+44-7897-074717Case Studies - Journal of Research in International Business and Management ( 2020) Volume 7, Issue 3
Received: 20-Jul-2020 Published: 22-Sep-2020
The purpose of this study is to unravel issues that push or pull women of Bandung and Harare to venture into traditionally female sectors which leads to sector crowding and slow business growth. Also to discover factors that discourage these women from venturing in the male dominated sectors which are characterized by rapid growth and success? Design/methodology/approach – A phenomenological and comparative qualitative approach was adopted for this study to help the researcher gain deeper understanding of experiences of Bandung and Harare female entrepreneurs with respect to the issues that influenced their choice of sector to venture their business into in total early stage entrepreneurial activity. With a purposive sampling technique, 3 women from Bandung and 3 women from Harare active fashion entrepreneurs were sampled for the study.
The purpose of this study is to unravel issues that push or pull women of Bandung and Harare to venture into traditionally female sectors which leads to sector crowding and slow business growth. Also to discover factors that discourage these women from venturing in the male dominated sectors which are characterized by rapid growth and success? Design/methodology/approach – A phenomenological and comparative qualitative approach was adopted for this study to help the researcher gain deeper understanding of experiences of Bandung and Harare female entrepreneurs with respect to the issues that influenced their choice of sector to venture their business into in total early stage entrepreneurial activity. With a purposive sampling technique, 3 women from Bandung and 3 women from Harare active fashion entrepreneurs were sampled for the study. A multiple case study strategy, in-depth face-to-face interviews, online video calls and participant observation were used to solicit responses from participants included in the survey. The study revealed that a majority of surveyed female entrepreneurs ventured into fashion industry because they were highly influenced by capital issues, most of them started the business from their own savings, and they could afford starting a business in fashion since it requires little or no capital. Other highlighted issues important to note were opportunity /market availability, family influences, poverty and unemployment. Research limitations/implications– The study focused solely on sector choices of women entrepreneurs and the barriers to enter male dominated sectors in Harare and Bandung. More so, the sample is quite small which may not represent the experiences of the whole population. Originality/value– As a first of its kind as a comparative study in the Harare and Bandung context, little is known in extant literature until now with regard to sector preferences in women entrepreneurship in both these cities. This study therefore seeks to bridge this gap