Entrepreneurial motivations are theorised as informing entrepreneurial behaviours and their scope and direction. Although the literature has identified agency-focused cognitive process, little is still known about women’s entrepreneurial motivations and cultural contexts. To fill this gap, this chapter examines the intersection of entrepreneurial motivations and culture on women’s entrepreneurship in the context of an emerging economy (Poland). To achieve it, this research employed semi-structured interviews to investigate women’s motivational triggers and cultural influences related to the creation of ventures. Our results identify a relationship between culture and motivations to engage in women’s entrepreneurship and show that women share a dissatisfaction perspective within their cultural context thus employing restricted agency when starting a business. Regarding theoretical implications, this study contributes by explaining the interplay of entrepreneurial motivations and culture in ‘doing context’ on women’s entrepreneurship in an emerging economy. This suggests that cultural reasoning for starting a business and cultural context for developing entrepreneurial potential may differ, providing new avenues for expanding generic assumptions on the role of culture in entrepreneurial motivation. Concerning practical implications, the study provides insights about the importance of women entrepreneurs’ cultural context as a central component for economic planning and policy development.
Citation
Osowska, R., & Kapasi, I. (2024). Women entrepreneurs: From potential to intention. The role of motivations and culture in emerging economies. In H. Neergaard, M. Guerrero, & B. Kenny (Eds.), De Gruyter Handbook of Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Economies (369-392). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110747669-015
Publication Date
Nov 18, 2024
Deposit Date
Nov 19, 2024
Publicly Available Date
Nov 19, 2024
Publisher
De Gruyter
Peer Reviewed
Peer Reviewed
Pages
369-392
Series Title
De Gruyter Handbooks in Business, Economics and Finance
Series ISSN
2748-016X
Book Title
De Gruyter Handbook of Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Economies
