Shiraz University
Abstract: (304 Views)
Introduction and Objective: Entrepreneurship is the main driving force in economic development and the role of the entrepreneur is to innovate and create new combinations of materials or how to form processes. The development of women's entrepreneurship has been one of the most important topics of the contemporary development agenda in many developing countries, and many rural development experts believe that recognizing the capabilities and skills of women, especially rural women, and guiding their creative talents is effective in exploiting the capacities of this large social stratum. Considering that entrepreneurship is a process that takes place in a network of social relations and these social relations can limit or facilitate the entrepreneur's relationship with resources and opportunities; therefore, social capital as a social phenomenon causes creativity, ideation, facilitation of innovative behaviors and risk taking. An entrepreneur needs a strong consulting and support system at every stage of his/her entrepreneurial activity. These networks play an effective role especially in the first stages of activity to obtain information and advice. Based on this point of view, the presence or absence of support networks is very influential in the development of women's entrepreneurship. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the individual and structural factors (especially social capital) influencing the entrepreneurial activity of rural women in Fars province in order to improve their status.
Material and Methods: This study was carried out using survey technique and a questionnaire was used for data-collection. A random sample of 380 women was selected based on random sampling method from the members of agricultural development specialized holding companies of Marvdasht, Shiraz and Estahban of Fars province. The pilot study was conducted among 30 women members of the fund in Kavar county who had similar conditions, and alpha coefficients were obtained between 0.77 and 0.95. The data was analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: The findings showed that there is a significant difference between the development of entrepreneurial activity of members in the three cities of Shiraz, Marvdasht and Estahban, and the women of Marvdasht have a higher average level of entrepreneurial development. In fact, considering the higher components of entrepreneurial activity (including innovation, environmental protection, customer satisfaction, fund members' satisfaction, flexibility, regional prosperity, job creation, profitability, business sustainability, competitiveness and taking advantage of opportunities and idea commercialization) among Women entrepreneurs of Marvdasht, this has led to better development of their entrepreneurial activities. In the second place, women entrepreneurs of Shiraz city had a higher average score than Estahban city regarding the variable of development of entrepreneurial activity. On the other hand, the results showed that the average social cohesion of women in Morvdasht city is significantly different from Shiraz and Estahban cities, and this rate was higher in Marvdasht city than the other two cities. Also, there was a significant difference between the women studied in Shiraz and Estahban cities, in such a way that the women of Estahban city had a higher average than Shiraz entrepreneurs in terms of social cohesion. The result of the regression test showed that social capital, success-seeking ability, decision-making ability, independence-seeking level, consulting policies, business atmosphere, skill in formulating a business plan and support policies were the variables that explain the most in the amount (56%) of entrepreneurial activity changes.
Conclusion: Considering the set of influencing factors on the development of rural women's entrepreneurial activities, especially the role of social capital, network of relationships and activities in various social networks, it is therefore suggested that the like-mindedness and synergy of the activities of women entrepreneurs should be improved through periodic and continuous meetings with other companies. Also, coherent and purposeful educational classes should be held for rural women members of the funds in order to strengthen their activities in social networks and acquire various entrepreneurial skills.
Material and Methods: This study was carried out using survey technique and a questionnaire was used for data-collection. A random sample of 380 women was selected based on random sampling method from the members of agricultural development specialized holding companies of Marvdasht, Shiraz and Estahban of Fars province. The pilot study was conducted among 30 women members of the fund in Kavar county who had similar conditions, and alpha coefficients were obtained between 0.77 and 0.95. The data was analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: The findings showed that there is a significant difference between the development of entrepreneurial activity of members in the three cities of Shiraz, Marvdasht and Estahban, and the women of Marvdasht have a higher average level of entrepreneurial development. In fact, considering the higher components of entrepreneurial activity (including innovation, environmental protection, customer satisfaction, fund members' satisfaction, flexibility, regional prosperity, job creation, profitability, business sustainability, competitiveness and taking advantage of opportunities and idea commercialization) among Women entrepreneurs of Marvdasht, this has led to better development of their entrepreneurial activities. In the second place, women entrepreneurs of Shiraz city had a higher average score than Estahban city regarding the variable of development of entrepreneurial activity. On the other hand, the results showed that the average social cohesion of women in Morvdasht city is significantly different from Shiraz and Estahban cities, and this rate was higher in Marvdasht city than the other two cities. Also, there was a significant difference between the women studied in Shiraz and Estahban cities, in such a way that the women of Estahban city had a higher average than Shiraz entrepreneurs in terms of social cohesion. The result of the regression test showed that social capital, success-seeking ability, decision-making ability, independence-seeking level, consulting policies, business atmosphere, skill in formulating a business plan and support policies were the variables that explain the most in the amount (56%) of entrepreneurial activity changes.
Conclusion: Considering the set of influencing factors on the development of rural women's entrepreneurial activities, especially the role of social capital, network of relationships and activities in various social networks, it is therefore suggested that the like-mindedness and synergy of the activities of women entrepreneurs should be improved through periodic and continuous meetings with other companies. Also, coherent and purposeful educational classes should be held for rural women members of the funds in order to strengthen their activities in social networks and acquire various entrepreneurial skills.
Keywords: Women's Entrepreneurship, Social Capital, Social Network, Entrepreneurial Activity, Agriculture.
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