Yunis, Mohammad Sohail and Hashim, Hina and Anderson, Alistair (2019) Enablers and Constraints of Female Entrepreneurship in Khyber Pukhtunkhawa, Pakistan : Institutional and Feminist Perspectives. Sustainability, 11 (1): 27. ISSN 2071-1050
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Abstract
Entrepreneurship is often considered a male gendered concept and carries masculine connotations. However, the importance of women entrepreneurs and their contribution to economy has recently been realized. Nonetheless, there is limited research about women entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship in the developing countries context. This paper challenges the implicit masculinism of traditional entrepreneurship research and aims to explore the enablers and constraints of women social entrepreneurship in a developing country context. Our theoretical lens is based on institutional and feminist perspectives, thus developing and reconciling predictions from these two competing theories. This integration contributes by offering novel insights about social entrepreneurship. Utilising on an interpretive qualitative research approach, data from in-depth interviews with ten women social entrepreneurs of KP, Pakistan were analyzed using thematic analysis. Empirically, we identify and discuss a number of interesting and explanatory themes affecting women entrepreneurship such as "women empowerment, patriarchal culture, role of culture and societal norms, religious extremism and terrorism, forced entrepreneurs, change creators, unique institutional constraints, institutional corruption and security issues”. The findings highlight women entrepreneurs struggle for sustainability and explain how these occur. The paper also provides an interesting insight on how context determines social entrepreneurship in KP, Pakistan.