This phenomenological study expands from current mentoring literature within the mass communication field in understanding how mentoring can contribute to the successful careers of public relations entrepreneurial women. While many scholars indicate that mentoring is effective for women, the present study describes how mentoring has affected the women participants' public relations careers and personal lives. In-depth interviews focused on following five research questions: What have been the key contributing factors in the success of public relations women entrepreneurs? How has mentoring helped the women participants achieve their goals in a public relations career and in starting their own company? Which mentoring strategy (formal or informal) is perceived as being most effective? Do women benefit more from having a women mentor versus male? What motivating reasons attributed the public relations women participants to undertake their own business? The qualitative interview data generated six common themes which are: (1) networking, mentoring, building key relationships and a strong work ethic as being key to their success, (2) career mentoring from university faculty members and/or Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) as an integral part in the commencement of their public relations careers, (3) mentoring affirmed their self-worth, (4) informal mentoring being perceived as more beneficial due to the long lasting relationship that follows, (5) male mentors being as effective as female mentors relative to career issues, although women provide both career and psychological mentoring, and (6) mentoring, lack of employment opportunities, and a better work-life balance being the three main key contributing factors in women professionals starting their own public relations company.

It is vital that a culture of entrepreneurship is developed in order to unleash the economic potential of all people in South Africa. However, because of the South African woman’s inherited gender role and historical imbalances, women entrepreneurs are faced with unique challenges and barriers when attempting to establish and grow their own businesses. Thus, this study investigated the unique challenges and barriers faced by women when conducting entrepreneurial activities. The literature study provided background information on entrepreneurship in general as well as information on the importance of entrepreneurship to the economy and constraints of entrepreneurship. The woman entrepreneur was explored in terms of her characteristics, motivation to become an entrepreneur and the unique challenges she had to face. The empirical study consisted of a questionnaire developed by the North– West University, specifically the Potchefstroom Business School situated on the Potchefstroom Campus. A total of 120 questionnaires were distributed and 87 were fully completed and collected, which resulted in a response rate of 72.5%. The data collected was statistically analysed using Statistica 10 (Statsoft, 2011). The data from questionnaires was coded and investigated and then transformed to useful outputs such as frequency tables. The frequency tables were used to draw conclusions and to make recommendations regarding the development of women entrepreneurs in South Africa. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

It is vital that a culture of entrepreneurship is developed in order to unleash the economic potential of all people in South Africa. However, because of the South African woman’s inherited gender role and historical imbalances, women entrepreneurs are faced with unique challenges and barriers when attempting to establish and grow their own businesses. Thus, this study investigated the unique challenges and barriers faced by women when conducting entrepreneurial activities. The literature study provided background information on entrepreneurship in general as well as information on the importance of entrepreneurship to the economy and constraints of entrepreneurship. The woman entrepreneur was explored in terms of her characteristics, motivation to become an entrepreneur and the unique challenges she had to face. The empirical study consisted of a questionnaire developed by the North– West University, specifically the Potchefstroom Business School situated on the Potchefstroom Campus. A total of 120 questionnaires were distributed and 87 were fully completed and collected, which resulted in a response rate of 72.5%. The data collected was statistically analysed using Statistica 10 (Statsoft, 2011). The data from questionnaires was coded and investigated and then transformed to useful outputs such as frequency tables. The frequency tables were used to draw conclusions and to make recommendations regarding the development of women entrepreneurs in South Africa. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Thesis (M.A.I.S.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-104). Also available on the World Wide Web.

xi, 105 p. : ill., maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This thesis focuses on microfinance in Kyrgyzstan as a response to the initiation of economic, social and political reforms following Kyrgyzstan's independence in 1991. These reforms accelerated Kyrgyzstan's transition from a centrally-planned to a liberal market-based economy. Microfinance became a favored mechanism for encouraging individual entrepreneurship and thus economic development. Based on field research I conducted in Kyrgyzstan during the summer of 2009, this thesis examines the economic impact of these reforms on women entrepreneurs, as women were particularly vulnerable to the social fallout from such reforms. Through participatory observation, small focus groups and semi-structured interviews, I analyze myriad aspects of the lives of women entrepreneurs who have participated in a microfinance project. I argue that microfinance provides an empowering, sustainable path for them. However, the historical occupational divisions encouraged by the Soviet Union affect how people use microcredit. I conclude with suggestions on improving microfinance practices in Kyrgyzstan. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Anita M. Weiss, Chair; Dr. Laura Leete; Dr. Shankha Chakraborty

Women’s entrepreneurship is a much touted topic of research with researchers competing to contribute to the growing body of knowledge. Although literature is replete with articles and opinions on the various aspects concerning women’s entrepreneurship, still more needs to be done. Much of the research produced until now has focused on specific contexts like western countries and results obtained are either not conclusive or generalizable and in many cases incomplete. Research on women’s entrepreneurship conducted in the contexts of developing nations appears to be grossly inadequate, bordering almost on a neglected category. Specifically, research on women’s entrepreneurship conducted in the context of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries is almost nil except for a few sporadic articles here and there. How women entrepreneurs have fared in the GCC countries is not clear and there is a need to know what their current status is, how they have performed and what challenges contribute to their lack of progress. There is a huge gap in the literature in this area and this research has made some modest contributions to remove this gap partially. The literature review shows that a number of challenges affect women entrepreneurs’ success. Although the research output used in this research was derived from studies conducted largely in a western context, some of the factors grounded in theories like institutional theory were found to be applicable to the context of women entrepreneurs in the GCC. Five of these challenges, namely lack of adequate training and education; legal constraints; cultural constraints and a lack of social support; lack of access to financial resources; and work–family interface have been investigated in this research using a conceptual model and survey questionnaire. Women entrepreneurs in three GCC countries, namely Kingdom of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, were chosen for studying the phenomenon of women’s entrepreneurial involvement in business activities. A random sampling method was used. Hypotheses were developed and verified and the five challenges were found through rigorous statistical tests to significantly affect the involvement of women entrepreneurs in business activity in GCC countries. The challenges selected were part of a larger set of challenges, not all of which could be investigated due to paucity of time, resources and the large territory comprising three nations in the GCC region. In addition, an exploratory study using interviews was conducted to identify specific challenges that affect women entrepreneurs in the GCC countries. Three additional challenges, namely intellectual property; patronage and connections; and lengthy regulatory procedures were revealed through this. Mixed method research was used which led to triangulation of the results obtained from analysing data gathered through questionnaire survey and interview. The challenges that emerged from the analysis of the questionnaire survey and interviews resulted in the development of a new and comprehensive model that combined the challenges tested through the empirical model and those derived from interviews. The findings from the analysis indicated that much needs to be done to enable women entrepreneurs involved in business activities in the GCC region to succeed. Many challenges need to be tackled. The findings clearly point out that the challenges are responsible for the low percentage (around 2%) of business activities attributable to women-owned enterprises in the GCC countries. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge in the area of women’s entrepreneurship in the specific context of the GCC region. The research outcomes clearly indicate that specific challenges can be tackled to improve the involvement of business activities of women entrepreneurs in the GCC region. Since the topic of involvement of women entrepreneurs in business activities in the context of GCC countries is not well investigated, the research outcomes of this research add to the current knowledge from a contextual point of view. In addition, the research has expanded the application of institutional theory to understand about the various challenges that affect involvement of women entrepreneurs in business activities in the context of GCC and contributed theoretically in terms of developing a new framework that could be used to examine how the challenges could be tackled. Methodologically, the research has shown how a mixed method research can be used to combine the outcome of survey research with interviews. Practical implications of the research outcomes show that the framework developed in this research could be adopted in practice by women entrepreneurs themselves, as well as various institutions and organizations that are concerned with women entrepreneurs, for improving the involvement of women entrepreneurs in business activities in the context of the GCC. Although the limitations of this research have been highlighted, how to overcome those limitations through future research has been explained. Thus, overall, this research effort is expected to stimulate further discussion and debate with regard to the involvement of women in business activities in the GCC and act as some kind of a basis for initiating steps to improve the position of women entrepreneurs involved in business activities in the GCC and perhaps in other regions surrounding the GCC countries.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-01T19:18:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 114590.pdf: 4049717 bytes, checksum: 40f52de3d80827347dd6002b351ea75c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-07-09 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O empreendedorismo é um fator de influência para o crescimento regional, responsável pela criação de emprego e renda, e, por isso, tem recebido muita atenção de estudiosos da área. O processo empreendedor realizado pelas mulheres, além dos traços característicos ao tema, aborda, ainda, questões específicas do gênero feminino. Este trabalho buscou o aprofundamento sobre o tema, tendo como objeto de análise as mulheres empreendedoras de Santa Catarina, seus empreendimentos e os principais fatores relacionados com o processo empreendedor. O objetivo geral da pesquisa foi compreender como se caracteriza o empreendedorismo feminino em Santa Catarina, segundo histórias de vida das mulheres participantes do Prêmio SEBRAE Mulher de Negócios. Para tanto, analisou-se as histórias empreendedoras das 86 participantes do Prêmio edição de 2010. Esses relatos foram analisados de forma interpretativa. No delineamento do perfil das mulheres catarinenses, verificou-se que estas são jovens, casadas, possuem filhos e já possuíam experiência profissional prévia, muitas vezes na área que empreendem. Quanto aos empreendimentos criados, destacam-se os voltados a atividade de comércio e serviços. No processo empreendedor o planejamento inicial da futura empresa foi, na maior parte dos casos, suprimido. Quanto aos recursos utilizados para constituírem essas empresas, observou-se que são originados de economias pessoais e familiares. Como dificuldades são apontados aspectos pessoais da vida das empreendedoras e a gerência do negócio, sendo as questões financeiras e de mercado as mais graves. Outro problema enfrentado pelas empreendedoras é a falta de confiança depositada nelas, assim como o conflito pessoal, familiar e empresarial, sendo dimensões conflitantes na vida dessas mulheres, pois concorrem por sua atenção. Por fim, a influência das redes no processo empreendedor feminino recebe destaque, visto que fornece suporte ao longo de toda a vida da empresa constituída.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-11T13:41:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 jerce lania.pdf: 1172407 bytes, checksum: e02533764a9a68e7163a12661e5a3d52 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-08-27 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study discusses the issue of female entrepreneurship in the city of Boa Vista, Roraima. Assume for the purpose of realizing in which direction the housewives and workers are in the informal entrepreneurship, an opportunity for income generation and survival in the city of Boa Vista, Roraima. The theme for being disturbed in women and realize how great has been our progress in recent years. And female entrepreneurship has been one of the areas in which women have been highlighted. Entrepreneurship has often been on the agendas of economic discussions of our country. The main reason that produces these discussions is the fact that women find themselves conducting business as much as men. Their creativity to new business is great especially within the informal economy and the social economy, which is where they are featured. The research took the contribution of qualitative approaches without exclusion of the quantitative aspects. Among the many aspects revealed it was clear, in general, there is a common thread among these women is the story of subordination to the hegemony andorcêntrica, but they tore the veil of submission and managed to stand out in the public sphere and now represent half the productive power of the country, with the vast majority householder. Finally, we note that the professionalism and entrepreneurship for these women is much more than a source of income, is the condition to feel us, feel belonging to the world, is a condition for raising your self-esteem. / Este estudo discute o tema do empreendedorismo feminino na cidade de Boa Vista, Roraima. Assume o propósito de perceber em que sentido as mulheres donas de casa e trabalhadoras da informalidade encontram no empreendedorismo, uma oportunidade de geração de renda e sobrevivência, na cidade de Boa Vista, em Roraima. O tema nos inquietou por sermos mulher e perceber quão grande tem sido a nossa evolução nos últimos anos. E o empreendedorismo feminino tem sido uma das áreas nas quais as mulheres tem se destacado. O empreendedorismo tem estado frequentemente nas pautas das discussões econômicas de nosso país. O principal motivo que gera estas discussões é o fato de as mulheres encontrarem-se administrando negócios tanto quanto os homens. Sua criatividade para novos negócios é grande principalmente no âmbito da economia informal e da economia solidária, que é onde elas estão em destaque. A pesquisa assumiu o aporte das abordagens qualitativas sem exclusão dos aspectos quantitativos. Dentre os múltiplos aspectos revelados ficou claro, de modo geral, que existe um ponto em comum entre estas mulheres que é a história de subordinação à hegemonia androcêntrica, mas elas rasgaram o véu da submissão e conseguiram se destacar na esfera pública e já representam a metade da força produtiva do país, sendo a grande maioria chefe de família. Enfim, constatamos que a profissionalização e o empreendedorismo para estas mulheres é muito mais do que uma fonte de renda, é a condição para se sentirem gente, se sentirem pertencentes ao mundo, é condição para a elevação de sua auto-estima.

Deux types de processus entrepreneurial se distinguent dans la littérature : la causalité et l’effectuation. La causalité consiste à rechercher les ressources nécessaires pour atteindre un but prédéfini tandis que l’effectuation consiste à démarrer avec les moyens dont on dispose sans but prédéfini. Peu de littérature traite de l’entrepreneuriat des femmes au Burkina Faso, encore moins sous l’angle de l’effectuation. Ainsi, le but principal de cette thèse est de répondre à la problématique suivante : Comment l'effectuation affecte le processus entrepreneurial des femmes entrepreneures Burkinabè ? Pour répondre à cette question de recherche, nous avons eu recours à une étude quantitative menée auprès de 272 entrepreneurs (213 hommes et 59 femmes) afin d’identifier le profil des entrepreneurs au Burkina Faso et tout particulièrement celui des femmes. En deuxième lieu, nous avons réalisé des entretiens semi directifs avec 20 femmes entrepreneures afin d’identifier leurs motivations mais aussi le type de processus entrepreneurial qu’elles adoptent, ainsi que leur place dans l’environnement socio-culturel Burkinabé. Pour la collecte et le traitement de nos données nous avions utilisé successivement les logiciels SPHINX, SPSS et NVIVO 11. Nos résultats montrent que les femmes ne représentent que 21,7 % du paysage entrepreneurial Burkinabé. Cette faible représentativité est liée en grande partie au fait qu'elles subissent les normes sociales qui les renvoient vers le rôle de mère et de femme au foyer dépendante de l'homme. Nos résultats prouvent aussi que les femmes créent leurs entreprises pour des raisons « pull » car, très souvent c'est pour exploiter une compétence ou exercer un métier ou une activité qu'elles aiment. De plus, les femmes créent leurs entreprises sans un but prédéfini à l'avance. Elles se basent plutôt sur les ressources dont elles disposent notamment leur personnalité, leur savoir-faire et le soutien familial. Le processus entrepreneurial des femmes burkinabè s’inscrit donc dans une logique effectuale. C'est pourquoi de nouveaux outils qui prennent en compte cette dynamique effectuale et la place de la femme dans la société burkinabè doivent être mis en place pour mieux les accompagner / Two kinds of entrepreneurial process are proposed in the literature. The causal one is to search for the resources needed to achieve a predefined goal and the effectual one is to start with the means that are available without a pre-defined purpose. Few articles discuss the women entrepreneurship in Burkina Faso especially on the effectual level. So, the aim of our thesis is to answer the question: How the effectuation affects the entrepreneurial process of women entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso? To answer this question, we conducted a quantitative study with 272 entrepreneurs (213 men and 59 women) to identify the profile of the entrepreneurs in Burkina Faso and quite particularly that of the women. In the second place, we realized semi directive interviews with 20 women entrepreneurs in order to identify their motivations, but also the type of entrepreneurial process whom they adopt, as well as their place in the Burkinabe sociocultural environment. The data was processed with SPHINX software, SPSS and NVIVO 11. Our results show that the women represent only 21,7 % of the entrepreneurial landscape Burkinabe. This low representativeness is largely connected to the fact that they undergo the social standards which send back them towards the role of mother and housewife dependent on the men. Our results also show that women create their businesses for "pull" reasons, since they do it with the aim to exploit a skill or to exercise a trade or activity that they like. In addition, women create their businesses without a predefined goal in advance. Rather, they rely on the resources they have, in particular their character, know-how, and family support. The women entrepreneurial process in Burkina Faso is therefore a part of an effectual rationale. That is why new tools that take into account this dynamic and the place of women in the Burkinabe society, must be put in place to better accompany them.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the situation of female entrepreneurs in Sweden by exploring the Swedish governments adopted, targeted entrepreneurship policy on women entrepreneurs and evaluate the program "Support Women Entrepreneurs 2007-2009" implemented by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. In the program evaluation process qualitative data analyses methods are used. The aim of the evaluation is to measure how planned program/component parts were implemented in practice and whether set goals were accomplished. Overall results from the program evaluation should be considered as positive. The original program plan consisted of six parts, 20 goals, and 34 component parts. Out of the 34 component parts, 18 were acknowledged to have been accomplished, information was not available for 14 component parts and 2 component parts were found not to be accomplished. Due to the program’s complexity in execution, involving different executive layers on national, regional and municipal levels, evaluation process was quite demanding and still it could not represent the highest level of preciseness in evaluating component parts. The most actively executed and successfully implemented part of the program could be considered part four: Attitudes and role-models.