Women entrepreneurs and business venture growth: an examination of the influence of human and social capital resources in an Indian context

Abstract

Current understanding of women entrepreneurs, and in particular those within emerging economies, remains limited. This is despite the fact that the prevalence of women entrepreneurs across emerging economies has grown. Consequently, using India as a research context, the purpose of this study was to identify specific human and social capital factors that may contribute to venture growth for women entrepreneurs in emerging economies. Results suggest that both human and social capital factors play a role in determining business growth for Indian women entrepreneurs. Specifically, human capital factors related to industry experience as well as prior entrepreneurial experience were significant contributors, as were social capital factors related to the size of individuals’ business networks and the support received from family members. However, education, parental business ownership, and network composition characteristics relative to kinship ties were not significant predictors of venture growth in an Indian context.