International Review of Business Research Papers Vol. 10. No. 1. March 2014 Issue. Pp. 109 – 125 Factors influencing Attitudes of Women Students to Business Ownership: Lessons and Experiences from the University of Botswana Nthati Rametse*1 and Afreen Huq* This paper discusses factors influencing Botswana women students’ attitudes to business ownership and barriers thereto. It addresses the gap in existing literature on women’s entrepreneurship in developing countries which predominantly report on entrepreneurship by uneducated, poor rural women in the informal sectors. Data was obtained in December, 2010 and July 2011 from a survey of seventy six University of Botswana women students and two focus group discussions with ten of these women in December 2011 and April 2012. A majority (78.9 per cent) of the respondents hold positive attitude towards business ownership and consider it a rewarding economic option. Not surprisingly, their sociocultural status in accessing land and “shortage of money” were listed as major impediments to business start-up (84 per cent). In conclusion, building of awareness among women through education, training, and the media about business ownership as an economic option is suggested.
Key words: Women’s entrepreneurship, students’ attitudes, “push” and “pull” factors
1. Introduction Research has discussed factors that motivate students to start their businesses when they graduate. Mostly, the literature has disentangled their motivations comprising the “push” and “pull” or triggering factors. Recently, Rametse and Huq (2013) have discussed these factors in the context of Botswana women students who have expressed their preference to work for either public organisations or private businesses upon graduation. This paper primarily focuses on women students from University of Botswana who aspire to become entrepreneurs and explores the factors that shape their attitude towards business ownership. As such, factors influencing women students’ attitude towards business ownership is central to this paper. Most importantly, this research attempts to answer the question: What motivates Botswana women students to start their own businesses and which factors influence their attitudes towards business ownership? This study has focused on women students in Botswana for the following reasons. Whilst evidence suggests that female entrepreneurs had been ignored by assistance programmes (Mitchell 2004), Botswana has begun to address women’s entrepreneurship. Business support initiatives, such as the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) and the Citizen Enterprise Development Agency (CEDA) focus on the youth and women. Moreover, a great amount of innovation power and entrepreneurial competencies are being embedded within students, which can later lead to successful business start-ups (GUESS 2008). Thus, an investigation on women students’ aspirations and factors influencing their attitudes to business startup is important. 1
* Dr Nthati Rametse, College of Business, School of Management, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne 3001, Australia. Email:
[email protected] 1 * Dr Afreen Huq, College of Business, School of Management, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne 3001, Australia. Email:
[email protected]
Rametse & Huq The findings of this study contributes to women’s entrepreneurship literature by focusing on attitudes of educated female students towards business creation in the urban formal sectors, as opposed to uneducated, poor rural women, who have been the primary target group for academic researchers and practitioners in developing countries (Huq and Moyeen,1999; 2002). Additionally, the findings extend Scott and Twomey’s (1988) seminal model of factors influencing career aspirations by providing additional explanations of how the socio-cultural status of women can significantly moderate the influence of the triggering and predisposing factors on women students’ entrepreneurial career aspirations; and often to the extent that, it can act as an impediment to venture creation. Unlike the findings of earlier studies where women have been found to lack the knowledge, the ability and the family support to start a business, the Botswana women students perceived themselves to have the education, the confidence and the support from family and friends to successfully start and grow a business. This research also highlights the barriers to women’s entrepreneurship and suggests the necessary support factors that are critical for women students to pursue a career in entrepreneurship. Hopefully, the findings will enlighten policy makers in understanding the process of entrepreneurship and what actually confronts potential educated women entrepreneurs in starting their businesses. Harris and Gibson (2008) affirm that a thorough understanding of students’ entrepreneurial attitudes can aid in the development of a relevant entrepreneurship curriculum. The rest of the paper is organised as follows. Section 2 gives a snapshot of the relevant literature. Section 3 discusses the methodology and model. Section 4 focuses on the results while section 5 concludes this paper with a focus on limitations, policy implications and recommendations for further research.
2. The Literature Review The research on students’ intentions to start their businesses can be traced to the seminal work of Scott and Twomey (1988). Scott and Twomey (1988) investigated career attitudes of students in higher education and identified the triggering and predisposing factors of students’ awareness of owning or starting businesses. Whilst students showed a significant interest in entrepreneurship, they lacked knowledge about how to start and operate a small business and enter the highly competitive marketplace (Scott and Twomey 1988, p.6). Predisposing factors are long-term and comprised of background/personality/perception elements. Supported by Bundura (1977) social learning and the cognitive developmental literature (Kolberg 1966; Bundura 1977; Dryler 1988), the students whose parents owned a small business showed the highest preference for self-employment and the lowest for a job in large business. Thus, these theories regard parents as role models (Dryler 1988). Triggering factors are situational and short-term in nature. They include “the effects of looking for work, career advice received and the prospects of unemployment (Scott and Twomey 1988, p.6). Later studies (Brush, 1992; Buttner 1993; Huq and Moyeen, 1999; Huq and Moyeen, 2002) have identified the attitudinal factors that influence potential entrepreneurs as the “push” and “pull” factors. The ”push” factors are “elements of necessity such as insufficient family income, dissatisfaction with a salaried job, difficulty in finding work and a need for flexible work schedule because of family responsibilities” (Orhan and Scott 2001, p.233). Thus, due to unemployment and other factors, women had been “pushed” into creating their jobs through starting their own small businesses (Huq and 110
Rametse & Huq Moyeen 1999). Overall, the “push” factors (for example, economic downturn) are frustrations that inherited entrepreneurial culture (Shariff and Saud 2009). Thus individuals resort to entrepreneurship due to the lack of job opportunities. On the contrary, the “pull” factors relate to independence (to be own boss), selffulfilment, entrepreneurial drive, ambition to improve the quality of working conditions, social status and power and desire for wealth (Huq and Moyeen 1999; Orhan and Scott 2001). In a comparative study of entrepreneurial career aspirations of employed women and housewives in Bangladesh, Huq and Moyeen (2002) confirmed that the majority of employed women (65 per cent) who wanted to start their own businesses were triggered by their desire for independence and attractive monetary return. Regarding the predisposing factors, a majority of these women were influenced by their husbands and friends. However, departing from Scott and Twomey (1988) study discussed above and others (for example, Van Auken, Spehens, Fry and Silva 2006), the influence of family entrepreneurial role models in their career aspirations was not evident, probably due to the fact that women in Bangladesh appear to aspire to start their businesses for creating the flexibility for them to combine gainful employment with home making. Van Auken et al. (2006) examined differences in role model influence between the US and Mexican students. Their results showed that role models who owned businesses had a significantly greater influence on the career intentions of US respondents than role models that did not own a business. However, whether or not Mexican role models owned a business had no significant difference among Mexican students (Van Auken et al. 2006, p.334). The research on factors influencing attitudes of women students in starting their businesses in the institutions of higher learning, within the Botswana context is limited. The only study, which did not focus on women in isolation (Plattner, Lechaena, Mmolawa and Mizingane 2009) investigated students’ career aspirations and their career-related self-concept. Of the 349 University of Botswana students surveyed, only eight considered entrepreneurship as a career option (Plattner et al. 2009). Another Botswana study (Ntseane 2004), although investigated non university women students, discusses the triggering factors derived from the emergence and development of the women’s business idea. The participants identified that “non-normative experience….such as teenage pregnancy, dropping out from school or dysfunctional marriage” (Ntseane 2004) resulted in the loss of social support, hence triggered their need for money. Divorced women had financial desperation, hence realised that they could use the skills that they acquired from family members, common sense or observation to start and expand their businesses. As noted by Scott and Twomey (1988) the triggering impact of looking for work can be seen in its effect on students’ perceptions of the impacts of unemployment. Muranda (2011) researched socio-demographic characteristics and factors that influenced entrepreneurial motives for women in Botswana. Utilizing a survey questionnaire, Muranda interviewed 101 women entrepreneurs in Botswana. The results confirmed that these women started their businesses because of factors such as “independence, job discontent, loss of employment, family welfare or family tradition” (Muranda 2011, p.355). Thus, the Botswana women’s desire for independence is seen as a “pull” factor for those who already succeeded in their jobs, hence break from the monotony of the workplace (Muranda 2011). Muranda also found that the low educational levels amongst women resulted in the loss of employment being a push 111
Rametse & Huq factor for them to go into entrepreneurship. Again, the study identified 54.5 per cent of female entrepreneurs coming from single households, hence having a desire to improve family welfare through entrepreneurial ventures. Thus, contrary to the findings of Huq and Moyeen (2002), the “push” factors predominantly influenced women to start their businesses, rather than the “pull” factors. Huq and Moyeen identified that positive (pull) factors played a significant role than negative (push) factors in influencing entrepreneurial career aspirations of their respondents. This is probably because Muranda’s respondents were largely uneducated women as compared to Huq and Moyeen’s whose participants were educated women. Wang and Wong (2004) investigated the level and determinants of interest in entrepreneurship among university undergraduate students in Singapore. Due to traditional Asian culture that discourages women from working as employees and employers (Wang and Wong 2004, pp.164-165), these authors hypothesized that, “the level of interest in entrepreneurship is related to gender; males’ interest is higher (Wang and Wong 2004, p.165). Their hypothesis was confirmed as the results showed less interest in entrepreneurship among female university students in Singapore. This is not due to their risk-averse attitude, but the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge as well as their perceived role in society (Wang and Wong 2004, p.172). Consistent with Van Auken et al. (2006), family business experience was found to have a significant influence on Singapore students in starting their own businesses. GUESS (2008) confirms a higher proportion of men preferring independent employment, compared to women. As GUESS (2008) notes, “the possible explanation could be that women would prefer to do something else, like for example, start a family”, confirming Wang and Wong (2004) findings regarding perceived role of women in the Singaporean culture. Thus, this explanation confirms the well-known cultural and stereotypical attitudes about women starting a family and becoming involved in the performance of home duties, as compared to men. The socio-cultural status of women has been identified as the main barrier against female entrepreneurship (Bruni, Gherardi and Poggio 2004). The inequality faced by women, such as patriarchy, has limited their access to resources that would facilitate their effective entrepreneurial engagement. In Botswana, male offspring are privileged over female offspring under customary law of inheritance (Molokomme, et al. 1998; Griffiths 2002; Kalabamu 2006). Clearly, a daughter receiving less share of the land is a barrier to a potential business woman, who may use this land effectively in entrepreneurial activities. Another social barrier is that in Botswana, women married under traditional law (or “in common property”) are legally viewed as minors. McDonald (1996, p.1327) note that, married women in Botswana are still subject to their husbands to authorise their credit and property matters. This includes any other legally binding contract. For example, married women in Botswana cannot open personal bank accounts or business without their husbands’ permission (McDonald 1996, p.1327). Supported by Sena, Scott and Roper (2008) as compared to men, women are less likely to seek external finance for their business start-up as they perceive stronger financial barriers. Earlier research (Buttner and Rosen 1988), found women to be perceived by banks as less entrepreneurial than men and evaluated them lower on risk-taking propensity. Overall, the review of literature indicates that the influence of the “predisposing” and the “triggering” factors on the attitudes towards business start-up by educated female students in developing countries in general, and in African countries in particular, have 112
Rametse & Huq not been adequately researched. The only study (Plattner et al. 2009) that investigated Botswana students’ career aspirations did not look at women students in isolation and how the socio-cultural status of women in Botswana influenced women students’ attitude towards and perceived barriers to business ownership as an economic option. Our study aims to address this research gap.
3. Methodology and Model 3.1 The Research Method This research attempts to answer the questions: What motivates Botswana women students’ career aspirations in starting their own businesses? Which factors influence their attitudes to business ownership? What policies could promote women’s entrepreneurship in Botswana? Data was collected between December, 2010 and April, 2012, in two stages, using a questionnaire survey and two focus group discussions (FGD), respectively. The first stage involved a questionnaire survey of 100 University of Botswana women students from the Faculty of Business, in December, 2010 and July, 2011. However, 76 of these questionnaires were usable. This sample size was regarded as suitable for a qualitative study which required the researcher’s close association with the respondents. The students completed the questionnaires during class, hence were immediately collected by the researcher upon completion. It took around forty five to sixty minutes for the students to fill out the questionnaires. In ascertaining women students’ attitudes, perceived barriers and recommendations to business ownership, the questionnaire included a five point Likert attitude scale which measured and summarised a particular situation. The Likert attitude scale “is based upon the assumption that each statement/item on the scale has equal ‘attitudinal value’, ‘importance’ or ‘weight’ in terms of reflecting an attitude towards the issue in question” (Kumar 1996, p.129). Sixteen major statements were used to assess respondents’ attitudes to business ownership. The respondents were required to indicate the extent to which they agreed and disagreed with each of the sixteen statements on a scale of 5 to 1 in the following sequence: 5= strongly agree; 4=agree’ 3=undecided, 2=disagree; and 1=strongly disagree. A synthesis of reports and information from other published sources, such as Government, the Internet, business and professional bodies has been used. Responses from the main survey had been analysed appropriately using a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), mainly to obtain averages. The second stage was based on two focus group discussions with ten women students from the same surveyed group, in December, 2011 and April, 2012. Robinson (1999) defines a focus group as “an in-depth, open-ended group discussion of 1-2 hours’ duration that explores a specific set of issues on a predefined and limited topic… and are convened under the guidance of a facilitator” (Robinson 1999, p.905). The focus group discussions were conducted mainly to validate the information from the survey, as to delve deeper in obtaining Botswana women students’ attitudes to business ownership. Twenty of the students who had indicated in the survey questionnaire that they were willing to participate further in the study were contacted. However, only ten students were able to attend the focus group discussion session because most of the students 113
Rametse & Huq had finished their studies and others had gone to their respective home towns for their semester break. The women students’ age ranged from 18 to 26. These students knew each other and this was an advantage as they related very well during the discussion (Kitzinger 1994). The participants reflected on a number of issues identified from the results of the first stage of the study, which needed further clarification. These were the important factors that influence women students’ aspirations towards business ownership. These included the education level, family background, awareness, access to money, government policies, confidence and the media. The FGD lasted for four hours. Participants were also requested to outline their motivation for business start-up with a focus on the “pull” and “push” factors. The FGD also focused on moderating factors for business start-up decision. Participants were also asked to identify barriers to business start-up in Botswana and recommendations on combating these barriers. The data had been transcribed and analysed through identification of key themes, linking issues discussed to the underlying subject matter identified by the survey results, such as moderating factors for business start-up decision and barriers to women’s business ownership. 3.2 The Model The analysis of this research is predominantly based on Scott and Twomey’s (1988) model, which prescribes factors that influence women students’ career aspirations (see figure 1). This framework is used as it’s conceptual dimensions are mostly covered by the literature (Scott and Twomey 1998; Huq & Moyeen 1999; Orhan and Scott 2001; Muranda 2011) and meet the research objectives of this study. The model is represented by three broad variables comprising of predisposing factors, triggering factors and possessing a business idea (Scott and Twomey, 1988). Scott and Twomey (1988) explain predisposing factors as background/personality/perception factors that develop over several years or more. For this study, these include family background; in particular, small business owners within immediate or broader family as role models. Work experience and perception of business ownership are additional predisposing variables that may shape students’ aspirations to become entrepreneurs. Figure 1 – Main Factors Influencing Career Aspirations (2) Triggering Factor (1) Predisposing Factors Parental role models
Perception of self as entrepreneur Perception of small business
Work Work Experience
Seeking work Unemployment effect Career advice (3) Possession of a business idea
Career Preference
Hobby
(4) Socio-Cultural Factor Access to land Property inheritance Status of women as dependants (Adapted from Scott and Twomey 1988, p7)
114
Rametse & Huq Other broad variables, which are situational and short-term, are triggering factors. These are the reasons why the students are interested in setting up businesses. These include “the effects of looking for work, career advice received, and the prospect of unemployment” (Scott and Twomey 1988, p.6). Another factor that may influence women students to start their businesses is possession of a business idea, which may be instigated by both predisposing and triggering factors. Thus, these factors may generate a business idea, leading on to setting up a business as an ultimate career preference. Thus possession of a business idea alone may “pull” women students into entrepreneurship. Our study seeks to extend this model by providing additional explanations of how the socio-cultural status of women in a particular country context can significantly moderate the influence of the triggering and predisposing factors on women students’ entrepreneurial career aspirations, and often to the extent that, it can act as an impediment to venture creation. In Botswana, these include access to land, inheritance and status of women as dependants (see figure 1).
4. Results and Analysis 4.1 The Respondents’ Profile A majority of the students’ (64 per cent) highest educational qualification was a Bachelors degree, followed by 18 per cent with a Diploma. Only one student had a Masters degree. Forty two (42) per cent studied Accounting, followed by Information Systems (21 per cent), Management (18 per cent) and Finance (9 per cent). Around 79 per cent of the respondents were between the age of 18 and 25 and the rest were mature aged students. The focus group participants’ education profiles were as follows. Out of the ten participants, two had just completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) qualification. The rest of the students were completing their final year of Bachelor of Commerce. A majority of the respondents (48.7 per cent) were interested in a service business, followed by retail (18 per cent) and manufacturing (7.9 per cent). 4.2 General Perception to Business Ownership Clearly, this study has answered the research question, what motivates Botswana women students to start their own businesses and which factors influence their attitudes towards business ownership? A majority of women students (94.7 per cent) considered business ownership as an acceptable economic option for women in Botswana (Table 1). The women asserted that the current economic downturn has resulted in many graduates without jobs. Consequently, as supported by the literature (Scott and Twomey 1998; Huq and Moyeen 1999; Orhan and Scott 2001; Muranda 2011) this would “push” them to consider starting businesses for survival. Table 1 Business Ownership as an Acceptable Option for Botswana Women Response
No. of respondents
Percentage
Yes No
72 4
94.7 5.3
Overall
76
100
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Rametse & Huq A majority of women (67.1 per cent) disagreed that “in Botswana society, it is generally believed that it is difficult for a woman to have a career outside home, let alone own a business”. However, 32.9 per cent agreed to the statement (Table 2). Surprisingly, if the socio-cultural status of women in Botswana society, such as those identified by McDonald (1996) act as a barrier to women’s entrepreneurship, then a general belief of a difficulty for a woman to own a business can be expected. However, these women students believe that they have the education and the drive to embark on their own created venture. Thus, consistent with Shariff and Saud (2009), their individual motivation influences these women to be adamant that negative societal beliefs cannot hinder their ambition for business ownership. Table 2 A General Belief that it is Difficult for a Woman to have a Career Outside Home, Let Alone Own a Business Response
No. of respondents
Percentage
Yes No
25 51
32.9 67.1
Overall
76
100
Table 3 lists the statements in order of significance for the “strongly agreed” response. However, for the combined responses “strongly agree” and “agree”, a majority of women respondents’ (78.9 per cent) top response was the statement, “Business owners deserve every penny they get”. This was followed by statements “Botswana can be proud of its business owners” and “responsibility weighs heavily on a business owner’s shoulders” (75 per cent). The third ranked response was, “business owners really enjoy their work” (73.7 per cent). The women students believe that “business owners deserve every penny they get”. The FGD participants related this to how business owners work hard to support their families and lifestyles. They believe that making a change in the lives of their families as well as society in general, is important for them. Consequently, they would reinvest the profits into their businesses and use the money to support others. Moreover, aspiring entrepreneurs have the drive to make profits than being mere wage earners. The women students also agreed to the statement, “Botswana can be proud of its business owners”. The women narrated this statement to social status or prestige as one of the reasons for business ownership, a situation confirmed by Huq and Moyeen (1999), regarding women in Bangladesh. The women believed that a need for achievement is not only profound in individuals, but in the overall societal attitude towards business ownership. They asserted that government initiatives such as CEDA and LEA are much needed to provide the necessary business support to individuals for starting and growing their businesses, hence creating employment for others. Thus, this would make Botswana to be proud of its business owners. They expressed that under the current global economic turmoil that almost every country is experiencing, Botswana will be proud if they establish their businesses to help “fight unemployment”. On the contrary, a majority of women students “strongly disagreed” and “disagreed” to the statement “business owners are just irresponsible gamblers” (94.8 per cent), followed by the statement “a person starts his/her own business because he/she is not 116
Rametse & Huq qualified for a proper job” (89.5 per cent) and “women are not as good as men in doing business” (79 per cent) (Table 3). Women students’ attitudes to starting their businesses are influenced by the desire to make money, create employment for others and make a difference in society. This justifies their attest to the statement that “business owners are just irresponsible gamblers”. Evidence suggests that individuals may be “pushed” into entering business due to frustration of limited job opportunities (Shariff and Saud 2009), hence may not qualify for the available jobs. The students believe that it is not always the case as their respective educational qualifications may also inform them on how to effectively start and grow successful businesses. The participants also believe that women are as good as men in doing business, although cultural beliefs and stereotypical attitudes may hinder their success in business. They also expressed their discontent with traditional role of women as “housewives”.
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Rametse & Huq Table 3 Attitudes on Business Ownership Statement on Business Ownership
Strongly Agree *n(%) 38 (50.0)
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Total
*n(%) 14 (18.4)
Strongly Disagree *n(%) 0 (0.0)
*n(%) 19 (25.0)
*n(%) 4 (5.3)
*n(%) 75 (98.7)
Business owners deserve every penny they get
32 (42.1)
28 (36.8)
9 (11.8)
4 (5.3)
2 (2.6)
75 (98.7)
With a bit of training, anyone can be a business owner
37 (48.7)
15 (19.7)
15 (19.7)
1 (1.3)
7 (9.2)
75 (98.7)
Responsibility weighs heavily on a business owner’s shoulders
27 (35.5)
30 (39.5)
10 (13.2)
2 (2.6)
6 (7.9)
75 (98.7)
Business owners really enjoy their work
24 (31.6)
32 (42.1)
13 (17.1)
0 (0.0)
6 (7.9)
75 (98.7)
Business owners are in charge of their own lives
18 (23.7)
34 (44.7)
15 (19.7)
3 (3.9)
5 (6.6)
75 (98.7)
Business owners earn a lot of money
12 (15.8)
23 (30.3)
27 (35.5)
5 (6.6)
8 (10.5)
75 (98.7)
To be a business owner means “all work and no play”
17 (22.4)
15 (19.7)
18 (23.7)
10 (13.2)
15 (19.7)
75 (98.7)
In our country business owners do not enjoy equal social status as business-owners in other countries do
9 (11.8)
12 (15.8)
31 (40.8)
10 (13.2)
13 (17.1)
75 (98.7)
Business owners couldn’t fit into a normal salaried job
7 (9.2)
8 (10.5)
17 (22.4)
22 (28.9)
21 (27.6)
75 (98.7)
Business owners are born, not made
4 (5.3)
8 (10.5)
17 (22.4)
22 (28.9)
21 (27.6)
75 (98.7)
Business-ownership for women is more a fashion (status symbol) rather than a career
4 (5.3)
6 (7.9)
13 (17.1)
34 (44.7)
18 (23.7)
75 (98.7)
Business owners care less about their workers than large established companies do
1 (1.3)
3 (3.9)
13 (17.1)
38 (50.0)
20 (26.3)
75 (98.7)
Women are not as good as men in doing business
2 (2.6)
2 (2.6)
10 (13.2)
54 (71.1)
6 (7.9)
75 (98.7)
A person starts his/her own business because he/she is not qualified for a proper job
1 (1.3)
1 (1.3)
5 (6.6)
54 (71.1)
14 (18.4)
54 (71.1)
Business owners are just irresponsible gamblers
2 (2.6)
0 (0.0)
1 (1.3)
56 (73.7)
16 (21.1)
54 (71.1)
Botswana can be proud of its business owners
*n denotes number of respondents; % denotes percentage
4.3 Family Support for Women Students in Business Start-up Women students were asked what they think their parents, relatives and spouses would feel about their decision if they were to start their own businesses. A majority (81.6 per cent) said their parents would welcome the decision and support them all 118
Rametse & Huq the way through, followed by 53 per cent for relatives and 9.2 per cent for spouses (see Table 4). Rametse and Huq (2013) note that these women were already involved in their family members’ businesses (42 per cent), hence expected material and moral support from them. Moreover, this response is expected as these students regard their parents as role models (Dryler 1988). The low figure for spouses is due to a lower number of respondents who have spouses. Table 4 How would Parents, Relatives and Spouse Feel about your Decision to Start your Own Business Response
Parents *n % 62 81.6
Relatives *n % 41 53.9
Spouse *n % 7 9.2
Wouldn’t like the idea very much but would still let me go ahead with it
4
5.3
8
10.5
2
2.6
Wouldn’t like the idea at all and if I still wish to pursue my decision, I won’t get any support from them
2
2.6
9
11,8
1
1.3
The answer would be straight “no” and would never allow me to go ahead with my decision
1
1.3
5
6.6
0
0.0
Total Missing Overall *n denotes number of respondents
69 7 76
90.8 9.2 100
63 13 76
82.9 17.1 100
10 66 76
13.2 88.8 100
Would welcome the decision and support me all the way through
Participants were also asked if their friends (both male and female) would support their decision if they were to start their businesses. Around 86.8 per cent confirmed that they would get such support. 4.4 Barriers to Women’s Business Ownership Women students were requested to rank from a given list of barriers to business ownership, according to the extent to which they agreed or disagreed (5=strongly agree; 4=agree; 3=undecided; 2=disagree; and 1=strongly disagree). As shown on Table 5, the top three ranked statements were “shortage of money” (84.2 per cent), “lack of access to information regarding business start-up” (80.2 per cent), “lack of confidence/respect or negative attitude towards business women” and “lack of confidence among women regarding business start-up” (75 per cent). All these barriers were also confirmed by the FGD participants. The women students discussed that as compared to men, women’s lack of collateral makes access to capital from financial institutions challenging. Studies such as Buttner and Rosen (1988) have confirmed that women were less entrepreneurial than men, hence were evaluated on a lower risk-taking propensity. Moreover, two FGD participants already possessed a business idea (Scott and Twomey 1988) as they 119
Rametse & Huq desired to own a piggery. However, they revealed that access to land was a problem. In fact, one stated: “I have tried to start a piggery business two years ago, but the business set-up could not materialise because I could not get large land and my age contributed to this….” (Participant C). Another respondent said, “Even if you are over 21, you will still face cultural barriers” (Participant A). This relates to one of the cultural barriers confirmed by Molokomme (1986) that culturally, in Botswana as compared to sons, daughters receive smaller shares of land as inheritance on the ground that they would be their in-laws’ concerns upon marriage. Again, the women students indicated that their age limited their access to land for entrepreneurship as they could apply for land when they would become 21 years old, whereas legally in Botswana, access to finance starts at 18 years old. Consequently, this delays them to commence their businesses. Asexplained by the UN Habitat (2010), in Botswana, every person at the age of majority (18) is entitled to be allocated land for residential, cultivation and grazing by virtue of being a citizen. Thus, the barrier may relate to inheritance issues rather than the age limit for land access.
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Rametse & Huq Table 5 Problems which may Prevent Women from Becoming Business Owners in Botswana Statements on problems preventing business ownership
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Total
*n
%
*n
%
*n
%
*n
%
*n
%
*n
%
Lack of family support
23
30.3
23
30.3
16
21.1
3
2.6
10
13.2
74
97.4
Shortage of money
47
61.8
17
22.4
7
9.2
3
3.9
0
0.00
74
97.4
Lack of access to information on business start-up
28
36.8
33
43.4
6
7.9
1
1.3
6
7.9
74
97.4
Lack of financial support from banks and other promotional agencies
30
39.5
23
30.3
10
13.2
2
2.6
9
11.8
74
97.4
Lack of other support (technical, marketing, training) from banks and other promotional agencies
25
32.9
29
38.2
9
11.8
1
1.3
10
13.2
74
97.4
Lack of confidence/respect or negative attitude towards business women
29
38.2
28
36.8
10
13.2
1
1.3
6
7.9
74
97.4
Lack of confidence among women regarding business start-up
32
42.1
25
32.9
8
10.5
4
5.3
5
6.6
74
97.4
Fear of sexual harassment
8
10.5
9
11.8
19
25.0
19
25.0
19
25.0
74
97.4
Lack of favourable government policies relating to small business promotion
15
19.7
16
21.1
21
27.6
15
19.7
7
9.2
74
97.4
Lack of women friendly 14 18.4 17 government policies for small business *n denotes number of respondents
22.4
23
30.3
11
14.5
9
11.8
74
97.4
121
Rametse & Huq 5. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations This study has researched factors influencing the Botswana women students’ attitudes and barriers to businesses ownership. The policies that could promote women’s entrepreneurship in Botswana were also investigated. The findings suggest that Botswana women students consider business ownership as an acceptable career option in the context of global economic downturn. Although their decision to set-up a business is triggered by “push” factors rather than the “pull” factors, Botswana women students perceive their family and friends to be supportive of their business start-up decision. Further, these women students believe that their higher education has equipped them with the knowledge and the confidence to embark on their own created ventures. The results support previous findings on factors influencing attitudes (Brush 1992; Buttner and Moore 1997; Huq and Moyeen 1999; Huq and Moyeen 2002) and barriers (Buttner and Rosen 1988; Bruni et al. 2004; Sena, Scott and Roper 2008) to women’s entrepreneurship. More importantly, the findings of this study has extended Scott and Twomey’s (1988) seminal model of factors influencing career aspirations by providing additional explanations of how the socio-cultural status of women can significantly moderate the influence of the triggering and predisposing factors on women students’ entrepreneurial career aspirations; and often to the extent that, it can act as an impediment to venture creation. This research also confirms that women experience greater barriers to access capital for business start-up due to their socio-cultural status. Limitations suggest that the results of this study should be interpreted with caution. First, the sample size of this study is relatively small and hence did not allow relationship testing among the variables. Secondly, only women students from the business discipline were investigated. Thus, for comparative analysis, the study could have included respondents from other disciplines such as engineering, science and health to delve into more comprehensive analysis of Botswana women students’ attitude to business ownership. Despite this, the findings of this research are important and policy recommendations are as follows. A majority of female students (92.2 per cent) recommended “positive attitude towards business-ownership as an option for women by the society”. This was followed by “access to money” (90.8 per cent) and “building of awareness among women through education, training, and media about business ownership as an economic option” (89.5 per cent). As regards shortage of money as a barrier, the FGD participants recommended that although the Botswana government has a number of initiatives that are targeted towards women to obtain financial grants (for example, CEDA), this support should be increased. Additionally, CEDA should promote its services to women, not only in the cities, but in the rural areas. Moreover, in order to encourage women’s business startup, other assistance, such as training on the maintenance of business cash flow, budgeting and costing is important. Women should also be made aware of alternative sources of capital for entrepreneurial ventures ( for example, bootstrapping) that do not require the entrepreneur to rely solely on debt finance. These include taking advantage of available grants from organisations such as CEDA and interest-free loans from family and friends. As lack of collateral was also identified as a barrier to women’s entrepreneurship, the participants recommended that government grants should be made available to women who do not have strong collateral.
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Rametse & Huq Another major barrier as expressed by 80.2 per cent of respondents was “lack of access to information regarding business start-up”. The Botswana media, for example, newspapers should promote business skills for women. Finance schemes for women should be widely advertised in both cities and rural areas. For example, the FGD participants identified that women in rural areas do not know much about Women Finance House, which is a finance institution that aims at assisting poor women entrepreneurs who are unable to access credit from other financial institutions in Botswana. Women students (75 per cent) also identified a “lack of confidence/respect or negative attitude towards business women” and “lack of confidence among women regarding business start-up” as barriers. The FGD participants suggested that men should be sensitised to support women and be made aware that they will not lose the respect they have from their partners if they start their businesses. The community should be encouraged to support local women entrepreneurs. Support from friends, relatives, counselling and training programs to remedy the lack of confidence amongst women is important. Additionally, educational institutions in Botswana should develop entrepreneurship curriculum to foster potential qualified entrepreneurs to society. Further research on the socio-cultural factors that act as a barrier to women’s entrepreneurship in Botswana is suggested. Future studies in different context or settings should be undertaken to provide a more concrete explanation of the factors influencing women students’ attitudes towards business ownership. Additionally, further research on the socio-cultural factors that act as a barrier to women’s entrepreneurship in Botswana is also suggested.
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