Development of Antecedent Factors for Malaysian Women’s Entrepreneurial Resilience Framework: A Fuzzy Delphi Method

Abstract

This study assesses the antecedent factors of entrepreneurial resilience and the underlying criteria to develop a Malaysian women’s entrepreneurial framework based on the expert linguistic consensus to identify potential strategies to empower women entrepreneurship sector in Malaysia. The Delphi Fuzzy (FDM) method is used to obtain expert consensus on the important factors that stimulate and encourage entrepreneurial resilience based on a review of previous literature. The judgment sampling technique was used to develop a survey and distributed it to 20 experts. The linguistic consensus of experts is analyzed using Fuzzy Set Theory and Triangular Fuzzy Numbers (TFN). This study confirms the strategic factors that can foster the development of resilient women entrepreneurs and identifies key resilience criteria that play a vital role in boosting the business longevity of women-owned SMEs. Importantly, religion and psychological capital are key to developing entrepreneurial resilience among women entrepreneurs. In addition, technology skills should be leveraged to deal with an increasingly complex market environment and create opportunities in a crisis. This study focuses on the context of Malaysian women entrepreneurs, who may not represent other countries. This study highlights the importance of entrepreneurial psychological traits (i.e., cognitive, and behavioural) for theoretical and managerial implications in fostering the ability of women entrepreneurs to adjust to new circumstances and thereby contribute to the long-term sustainability of their businesses. Upcoming studies are recommended to test the resilience factor of these entrepreneurs on a sample of the female entrepreneur population through exploratory studies using questionnaire instruments.