Digital girl: cyberfeminism and the emancipatory potential of digital entrepreneurship in emerging economies

Abstract

Digital entrepreneurship has been described as a "great leveler" in terms of equalizing the entrepreneurial playing field for women. However, little is known of the emancipatory possibilities offered by digital entrepreneurship for women constrained by social and cultural practices such as male guardianship of female relatives and legally enforced gender segregation. In order to address this research gap, this paper examines women's engagement in digital entrepreneurship in emerging economies with restrictive social and cultural practices. In so doing, we draw upon the analytical frameworks provided by entrepreneurship as emancipation and cyberfeminism. Using empirical data from an exploratory investigation of entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, we examine how women use digital technologies in the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities. Our findings reveal that women in Saudi Arabia use digital entrepreneurship to transform their embodied selves and lived realities rather than to escape gender embodiment as offered by the online environment.

Digital Business Model, Digital Transformation, Digital Entrepreneurship: Is There A Sustainable “Digital”?

“…With new platforms, networks, and systems, further development and enhancement of existing infrastructures are the aims [8]. By means of "digital", the pursuit of opportunities offers significant potential for previously excluded groups, enhancing the democratizing nature of entrepreneurship [52]. Within the group of digital entrepreneurs, digital technology entrepreneurs actively engage in digital technology and services to create their ventures, moving digital entrepreneurs' borders beyond existing ecosystems [40].…”

Digital transformation shaping structural pillars for academic entrepreneurship: A framework proposal and research agenda

“…Pillar 5 emerged from various articles (e.g., Fernandes et al, 2019a , b ; McAdam, 2020 ; Secundo et al, 2020b ; Sperlich, 2011 ) showing that the use of digital technology potentializes female emancipation (McAdam, 2020 ); markets emerge, from associations between people and places (Fernandes et al, 2019a , b ) and new university ecosystems are created (Rippa & Secundo, 2019 ). However, it can also make work precarious (Sperlich, 2011 ), allowing the conclusion that Cultural Characteristics are one of the pillars supporting R2.…”

“…In the same context, McAdam ( 2020 ) analysed female digital entrepreneurs in emerging economies such as Saudi Arabia, aiming to understand how they use technology to seek opportunities.…”

“…regulations, normative rules and cultural-cognitive beliefs) Analyse how the actors of innovation negotiate alternatives and paths to the implementation of change Zaheer et al, 2019b Explore factors contributing to the success of digital education start-ups Test the factors shaping performance in innovative digital education start-ups 5. Cultural Characteristics Rippa and Secundo ( 2019 ) Intersection of academic entrepreneurship with digital technology Show the social and economic benefits of using digital technology in university ecosystems Fernandes et al ( 2019a , b ) Investigate how micro-entrepreneurs on the margin of society, from collective efforts and DT, create new markets Understand how micro-entrepreneurs manage to make new and powerful associations between people and places, to create an entrepreneurial path from DT McAdam ( 2020 ) Investigate empirically the emancipatory potential of digital entrepreneurship for women in economically rich countries with restrictive social and cultural practices Explore how age, deficiency and social class and religion can be crossed with the liberating potential of digital entrepreneurship Sperlich ( 2011 ) How DT can be a two-edged sword for entrepreneurship, as on one hand it facilitates market entry, and on the other it raises the competition and makes work precarious Relate how the autonomy provided by DT in entrepreneurial work can bring benefits, but also costs 6. Knowledge Sharing Toniolo et al ( 2020a , b ) Understand how digital academic entrepreneurship is developed, considering individual and institutional relations How digital academic spin-offs can contribute to spreading innovation Elia et al ( 2020 ) How DT and the digitalization of knowledge are changing entrepreneurship Study the impact of collective intelligence on new digital projects Henfridsson and Yoo ( 2014 ) Show how digital institutional entrepreneurs establish new trajectories Explore how dig...…”

COVID-19 as External Enabler of entrepreneurship practice and research

“…Several works in leading journals apply the EE concept (e.g., Bennett, 2019 , 2021 ; Browder et al, 2019 ; Chalmers et al, 2021 ; Frederiks et al, 2019 ; Leten et al, 2016 ; Mc Adam et al, 2020 ; Nambisan, 2017 ; Obschonka & Audretsch, 2019 ; von Briel et al, 2018 ). Most recently, the Journal of Business Venturing published an elaborate application of the framework to high-speed rail infrastructure development in China ( Chen et al, 2020 ).…”