Sociocultural factors as determinants of female entrepreneurs’ business strategies

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the impact of social institutions, and, in particular, of national culture, on business success, further considering how these institutions influence entrepreneurial decisions around partnership structure and networking strategies, for instance. It additionally examines how the female entrepreneur finds her way around these institutions to help her business succeed, evaluating whether this success is a culture-independent phenomenon that can be achieved through using similar, potentially advantageous strategies regardless of national context or whether adjustments are required before entering a foreign market.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected through a survey study from 240 established female entrepreneurs with 120 from each country. Two existing surveys were used to create the questions. The target sample group was comprised of successful female businesses within northwest England and western Turkey. These regions were selected due to their convenience and accessibility. Only successful businesses or, in other words, established entrepreneurs were accepted to this study. The business success criteria were: age of business (>5 years); stability or growth recorded on profitability; sales volume; and number of employees within the last financial year.FindingsThe findings showed significant differences between the two groups of established female entrepreneurs in their demographic characteristics, networking pattern, work pattern, business structure and perceived impediments at different stages of business venturing. The findings assert that the cultural dimensions of power distance and individualism have the most significant impact upon the established female entrepreneurs’ business strategies.Originality/valueTo date, limited studies have examined the country-specific factors, which may account for variance in women entrepreneurs’ behaviour and subsequent outcomes. This study attempts to close this gap through taking a closer look at the country-specific sociocultural factors creating differences in established female entrepreneurs’ business strategies within the context of Turkey and the UK. Should any female business strategy have become successful in one country, then policymakers and women support organisations can work on developing ways for benchmarking. Moreover, this study aims to guide female entrepreneurs to develop feasible international market entry strategies to ensure survival in today’s global market.