Business
Women Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Perspectives of an Emerging Economy
Women entrepreneurship is considered by many researchers as an imminent phenomenon of the 21st century, especially for developing countries. Due to its contribution to the economy and society, recent studies have focused on investigating its motivational factors, as well as achievements. Moreover, researchers have come up with different entrepreneurial perspectives in different societies and cultures and have called for further analysis. In this context, the main purpose of this research was to assess the driving factors, challenges, and perspectives of woman entrepreneurship in a post-communist country context. As part of the data collection process, a survey was conducted with 36 female entrepreneurs operating in the capital city of Albania, Tirana. The study results reveal that, even though there are no significant differences between the percentage of women who feel that they are being discriminated against and percentage of female entrepreneurs who perceive that their gender has positively affected the business growth, there is a positive significant difference regarding the percentages of women entrepreneurs who have been supported by their families and partners and those who have received heritage from their families. Special attention is addressed to the different factors that women experience in terms of entrepreneurial development. Another aim of this research is to provide different recommendations to be taken into consideration by the policymakers to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Albania.
Women entrepreneurship is viewed by many scholars as an emerging phenomenon of the 21st century, as women not only work vigorously in order to have a wellbeing, but they also maintain their families (Rashid and Ratten 2020). Scholars have analyzed their entrepreneurship attributes, such as business competence, performance, and entrepreneurial orientation, with the purpose of helping them to recognize the most appropriate aspects of their performance and driving factors, as well as motivation (Corrêa et al. 2021). Other studies have focused on mapping and categorizing implications referring to their policy, managerial, and practical aspects, with the aim to raise awareness of the policies to be undertaken on overcoming their entrepreneurial challenges (Corrêa et al. 2022). However, “every region has its own social and cultural challenges affecting differently to women entrepreneurs” (Rashid and Ratten 2020, p. 37). This raises the necessity of conducting more qualitative and quantitative research that investigates further and helps us to understand the phenomena of developing countries better (Rashid and Ratten 2020).
According to GEM (2022b), women in developing economies are much more likely to start their own businesses than those in high-income countries, with approximately 25% of women in low-income countries and 13% in lower-middle income countries compared to approximately 10% globally. The reason for this is the fact that these women valuate entrepreneurship as a way to find better incomes for their families.
Meanwhile, the study of Godany and Mura (2021) showed that, besides objective factors directly related to economic ones, subjective factors, such as non-economic goals, are important factors in the success of entrepreneurial activities led by women. According to this study, the independence gives female entrepreneurs the opportunity to have free time and therefore be able to perform their family responsibilities more flexibly (Godany and Mura 2021).
Whereas Albania, also supported by the fact of it being within the territories of the Western Balkans, was, for 50 years, under an eager dictatorship regime, Western Europe was experiencing a period of great development and wealth (Asllani et al. 2014; Berisha et al. 2022; Xheneti and Smallbone 2008). The presence of the free market created optimal conditions for trading, and a new concept was born as well: globalization. In other words, whereas the rest of the world was moving forward in giant steps, Albania was somehow left behind because of isolation. In these terms, the concept of entrepreneurship did not exist in the Albanian people’s mentality, considering that it applies a centralized model of economy (Ferizi and Kruja 2018; Koka et al. 2021). Whereas, in a perfect market competition, there are three actors in the economy—the government, the firms, and the consumers—in this case, there were only two: the government and the consumer. In such conditions, the government occupied the main role of distributing the goods and services and the Albanian people shared the common property with each other, as well as the government (Asllani et al. 2014; Ahmeti and Kruja 2020; Xheneti and Smallbone 2008).
However, after the regime fall in 1991, Albania started to experience the free market. In a world in which female participation is gaining a large amount of support and also considering the fact that Albania is concerned with making forward steps toward its integration into the European Union (Kruja and Hysi 2020; Shkrepa and Kruja 2021), this study is thought to be of great importance in terms of highlighting the main motivations behind women entrepreneurial initiatives, as well as the main reasons for female discrimination in entrepreneurial actions, in the hopes of conducting relevant changes and fixing the current situation as a practice for getting closer to European Union integration.
As a country that has been in the communist regime for such a long time, also accompanied with the presence of a patriarchal approach, the success of female entrepreneurs has been substantially limited (Kruja 2013b; Kruja et al. 2019; Kruja and Kadiasi 2020; Kruja and Berisha 2021). In this context, the main purpose of this research was to assess the main factors under the support vs. discrimination of women entrepreneurs, where attention will be assigned to the case of Albania.
The reason for focusing on this area is to enrich the literature of this topic in terms of the country being studied, and to update the relevant results in the already published research regarding this topic. On the other hand, another reason is also to highlight the presence of such phenomena in Albania, and the respective recommendations will aim to “help out” the country regarding EU integration in the context of fixing the gender equality problem as an important factor, as well as regarding the entrance in the common zone.
Therefore, this paper not only aims at contributing to the existing literature on women entrepreneurship through investigating the case of a developing country such as Albania, but also focuses on contributing, with recommendations, an increasing awareness to entrepreneurs and policy makers on the importance and impact that women entrepreneurs have on country development and EU integration, in the context of supporting overcoming their challenges as an important factor, as well as regarding the entrance in the common zone.
The paper used descriptive statistics and a chi-square test analysis for 36 surveys filled by female entrepreneurs to address the following research questions and hypotheses:
What is the motivation behind starting an entrepreneurial venture?
What are the supporting factors and/or discrimination factors when a female takes entrepreneurial activities?
There is a significant difference between the probabilities of women entrepreneurs with respect to their perceptions of female gender positively affecting the business performance.
There are significant differences between the probabilities of women entrepreneurs who have received (a) heritage, (b) family support, (c) partner support, and (d) a bank loan.
There is a significant difference between the probabilities of women entrepreneurs who feel as though they have been discriminated from the opposite gender.
Thus, our paper is organized as follows: the second section offers an overview of the main findings of the literature in terms of female entrepreneurship, the third part of the paper presents the data and methodology applied to verify the research hypotheses, the fourth section describes the results of the descriptive analysis, the fifth session treats main discussions on the subject, and the final section reflects the conclusions and implication of this research.
Research on women entrepreneurship was initiated by spotlighting their attributes (Greene et al. 2003; Mirchandani 1999), followed thereafter by a shift on the macro-level elements and their impact (Minniti and Naudé 2010; Jamali 2009; Ahl 2006). Women entrepreneurship is rapidly increasing globally (Brush and Cooper 2012); however, in developing countries, a higher enterprising (15%) is evidenced compared to European ones (6%) (GEM 2019). Nonetheless, Anderson and Ojediran (2022) evidenced that women entrepreneurs in developed countries are attracted by opportunities, whereas those in developing countries seem to be stimulated by necessity. Moreover, developing countries are portrayed by fragile and unconsolidated institutions (Xiong et al. 2020). However, research has evidenced that female enterprising can be critical in these economies flourishing (Anderson and Ojediran 2022). Boosting entrepreneurial activities as well as enhancing the economic positioning of women entrepreneurs in developing economies through a more appropriate recognition of tools that empower them can advance their access to entrepreneurial opportunities (Ajjan et al. 2014; Kelley et al. 2012). From this perspective, Naser et al. (2009) found that receiving financial support, more specifically during the establishment phase, would be critical in motivating starting the business.
In many countries, women continue to represent a small portion of the workforce. While entrepreneurship can be an effective way to help them gain financial independence through finding work, on the other hand, the lack of education or even access to the latter, different relevant trainings, business support, finance, and many mentorship measures is a difficult challenge for them (Zenelaj and Kruja 2017; Kruja and Berberi 2020; Kruja and Berisha 2021). Differences among males and females in entrepreneurship also appear in terms of obtaining the initial capital to fund their businesses. This statement is also supported by a study of Verheul and Thurik (2001), emphasizing the fact that female entrepreneurs use a small amount of capital to establish their businesses.
However, regarding Albania, it being a developing country, women discrimination in terms of entrepreneurship and the academic research related to them has not been distributed equally (Pereiro 2016). In these terms, along with many other factors, females started to experience the first instances of discrimination in terms of business practices (Alite 2013). With the establishment of democracy, the process changed: men started taking entrepreneurial initiatives. The same action was followed by women, although in a lower percentage. In this context, different studies reviewed the strong practice that most Albanian people followed in terms of not allowing women to participate in the same activities as men, such as in the case of entrepreneurship (Mustafaraj 2017). In this stage, women with a strong desire and abilities expressed the will to enter such activities but were faced with many discriminatory behaviors. Among many others, another factor that explained the discrimination concept toward women entrepreneurship was also highlighted in the research conducted by Coleman (2012): women also face difficulties when applying for loans, which is more evidenced when talking about business loans. Another very important factor regarding this issue is also in terms of the support of the partner as it has an impact on the successful achievement of the other party’s goals.
Still, there seem to many differences between men and women in Albania: according to the 2011 Time Use Survey conducted by INSTAT, on average, women work two hours more per day than men. In 2011, the former Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MoLSAEO), supported by UN Women, was engaged in the calculation of the gender wage gap based on the methodology of Oaxaca (1973), Blinder (1973) and Lemieux (2002). For its calculation, the LSMS 2005–2008 module of employment served as the basis. The calculation resulted in a gender wage gap in favor of men by approximately 18%, and it was found to be almost twice as high in rural areas. In 2013, approximately 140,000 Albanians returned to the country, where 133,544 at the age of 18–64 were men according to INSTAT and IOM Albania. Returnees were willing to invest their knowledge, skills, and financial capital gained abroad in income-generating activities, where women faced many difficulties and discrimination in this market in terms of entrepreneurship.
In Albania, women dominate the micro-enterprise sector, showing their true potential as entrepreneurs, employers, and economic actors. Given the historical development of the Albanian economy during the transition period, many women have started their own businesses; however, starting and maintaining a business has been more difficult for women, especially for two reasons: political and patriarchal.
The attitude toward the development of the female entrepreneurship sector and the policies and actions associated with it must be based on the understanding that innovative women, who understand the needs of most of the customers, undertake investment and innovation leading to development, since they make up the largest number of customers. They represent many talents: in their businesses, they provide many new jobs, reinvest most of their profits in the family, work for it, are more sensitive to the social issues that they face, are regular taxpayers, and can reduce poverty by contributing to economic growth by creating new jobs and increasing the income of poor people. However, female entrepreneurs are at an extreme in the local ecosystem: they lack funding and long-term capital, a base that establishes sustainable businesses.
Under these conditions, where carrying out business is considered as a daily challenge by women, the central elements of a business-friendly macro-environment would include peace and political stability, good governance, policy predictability, transparency and accountability, and sound macroeconomic policies. For many women businesses, bureaucracy, obstacles, arbitrary decision making, corruption, and confusion over the obligation to enforce ineffective rules and practices have increased cost and uncertainty, preventing investment, and, even worse, eliminating market access (Hysa 2011b, 2011a; Mansi et al. 2020).
De Vita et al. (2014) stated that young female entrepreneurs occupy a significant role among women entrepreneurs in the 21st century. Moreover, scholars such as Anderson and Drakopoulou (2009) concluded that family businesses have a direct impact on the decision of the younger generation to become entrepreneurs.
Byrne et al. (2016), researched how gender differences arise when the marital status of men and women is included in terms of entrepreneurship and their progress in this process. When compared to men, they found that women who undertook entrepreneurship steps were single and presented lower entrepreneurial intentions due to the family responsibility given to them (Byrne et al. 2016). However, other studies have found that it is easier for married women to become entrepreneurs, considering the support that they receive in terms of either financial issues or family, household, and children responsibility (Panday 2018). Nevertheless, it seems that single mothers have higher incentives to move forward for the sake of their children and to maintain their family, as well as to be successful (Ismail et al. 2016).
Farzana (2018) identified some factors as a rationale for venturing into new businesses, such as the need for achievement and the wish to be financially independent. Among others, carrying on the family business, having freedom in decision making, and boosting self-confidence and empowerment are also included (Rathirane 2013).
Research on entrepreneurship and its process in Albania started since the beginning of the 21st century, a decade after the first entrepreneurial experiences in this market. The focus of the researchers has been on investigating the obstacles and barriers that SMEs deal with within this transitory market (Bitzenis and Nito 2005; Xheneti and Smallbone 2008; El Alaoui et al. 2016; Kruja 2013a, 2013b; Asllani et al. 2014; Kruja 2020a, 2020b; Hysa et al. 2021; Kruja and Berisha 2021). Around the world, mostly in developing countries, there is a clear need to boost the female’s economic participation and make more considerable steps toward gender equality (Meunier et al. 2017). The Albanian economy requires qualitative and quantitative expectations to encourage women entrepreneurs toward goals (Berhani and Hysa 2014). They should aim to increase employment, improve the business climate, and lend opportunities for their businesses (Manta et al. 2021). The government should actively support the female entrepreneurship network, considering women as a specific group, and should promote networking platforms for women in business through annual events and business competitions and design gender-responsive education and training curricula for women (Kruja and Kalluci 2021). Taking all of the above into consideration, this study provided a stable theoretical framework for implementing the most relevant methodology with the proper tools to meet the research objectives.
Considering that this study aimed to collect, analyze, and present data about an existing phenomenon, it can be assessed as descriptive research. Moreover, through this research, testing the level of women entrepreneurship performance and support versus discrimination was addressed. This study aimed to bring incentives to other researchers to test the theories concluded by the initial researchers.
Regarding the type of data, it was generated through surveys distributed to the female entrepreneurs in Albania operating in different industries and business units during November–December 2019. The data were quantified and processed through statistical methods in order to conduct the relevant results in terms of answering the research questions and hypothesis.
The chosen method for reaching out to the female entrepreneurs was via e-mail through a Google Form questionnaire format. In total, there were 47 questionnaires sent, but only 36 female entrepreneurs answered the questionnaire.
A limitation of this research is the fact that very powerful businesses in Albania directed by women refused to complete the questionnaire.
In 2015, almost half of females owned/administrated enterprises concentrated in the prefecture of Tirana, followed by Vlora, Lezha, and Fier, where women own/manage around 1/3 of businesses. On the other hand, the prefecture with the lowest share of women as business owners are Kukes (21.8%) and Diber (25.7%) .
In this study, surveyed entrepreneurs are from Tirana, but some of their businesses also operate in other cities, such as Durres, Kruja, and Lezhe, mainly in the “Food and Beverage” industry, followed by “Fabric and garment”, “Retail shops”, and “Pharmacies” businesses
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