Women Entrepreneurs Flourishing or Languishing at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter—“Women Entrepreneurs Flourishing or Languishing at the Bottom of the Pyramid”—highlights not only the bright side of entrepreneurship (consistent with the previous chapters) but also the potential dark side of entrepreneurship training and venture creation. In particular, this chapter focuses on women entrepreneurs at the base of the pyramid. In this context, entrepreneurship can be a means for families to escape poverty and a route for countries to foster economic development. However, we show that despite successful venture creation, some women entrepreneurs flourish while others languish. Women entrepreneurs who flourish tend to set realistic expectations for their entrepreneurial endeavors and modify them throughout the entrepreneurial journey. Moreover, flourishing women entrepreneurs often benefit from their prior work experience and family support. On the other hand, women entrepreneurs who languish tend to lack prior work experience outside the home and set more unrealistic expectations for their work and lives. They also generally lack family support and thus have little psychological capital for entrepreneurship training and venture creation. Thus, this chapter offers new insights into some limitations of entrepreneurship programs (training and venture creation) for some women entrepreneurs in patriarchal societies at the base of the pyramid.