An Exploration of Women Owned Home-based Business Through Institutional Theory Lens: A Case of Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the dynamics of women owned home-based businesses in the normative context of Peshawar. It helps to add to our understanding of how women create and manage their ventures and get legitimacy in a context where they live like second-class citizen with no rights. The study also highlights the impact of these ventures on their lives and household. A qualitative approach was used to explore the creation and management of women owned home-based businesses in the context of Peshawar. 20 women entrepreneurs were selected through purposive sampling technique. In-depth interviews were conducted to understand the lived experiences. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. We have built on institutional theory to understand the creation and management of women owned home-based enterprises, which brought about unique insights into this ever-prevailing phenomenon. The findings of this study reveal that given the distinctive context of Peshawar, the role responsibilities of women are shaped through multiple socio-cultural and religious interpretations. Compliance to which, defines the grounds of negotiation for adopting an entrepreneurial career. This makes the venture creation a bounded phenomenon and highly dependent on the familial approval for which norms and values within normative context are negotiated. With familial approval, a home based women entrepreneur (HBWE) ensures her belongingness to the family mores. A legitimacy of HBWE is contingent upon the trust of the family members as an entrepreneur and home maker. At this level, she represents as role model by sharing control which enhances the cultural acceptability of home-based businesses (HBBs). This study has portrayed transition of HBWE through compliance, negotiating, belongingness, legitimacy, emancipation and empowerment.