 4, incluir 3 espaços entre seu nome e o título; on 2017-01-13T18:52:00Z (GMT) / Submitted by Donatella Basdereff (donatella.basdereff@sciencespo.fr) on 2017-01-13T19:19:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MPGI thesis Donatella Basdereff v3.pdf: 3104879 bytes, checksum: 16b0960e3db3a6002204f6563ce1807f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Josineide da Silva Santos Locatelli (josineide.locatelli@fgv.br) on 2017-01-16T10:35:13Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MPGI thesis Donatella Basdereff v3.pdf: 3104879 bytes, checksum: 16b0960e3db3a6002204f6563ce1807f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-16T18:30:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MPGI thesis Donatella Basdereff v3.pdf: 3104879 bytes, checksum: 16b0960e3db3a6002204f6563ce1807f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-16 / Cause-related marketing may offer opportunities that can contribute to women’s empowerment while having a positive impact on companies leading such programs. This paper seeks to broaden the existing understanding of women empowerment and entrepreneurship by focusing on the less-studied contemporary phenomenon of women empowerment cause-related marketing. A case study analysis was used to assess two main areas of interest: (1) elements of empowerment social-cause marketing embedded in the program, and (2) individual perceptions of empowerment by participants. The paper revealed that in the case studied (1) this recent corporate practice is a win-win situation using traditional elements of both women empowerment and cause-related marketing practices and, (2) empowers participants mainly in psychological, economic, sociocultural and familial and interpersonal dimensions of their lives. / Marketing para causas sociais pode oferecer oportunidades de contribuir ao empoderamento das mulheres ao mesmo tempo que tem um impacto positivo para empresas liderando aqueles programas. Este trabalho procura ampliar o conhecimento atual sobre o empoderamento e empreendedorismo feminino apoiando-se no recém fenômeno menos estudado de marketing para causas sociais de empoderamento feminino. Uma analise de estudo de caso procurou determinar duas áreas de interesse: (1) elementos de empoderamento e marketing para causas sociais incorporados ao programa, e (2) percepções individuais de empoderamento pelas próprias participantes. O estudou demostrou que no caso estudado (1) essa recém tendência corporativa é uma estratégia 'win-win' que usa elementos tradicionais de ambos empoderamento feminino e marketing para causas sociais; (2) empodera as participantes nas áreas psicológica, econômica, sociocultural e familiar e interpessoal das suas vidas.

L’entrepreneuriat constitue une source de création d’emplois ainsi qu’un moteur de développement économique majeur de notre société. En ce sens, la présence des femmes en affaires est devenue une préoccupation des politiques publiques du Québec et du Canada. Plusieurs leviers ont été mis en place pour stimuler l’entrepreneuriat dans l’optique de contribuer à faire croitre le nombre de femmes en affaires. Toutefois, en dépit de ces mesures, le constat selon lequel les femmes sont moins nombreuses que les hommes à entreprendre persiste dans le temps. Cela étant, si les femmes sont sous-représentées dans l’écosystème entrepreneurial, elles manifestent pourtant des intentions entrepreneuriales dans des proportions encourageantes qui se rapprochent des statistiques observées chez les hommes. De ce fait, il est permis de croire qu’un ralentissement de leur élan entrepreneurial se produit une fois les actions de démarrage de l’entreprise enclenchées. Par cette recherche, nous cherchons à comprendre les facteurs qui agissent sur le cheminement entrepreneurial des femmes jusqu’à l’aboutissement du projet. Notre étude s’inscrit dans la théorie de l’Approche globale entrepreneuriale de Schmitt (théorie des 3M) (2017). La question que nous nous posons est la suivante : quels facteurs expliquent l’aboutissement des démarches entrepreneuriales chez les femmes au Québec? Grâce à l’analyse qualitative de 19 entrevues réalisées auprès de deux échantillons de femmes entrepreneures, soit un groupe ayant connu un succès entrepreneurial et un groupe ayant arrêté leur projet, l’étude a permis de mettre en lumière l’influence de différents facteurs sur l’aboutissement des démarches entrepreneuriales. Notre recherche révèle notamment l’incidence majeure que le projet en soi est susceptible d’avoir dans le choix d’arrêter les démarches entrepreneuriales. En parallèle, l’important rôle de l’entrepreneure et de son écosystème dans le succès entrepreneurial a également été constaté. Une typologie des différentes possibilités d’arrêt des parcours entrepreneuriaux a été développée et l’effet primordial des interactions entre les facteurs d’incidence a été montré. En somme, le projet aura permis de mieux comprendre les différentes réalités vécues par les femmes dans toute leur complexité, en plus de proposer des pistes de solutions pour accroitre la présence des femmes en entrepreneuriat au Québec. / Entrepreneurship is a source of job creation and a major driver of economic development in our society. In this sense, the presence of women in business has become a concern of public policies in Quebec and Canada. Several levers have been adopted to stimulate entrepreneurship with the aim of increasing the number of women in business. However, despite these measures, women remain less likely than men to undertake such activities. Nevertheless, while women are under-represented in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, they show entrepreneurial intentions in encouraging proportions, which are close to the statistics observed for men. As a result, this suggests that a slowdown in their entrepreneurial momentum occurs once the start-up actions have been initiated. Through this research, we seek to understand factors influencing the entrepreneurial journey of women, from the first steps to the completion of their business project. Our study is part of the Schmitt’s Global Entrepreneurial Approach (3M Theory) (2017). The question we ask ourselves is: What factors explain the success of women’s entrepreneurship in Quebec? Through the qualitative analysis of 19 interviews conducted with two samples of women entrepreneurs, one group having experienced entrepreneurial success and one group having stopped their project, the study highlighted the influence of multiple factors on the entrepreneurial process and outcome. Our research highlights the major impact that the nature of project is likely to have in the choice to stop entrepreneurial approaches. Furthermore, the important role of the entrepreneur and her ecosystem in entrepreneurial success has also been observed. A typology of the different reasons for stopping entrepreneurial journeys has been developed and correlated with factors motivating that decision. In sum, the project will have made it possible to better understand the different realities experienced by women in all their complexity and suggest possible solutions to increase the presence of women in entrepreneurship in Quebec.

Women entrepreneurs in the formal or informal sector continue to encounter social, psychological, political, and religious-related challenges, inhibiting their functioning. Consequently, this study explored the psychosocial experiences affecting the informal female traders at Tshakhuma fruit market in Limpopo, South Africa and the coping strategies employed to mitigate psychosocial experiences. The study adopted an interpretivism approach and applied a qualitative methodology and narrative design. Seven informal female traders shared their psychosocial experiences and coping strategies through stories and were collected using unstructured interviews. The narrative thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews, and psychosocial experiences and coping strategies themes are developed. The family, work environment, and sociocultural social systems guided the psychosocial experiences themes. Lazarus and Folkman informed the coping strategies themes. The findings provided some understanding of women's entrepreneurship in the informal sector, but the findings cannot be extended in another context / Psychology / M.A. Psychology