The Robustness of Social Capital in The Wildlife Tourism Micro Entrepreneurship Arena

Abstract

Purpose: Tourism plays an essential role in the country's economic development. Diversifying tourism products and services to meet the growing demand requires advanced business sector involvement. Due to geostrategic conditions, rural livelihood can be improved with the help of micro-entrepreneurship in the rural areas of Egypt. One of the fast-growing tourism in the country is supporting natural-based business such as wildlife truism micro-entrepreneurship, which provide the opportunity for people to participate in different types of entrepreneurship instead of working full-time or part-time in wildlife tourism entrepreneurship; people face many difficulties and hinders in small scale business based on nature. The main obstacle to micro-entrepreneurship is the need for social capital. Therefore, this study examines the role of social capital in wildlife tourism micro-entrepreneurship. Design/Methodology/ Approach: This quantitative approach is based on cross-sectional data. The study employed a survey questionnaire to collect the facts from the respondents doing micro-entrepreneurship in Egypt. The analysis used a convenience sampling method to get a quick response from the respondents. The sample size is 156 usable cases. Findings: The correlational and regression analysis show bonding social capital's positive and significant effect on wildlife tourism micro-entrepreneurship. On the other hand, bridging social capital has a significant negative impact on wildlife tourism micro-entrepreneurship. Research, practical and social implications: The study's findings would be beneficial to improve the economic conditions of Egypt, especially for the rural areas rich in natural resources, and people can have part-time or full-time opportunities for small-scale business or micro-entrepreneurship. This may bring economic prosperity and change people's livelihoods. Originality/ value: This study may be crucial to address the gaps in the empirical evaluation of Egyptian micro-entrepreneurship.