Social capital and entrepreneurial competencies: A study among women micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia

Abstract

Women entrepreneurship as one of the key contributors of economic development through a rapid development process reduces poverty, unemployment, and inequalities, and improves the overall well being of children. Social capital is the most underrated influential factor, which may have a strong influence on entrepreneurial competencies and enterprise performance. This study aims to examine the effect of social capital (i.e., structural, cognitive, and relational) on entrepreneurial competencies (i.e., conceptual, commitment, and organizing) among women micro-entrepreneurs in Peninsular Malaysia. This study employs a cross-sectional approach and quantitative data are collected through structured interviews. It was found that social capital has a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial competencies. Development policies and programs in Malaysia should therefore focus on building social capital among micro-entrepreneurs to foster the national development process that reduces poverty, unemployment rate, and inequalities.

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CAPITAL ON THE DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURS’ PERFORMANCE DURING THE OMICRON VARIANT WAVE (SARS-CoV-2: B.1.1.529)

“…The survey response indicated a strong statistically significant relationship between the social network and the performance of the digital entrepreneurs during the Omicron variant storm in early February 2022 in Malaysia. Past studies conducted by (Ibrahim et al, 2021;Yani et al, 2020;Weiss et al, 2019;Nasip et al, 2017;Mamun et al, 2016) yielded similar results and supported the conclusion of this study.…”

“…Based on (Ibrahim et al, 2021;Mamun et al, 2016), entrepreneurs use their social networks to deal with the various crises they face in their business environment and achieve success and higher performance levels. Through their excellent affiliations and the trust, they have built with their networks, the digital entrepreneurs will achieve entrepreneurial performance and economic wealth (Kim & Chung, 2016).…”

Operational supply risk mitigation of SME and its impact on operational performance

“…The higher vulnerability of SMEs may be attributable to a number of factors, including limited resources and skills, lack of negotiating power, absence of strategy for quick recovery and inadequate support from other supply chain partners (Chowdhury et al , 2016). Although SMEs are typically the primary contributors of economies around the world (Mamun et al , 2016) and are more vulnerable to OSR than large firms, the majority of the extant literature on OSR has focused mainly on large organizations. In comparison, research works in this area for SMEs are still very limited (Falkner and Hiebl, 2015).…”

The Development of an Entrepreneurship Index for Low-Income Households

“…This is because (a) entrepreneurial skills refer to one’s capability of applying knowledge to dictate entrepreneurial activities (Jack & Andserson, 1999); (b) marketing orientation looks into satisfying the needs and wants of clients in the light of profit; (c) sales orientation highlights aggressive selling and promotion activities to reap profits through volume (Kotler, 1997); and finally, (d) finally, networking refers to the strategic network within an organization that eases resources acquisition and opportunities identification (Beckert, 2010). Moreover, Norasmah and Faridah (2010) asserted that these aspects do enhance the performance of organizations, which benefit micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs, besides increasing competency in business among women micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia and performances exerted by micro-enterprises (Al-Mamun et al, 2016).…”