Women entrepreneurs in the Indian informal sector

Abstract

PurposeStudies on women entrepreneurs either view women through a structuralist lens, as marginalised populations engaged in low‐quality work, or through a neo‐liberal lens, as engaged in relatively higher quality endeavour more as a rational choice. The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically these explanations in relation to women entrepreneurs in the informal sector in India.Design/methodology/approachTo evaluate the contrasting explanations of structuralist and new liberal approaches, questionnaire surveys were conducted in two phases, namely 2007 and 2010, over a period of several months. The sample design was stratified random and the sample was taken from a range of cities in different parts of India.FindingsThe survey of 457 women entrepreneurs of the informal sector shows that although the structuralist representation is largely appropriate for women working as waged informal employees, it is not as valid for women informal entrepreneurs working on a self‐employed basis. The results challenge the traditional understanding of the informal sector, and self‐employed women in particular, and are discussed in the light of the institutional rational choice framework.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis highlights how the decision of entrepreneurship does not stand in isolation from other decisions and choices, is in line with normative considerations, and is a collective rational choice for women entrepreneurs in the informal sector. This analysis is a first of its kind and calls for additional surveys to be undertaken of female (and male) informal entrepreneurs in other countries to establish this concept.Originality/valueThe analysis critically evaluates established explanations in relation to women entrepreneurs in the informal sector through an empirical survey and establishes new explanations on women entrepreneurship.

The Gendering of Entrepreneurship Context

“…In situations of marginalised, poor, subordinated and migrant women, home-based and informal sector business is emerging as a means of female empowerment through entrepreneurship (Al-Dajani & Marlow, 2013;Ghani, Kerr & O'Connell, 2013;McAdam & Marlow, 2013;Pardy, 2013;Williams & Gurtoo, 2011;Wrigley-Asante, 2012). As Ghani et al (2013, p. 1) document the persistence of the unorganised sector in India is supported by a rapid increase in the share of women owned businesses which "are typically based out of the household".…”

The Gendering of Entrepreneurship Context

“…In situations of marginalised, poor, subordinated and migrant women, home-based and informal sector business is emerging as a means of female empowerment through entrepreneurship (Al-Dajani & Marlow, 2013;Ghani, Kerr & O'Connell, 2013;McAdam & Marlow, 2013;Pardy, 2013;Williams & Gurtoo, 2011;Wrigley-Asante, 2012). As Ghani et al (2013, p.…”

“…Although the informal sector is characterised by low income and low productivity, for many of the women owned enterprises and especially those in the manufacturing sector, it also represents an opportunity and stepping stone for women who would otherwise have not engaged in market work (Ghani et al, 2013). The flexibility, ability to work from home and the freedom from harassment that is experienced in the formal sector has also been cited among the advantages of informal business (Williams & Gurtoo, 2011). A protected and safe space of home and a sense of power and control over domestic and community resources make home-based businesses a site for empowerment for women (Al-Dajani & Carter, 2010;Al-Dajani & Marlow, 2013).…”

Smartphone-based m-shopping behavior and innovative entrepreneurial tendency among women in emerging Asia

“…In developed countries, women's entrepreneurship has received scholarly attention; however, in emerging nations, such attention has been limited (Welsh et al, 2018). Prior studies have addressed the contemporary replacement of offline and online shopping (Dakduk et al, 2017), systematic mobile-device usage (Hossain et al, 2019a(Hossain et al, , 2019b(Hossain et al, , 2019c(Hossain et al, , 2019d, m-shopping behavior (Holmes et al, 2013), m-learning (Hossain et al, 2019a(Hossain et al, , 2019b(Hossain et al, , 2019c(Hossain et al, , 2019d, social networking and entrepreneurship (Hossain, 2019), the acceptance of smartphone-based m-shopping (Hubert et al, 2017), variety-seeking among university students (Hossain et al, 2019a(Hossain et al, , 2019b(Hossain et al, , 2019c(Hossain et al, , 2019d, women and apparel-based entrepreneurship (Hodges et al, 2015), coping with role conflict in entrepreneurial activities (Hundera et al, 2019), navigating institutional complexities (Langevang et al, 2018), the normative context for women's entrepreneurship (Roomi et al, 2018), women entrepreneurs in the Indian informal sector (Williams and Gurtoo, 2011), trajectory movement and entrepreneurial tendency (Hossain et al, 2019a(Hossain et al, , 2019b(Hossain et al, , 2019c(Hossain et al, , 2019d, factors affecting the success of women's entrepreneurship (Cabrera and Mauricio, 2017;Hossain et al, 2020) and entrepreneurial tendency among university students (Gürol and Atsan, 2006). However, specific studies on smartphone-based increased m-shopping behavior and an innovative entrepreneurial tendency among women in emerging Asia are limited.…”