Review Article: 2023 Vol: 27 Issue: 3
Prerna Katoch, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University
Syeda Shazia Bukhari, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University
Suhail Gupta, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University
Citation Information: Katoch, P., Bukhari, S.S., & Gupta, S. (2023). Acknowledging the women entrepreneurship’s scope in j&k through recognizing effect of digitalization. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 27(3), 1-15.
The study focuses on the aspects of women entrepreneurship and the development taken place in their ventures due to the utilization of digitalization and its techniques. The study is based in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir where the women entrepreneurs are analysed based on the application of digital methods. It follows a quantitative approach where 324 responses are collected using purposive sampling. It is found that the full utilisation of digitalization in the field of entrepreneurship ventures of women has not been done. The tests elucidate that the level of these five components are significantly related to the overall performance. However, on understanding the descriptives, it is found that the levels of competitive aggressiveness and autonomy after digitalization are quite low among the women entrepreneurs. It can be suggested that the digitalization methods required to be used in order to increase the competitive aggressiveness among the entrepreneurs. The use of digitalization has the capability to expand the same and effective usage can ensure the same.
Women, Entrepreneurs, Digitalisation, Ventures.
The present world is highly dominated by various scopes of digitalization which has facilitated the functioning of businesses to a large extent. The process of digitalization has taken the use of technologies such as including artificial intelligence, big data analytics, internet of things etc. to advance the current methods of doing businesses (Chauhan et al., 2022). While these methods have been largely used in the developed regions across the world, it is also essential to address the fact that digitalization in its smaller measures have helped many small scale businesses as well which are located in certain geographically backward settings. Talking about a country like India, which is known for its medium and small scale enterprises (MSMEs) which are run by people residing in the rural parts of the country, digitalization has helped them in many ways too (Statista Research Department, 2021). In the light of digitalization in a country like India, it is important to address another crucial aspect i.e., enhancing the levels of women entrepreneurship. In India there are many women led ventures being operated from a rural area such as those in the area of textiles, food items, craftsmanship etc. (Kanwal, 2022). While there have been a number of studies in the past which have talked about women entrepreneurship in India highlighting the challenges, the schemes provided by the Government and the impact of digitalization (Agarwal & Lenka, 2018; Chhabra et al., 2020; Srivastava & Misra, 2017). However, in this particular study, the point of reference has been strictly the UT of Jammu & Kashmir which has many of its own difficulties and uniqueness. It is found that 10% out of the total population have women led entrepreneurship ventures in the UT (Shabir, 2022). This shows that how the enthusiasm for women entrepreneurship in the region exists, it is now important that further research is conducted in the field so that it can amplify the pace of these ventures by incorporating methods of digitalization. With the above scope and gap in mind, the study here would analyse the following research questions during the course of this study (Afenyo, 2020).
RQ1: How is the present usage pattern of digitalization among the existing women entrepreneurs in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir?
RQ2: In which ways can digitalization help to make the optimum utilisation of the present situation to generate better benefits in the future?
In order to understand the above research questions, the course of conducting this study has been designed. The next sections would provide an understanding into the same while using statistical methods to arrive at the final results from the study (Datta, 2021).
The study here has reviewed the current literature with respect to digitalization and women entrepreneurship in order to understand the need for this research and is provided in this section below.
Rastogi et al. (2022) explored the context of women entrepreneurship in India and highlighted the differences owing to the presence of societal and cultural beliefs especially among women. They have to fight from basic challenges such as breaking the barrier and stepping out of their houses to gender stereotyping in the entrepreneurship world. They focus on maintaining a work-life balance and derives high level of satisfaction from it (Tchamyou, 2021). India having a lot of cultural beliefs often restricts women to step out of their houses and this can be mentioned as one of the biggest barriers occurring in generating women entrepreneurship opportunities further in the country. In their study found evidences on the fact that women entrepreneurship can bring about drastic changes into the lives of women in developing nations especially for those who are living in poverty. The role of social entrepreneurs in this is found to be crucial as they can lend their support to make more women successful in the field. Ghosh & Pandita (2022) while researching about the status of women led e-businesses have rightfully pointed out the reluctance of women entrepreneurs to move forward in the process, although the women entrepreneurs in India are found to be quite enthusiastic, they do not exhibit much interest in managing their businesses in an e-mode. The scopes are still highlighted to be men-driven and requires attention to be equally made interesting among the women (Agarwal et al., 2022).
Schillo & Ebrahimi (2022) in their study, comprehending about the digitally focused entrepreneurship ventures have mentioned that there is found to be a gender gap due to the presence of a male- dominated situation and making the space less prominent among women entrepreneurs. As per Popović-Pantić et al. (2022), the need for digitalization has reached its peak during the time of pandemic. The authors mentioned that the time had been especially difficult for women. Around 77% of the surveyed women entrepreneurs suggested the digital approaches being undertaken during the time of Covid-19 had negative consequences on their businesses. The Government support too did not have an unchallenging effect on their functioning. Faugoo & Onaga (2022) in their study had looked into the prospects of digitalization based on gender based barriers. The study conferring about entrepreneurship in the same context have mentioned that in order to make digitalisation effective and inclusive, it is important that the gender gap in the use of digital modes be reduced by applying global level policies (Raj, 2019). This would make the world available to a more gender neutral and better chance driven for the entrepreneurs across both genders. Agreed on the fact that the social innovation aspect of women entrepreneurship through digitalization has been increased to a large extent which will help these women entrepreneurs to have a social influence, to make an individual identity of their own and build structural influences as well (Ardito, 2019; Sahoo & Swain, 2020).
From the above set of studies in the recent times specifically, it can be stated that digitalization have not been able to provide a gender neutral advantage when it comes to women entrepreneurship. This is due to the lack of global level policies for optimum utilisation across gender. There is immense scope for making proper use of digitalization among women entrepreneurs and especially in a region such as Jammu & Kashmir which does not have enough evidence recorded in the matter. The research here would be able to provide the present level of utilisation and would be able to highlight the important aspects in which there can be work done to achieve a gender neutral level of digitalization in the field of women entrepreneurship (Maheshwari, 2019).
In the next section, the detailed method followed for conducting the study is being provided.
The study here focuses on two main aspects- first is women entrepreneurship and digitalization and second is the geographical location of the entrepreneurs to be investigated. In order to achieve the data for successfully conducting the research, a quantitative measure has been designed. The study would have a primary method of data collection which would be facilitated by a structured closed ended questionnaire for the respondents. The questionnaire would be designed from the previous literature in a 5 Point Likert type scale. The best method of collecting the primary set of data is using non-probabilistic method of sampling. Purposive sampling is used in order to be able to include only the women entrepreneurs in the region. Based on the statistical requirements of the study, a total sample of 324 has been used. This reflects the number of samples required to represent the original population while being adequate for conducting the statistical analyses. The results would be analysed using the Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) and is shown in the following section (Gupta, 2019).
This particular study has already focused into two main demographics of the respondents i.e., gender and location. Now before moving on to the next set of analysis, a look into the other demographic composition of the women entrepreneurs is being shown below.
The above table 1 shows the various important information about the women entrepreneurs being considered for the study here. It depicts how the age group of these entrepreneurs’ range majorly from 21 to 50 years with education level of graduation and post-graduation. The nature of business includes mostly retail, beauty based and other home-based services. Majority of them have their ventures started from personal savings with only 2.5% approaching for loans from banks.
Table 1 Demographic Composition Of The Women Entrepreneurs |
||
---|---|---|
Demographic Variables | Frequency | Percentage |
Age Group(in years) Below 20 years 21-35 years 36-50 years 51-60 years |
12 200 104 8 |
3.7% 61.7% 32.1% 2.5% |
Education Level 10th 12th Graduate PG |
12 32 164 116 |
3.7% 9.9% 50.6% 35.8% |
Nature of Business Beauty based E- business/ online Health care Home based/ Service based Retail Business |
116 8 16 76 108 |
35.8% 2.5% 4.9% 23.5% 33.3% |
Marital Status Married Single Unmarried |
212 12 100 |
65.4% 3.7% 30.9% |
Income per Month(INR) 10000-25000 25001- 40000 Less than 10000 More than 40000 |
140 92 28 64 |
43.2% 28.4% 8.6% 19.8% |
Area of Residence Rural Semi-Urban Urban |
12 68 244 |
3.7% 21.0% 75.3% |
Source of start-up capital Borrowed from father/ Spouse/ friends Loan from Banks Personal Savings Sold own Jewellery |
32 8 276 8 |
9.9% 2.5% 85.2% 2.5% |
Location of Market Local Market Outside the state Within the state |
92 36 196 |
28.4% 11.1% 60.5% |
This information already illustrates details about these entrepreneurs and would be explored further in this section.
For understanding the situation prevailing in terms of women entrepreneurship, the questionnaire consists of investigation about the improvement after digitalization and have been enquired over a number of different aspects. The table 2 below shows a descriptive analysis of each of the aspects being considered with respect to digitalization in entrepreneurship eventually determining the overall scenario of the venture.
Table 2 Descriptives |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | Mean | Median | SD | Minimum | Maximum | |
Increase in personal satisfaction. | 324 | 4.11 | 4 | 0.862 | 2 | 5 |
Market Share has improved. | 324 | 3.89 | 4 | 0.787 | 2 | 5 |
Rising profit to sales ratio market growth. | 324 | 3.81 | 4 | 0.819 | 2 | 5 |
Enhancing the value of brand. | 324 | 3.83 | 4 | 0.915 | 2 | 5 |
Growing the trust of customer. | 324 | 4.04 | 4 | 0.937 | 2 | 5 |
Sales have been increasing day by day. | 324 | 4 | 4 | 0.957 | 1 | 5 |
Commencing strategies for new product development. | 324 | 3.75 | 4 | 0.938 | 2 | 5 |
Diversification. | 324 | 3.88 | 4 | 1.139 | 1 | 5 |
As evident from the table above it is seen that the performance measure improvement has been considered from that of personal satisfaction to an escalation in the market share, profit to sales ratio crude, building value for the brand, gaining trust of the consumers, an heightening trend for the sales, getting started with new product development strategies and also in terms of diversification. Analyzing the main schools from the above table it is found that the highest mean score is 4.11 which refers to the increase in personal satisfaction after using digitalization. On the other hand, the least mean score from the mentioned characteristics is 3.75 which is not quite low but is with respect to the starting of new product development strategies. All of the mean scores being above 3.5 it can be expected that there is a level of agreement to the increase in performance of the business after digitalization.
Tables 3-5 shows the questionnaire had also asked the respondents to nominally answer at which level they agree their entrepreneurial venture to be at the current situation after the implementation of digitalization strategies.
Table 3 Frequencies Of Overall Performance After Digitalization |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Levels | Counts | % of Total | Cumulative% |
High | 168 | 51.9% | 51.9% |
Low | 4 | 1.2% | 53.1% |
Moderate | 44 | 13.6% | 66.7% |
Very High | 108 | 33.3% | 100.0% |
Table 4 Contingency Tables |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age | ||||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | 21-35 years | 36-50 years | 51-60 years | Below 20 years | Total | |
High | Observed | 96 | 60 | 4 | 8 | 168 |
% within row | 57.1% | 35.7% | 2.4% | 4.8% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
% within row | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 24 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
% within row | 54.5% | 45.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 76 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 108 |
% within row | 70.4% | 22.2% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 200 | 104 | 8 | 12 | 324 |
% within row | 61.7% | 32.1% | 2.5% | 3.7% | 100.0% |
Table 5 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 15 | 9 | 0.09 |
N | 324 |
Table 6 Contingency Tables |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marital Status | |||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | Married | Single | Unmarried | Total | |
High | Observed | 112 | 4 | 52 | 168 |
% within row | 66.7% | 2.4% | 31.0% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
% within row | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 32 | 0 | 12 | 44 |
% within row | 72.7% | 0.0% | 27.3% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 64 | 8 | 36 | 108 |
% within row | 59.3% | 7.4% | 33.3% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 212 | 12 | 100 | 324 |
% within row | 65.4% | 3.7% | 30.9% | 100.0% |
The overall performance after digitalization have shown that 51.9% think that they have achieved high level of performance after digitalization followed by 33.3% who think there are very high level of performance enhancement after digitalization and only 1.2% of them believe that there have been low performance after digitalizing. This clearly shows that almost majority of the respondents feel that digitalization has increased their overall performance in the business.
The performance levels being marked after digitalization is now enquired with respect to the important demographics shown earlier in the section. This section includes a series of chi-square tests to show the existence of any significant relationships among them.
The first two factors considered here are the age group and marital status of the women entrepreneurs. In India, the cultural and social taboos are often found to be connected with these two aspects to a large extent. While married women have to fight a number of beliefs to make themselves financially independent. The results below can show a picture of the women entrepreneurs to a large extent.
Interpretation
Tables 6-9 shows the overall performance after digitalization of the ventures have been analyzed across the different age groups and marital status of the women entrepreneurs. It is up so that there is no statistically significant relationship between the two and the p- value is greater than 0.05. This reflects on the fact that the digitalization use for enhancement of the overall performance is not actually related to the age group that the entrepreneur is in or their marital status. Tables 10-13 shows This reflects the fact that women entrepreneurs from different age groups and marital status can now make utilization of digitalization.
Table 7 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 9.96 | 6 | 0.126 |
N | 324 |
Table 8 Contingency Tables |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Religion | |||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | Hindu | Muslim | Sikh | Total | |
High | Observed | 156 | 8 | 4 | 168 |
% within row | 92.9% | 4.8% | 2.4% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
% within row | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 44 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
% within row | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 92 | 16 | 0 | 108 |
% within row | 85.2% | 14.8% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 296 | 24 | 4 | 324 |
% within row | 91.4% | 7.4% | 1.2% | 100.0% |
Table 9 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 24.1 | 9 | 0.004 |
N | 324 |
Table 10 Contingency Tables |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income | ||||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | 10000-25000 | 25001- 40000 | Less than 10000 | More than 40000 | Total | |
High | Observed | 64 | 52 | 20 | 32 | 168 |
% within row | 38.1% | 31.0% | 11.9% | 19.0% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
% within row | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 20 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 44 |
% within row | 45.5% | 36.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 52 | 24 | 4 | 28 | 108 |
% within row | 48.1% | 22.2% | 3.7% | 25.9% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 140 | 92 | 28 | 64 | 324 |
% within row | 43.2% | 28.4% | 8.6% | 19.8% | 100.0% |
Table 11 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 19.5 | 9 | 0.021 |
N | 324 |
Table 12 Contingency Tables |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Area of Residence | |||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | Rural | Semi-Urban | Urban | Total | |
High | Observed | 0 | 36 | 132 | 168 |
% within row | 0.0% | 21.4% | 78.6% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
% within row | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 0 | 0 | 44 | 44 |
% within row | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 12 | 32 | 64 | 108 |
% within row | 11.1% | 29.6% | 59.3% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 12 | 68 | 244 | 324 |
% within row | 3.7% | 21.0% | 75.3% | 100.0% |
Table 13 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 45.8 | 6 | <.001 |
N | 324 |
Interpretation
Tables 14-17 shows The remaining demographic variables with respect to the entrepreneur i.e., the religion, education level, income, caste and area of residence all have a statistically significant relationship with that of the overall performance measure after digitalization. This shows that there lies a number of conditions that are required to be paid attention to when increasing the performance after digitalization based on the individual characteristics of the women entrepreneurs. The study here will also investigate the presence of such association among the overall performance measure and the attributes of the firm being included in the demographic analysis of the study.
Table 14 Contingency Tables |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Caste | ||||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | General | OBC | SC | ST | Total | |
High | Observed | 160 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 168 |
% within row | 95.2% | 4.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
% within row | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 40 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
% within row | 90.9% | 9.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 100 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 108 |
% within row | 92.6% | 0.0% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 304 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 324 |
% within row | 93.8% | 3.7% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 100.0% |
Table 15 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 24.2 | 9 | 0.004 |
N | 324 |
Table 16 Contingency Tables |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source of start-up capital | ||||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | Borrowed from father/ Spouse/ friends | Loan from Banks | Personal Savings | Sold own Jewellery | Total | |
High | Observed | 12 | 8 | 148 | 0 | 168 |
% within row | 7.1% | 4.8% | 88.1% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
% within row | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 4 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 44 |
% within row | 9.1% | 0.0% | 90.9% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 16 | 0 | 84 | 8 | 108 |
% within row | 14.8% | 0.0% | 77.8% | 7.4% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 32 | 8 | 276 | 8 | 324 |
% within row | 9.9% | 2.5% | 85.2% | 2.5% | 100.0% |
Table 17 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 28.9 | 9 | <.001 |
N | 324 |
Interpretation
Tables 18-21 shows in case of the attributes of the firm such as the nature of the business, the location of the market and the source of funding for the venture is also statistically significantly related to the overall performance of the firm after digitalization.
Table 18 Contingency Tables |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nature of business | |||||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | Beauty based | E- business/ online | Health care | Home based/ Service based | Retail Business | Total | |
High | Observed | 36 | 4 | 12 | 44 | 72 | 168 |
% within row | 21.4% | 2.4% | 7.1% | 26.2% | 42.9% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
% within row | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 24 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 44 |
% within row | 54.5% | 0.0% | 9.1% | 18.2% | 18.2% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 52 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 28 | 108 |
% within row | 48.1% | 3.7% | 0.0% | 22.2% | 25.9% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 116 | 8 | 16 | 76 | 108 | 324 |
% within row | 35.8% | 2.5% | 4.9% | 23.5% | 33.3% | 100.0% |
Table 19 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 46.6 | 12 | <.001 |
N | 324 |
Table 20 Contingency Tables |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location of Market | |||||
Overall Performance after digitalization | Local Market | Outside the state | Within the state | Total | |
High | Observed | 60 | 24 | 84 | 168 |
% within row | 35.7% | 14.3% | 50.0% | 100.0% | |
Low | Observed | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
% within row | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | |
Moderate | Observed | 4 | 0 | 40 | 44 |
% within row | 9.1% | 0.0% | 90.9% | 100.0% | |
Very High | Observed | 24 | 12 | 72 | 108 |
% within row | 22.2% | 11.1% | 66.7% | 100.0% | |
Total | Observed | 92 | 36 | 196 | 324 |
% within row | 28.4% | 11.1% | 60.5% | 100.0% |
Table 21 χ2 Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Value | df | p | |
χ2 | 37.4 | 6 | <.001 |
N | 324 |
The level of innovativeness after the implementation of digital methods here is found to be on the higher side. Majority of the respondents agree that the level of innovativeness of the firms have taken place.
Tables 22-25 shows secondly, the level of proactiveness is also found to range majorly among the high to very high categories. The proactiveness in entrepreneurs is a sought after quality and it shows the achievement due to digitalisation.
Table 22 Frequencies Of Level Of Innovativeness |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Level of Innovativeness | Counts | % of Total | Cumulative% |
High | 176 | 54.3% | 54.3% |
Low | 4 | 1.2% | 55.6% |
Moderate | 48 | 14.8% | 70.4% |
Very High | 96 | 29.6% | 100.0% |
Table 23 Frequencies Of Level Of Proactiveness |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Level of Proactiveness | Counts | % of Total | Cumulative% |
High | 152 | 46.9% | 46.9% |
Low | 4 | 1.2% | 48.1% |
Moderate | 40 | 12.3% | 60.5% |
Very high | 120 | 37.0% | 97.5% |
Very low | 8 | 2.5% | 100.0% |
Table 24 Frequencies Of Level Of Risk-Taking |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Level of Risk-taking | Counts | % of Total | Cumulative% |
High | 108 | 33.3% | 33.3% |
Moderate | 140 | 43.2% | 76.5% |
Very High | 68 | 21.0% | 97.5% |
Very Low | 8 | 2.5% | 100.0% |
Table 25 Frequencies Of Level Of Competitive Aggressiveness |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Level of Competitive Aggressiveness | Counts | % of Total | Cumulative% |
High | 52 | 16.0% | 17.3% |
Low | 80 | 24.7% | 42.0% |
Moderate | 52 | 16.0% | 58.0% |
Very High | 28 | 8.60% | 66.6% |
Very Low | 112 | 34.6% | 100.0% |
Tables 26 & 27 shows the level of risk-taking however is found to be at the moderate level majorly. Although there are responses towards high and very high, the 43.2% indicating towards moderating levels is worth noticing.
Table 26 Frequencies Of Level Of Autonomy |
|||
---|---|---|---|
level of Autonomy | Counts | % of Total | Cumulative% |
High | 16 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Low | 128 | 39.5% | 45.7% |
Moderate | 52 | 16.0% | 61.7% |
Very Low | 124 | 38.2% | 69.1% |
Very high | 4 | 1.2% | 70.4% |
Table 27 Chi-Square Tests |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Factor | χ2 | df | p |
Innovativeness | 45.1 | 12 | <.001 |
Proactiveness | 67.5 | 16 | <.001 |
Risk-Taking | 73.3 | 16 | <.001 |
Competitive Aggressiveness | 55.0 | 20 | <.001 |
Autonomy | 42.1 | 24 | 0.013 |
Competitive aggressiveness is often found to be one of the essential requirements in the entrepreneurship ventures. It helps to drive out the forces in doing businesses. Here, it is seen that after the application of digitalisation methods, the level of competitive aggressiveness among the women entrepreneurs in the region is majorly very low. This shows that use of digital methods for increasing competitive aggressiveness is not yet being utilised.
Autonomy levels, upon being enquired are found to have again very low levels of propagation among the women entrepreneurs in the region.
It is found from the above frequencies that there can be effective use of digitalisation in the future as well due to its maximum usage is not yet been explored.
The study has considered five factors which are important as per the existing literature on adoption of technology in women entrepreneurship. These five factors are – innovativeness, proactiveness, risk, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy. These five factors combined can help in understanding the situation of women entrepreneurship levels in the state. The levels of these factors as stated by the respondents themselves are hereby presented in the sections below.
In order to understand further about the role of these five factors in the overall performance of the women entrepreneurship ventures after digitalization, chi-square tests have been conducted to determine the associations.
The table above represents the chi-square test results conducted with that of the overall performance after digitalisation and it is evident from the table above that there is a statistically significant association of the performance based on the levels of each of these five factors in the ventures.
From the data collected for the research and decoding them using various statistical references, it has hereby been established that the use of digitalization among the women entrepreneurs is still at a nascent stage and proper utilization has not been made yet. The study highlighted a number of scopes for the future and these are being discussed in the conclusion section below.
The topic of women entrepreneurship has gained much attention in the recent times due to the increased awareness on gender equality and financial independence. The women across the world today are more educated in the domain of being independent and there have been many resources that have successfully worked in its favor. One such mode is digitalization and the use of various technological forms to achieve financial independence among women. In the present times, India has seen high level of enthusiasm among the women residing in rural areas about stating small entrepreneurship ventures that help them financially. The resources made available through digitalization have been used by many for their upliftment. In the light of such practices, here the study has selected the women entrepreneurs of Jammu & Kashmir UT for evaluation. From the primary data collected, the two research questions laid down in the beginning of the study has been successfully achieved.
RQ1: How is the present usage pattern of digitalization among the existing women entrepreneurs in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir?
The study has established that in the present times, the full utilisation if digitalization in the field of entrepreneurship ventures of women has not been done. The women entrepreneurs are found to have built their ventures using their own financial resources rather than utilising the schemes and funds available from the banks and Government agencies. Although the women entrepreneurs have mentioned that using digitalisation in their ventures have provided them personal satisfaction but use of it developing new strategies, forming market plans and using it for diversification has not yet been considered well. There are impact of demographic factors found on the overall performance after using digitalization such as the nature of the business, the location of the market and the source of fund used. This reflects on the fact that all of these have overall caused an indirect or direct impact on the use of digitalisation for proper development of women entrepreneurs led businesses. The current situation in the field is at present not optimally utilised, not strategized well and is influenced by a number of personal attributes of the entrepreneurs. This stretches on the fact the notion of the women entrepreneurs with respect to digitalisation and its scope must be made clear. Once the entrepreneurs themselves are convinced about the benefits of the role of digitalisation, its usage can be further made better in the coming time.
RQ2: In Which Ways Can Digitalization Help To Make The Optimum Utilisation Of The Present Situation To Generate Better Benefits In The Future?
The performance of the women entrepreneurs led ventures upon the application of digitalisation is found to be related to five factors considered essential in entrepreneurship literature. These five factors comprise of innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy. The tests show that the level of these five components are significantly related to the overall performance. However, on understanding the descriptives, it is found that the levels of competitive aggressiveness and autonomy after digitalization are quite low among the women entrepreneurs. It can be suggested that the digitalization methods need to be used in order to increase the competitive aggressiveness among the entrepreneurs. The use of digitalization has the capability to increase the same and effective usage can ensure the same. For that purpose, it is essential that active marketing plans are devised out through the methods of digitalization. The creation of an active online space for their businesses can start the process of competitive aggressiveness. As the UT of J&K is a tourist driven place, digitalisation can be actively used to promote these ventures through communication with tourists during their visits. The scope of digitalisation would enhance innovativeness and proactiveness as seen here, hence it is important to get the process started to ensure better results in the future.
The study has highlighted a number of interesting researches to be taken place in the future. Firstly, the use of data from the women entrepreneurs have shown their side of the situation, however, a take from the customers side can also help in coming out with a number of innovative ideas for its usage. The five factors considered here can be further studied to understand the situation in detail in the future. In the succeeding studies, a specific digitalisation path can be focused into with respect to the women entrepreneurship study.
Afenyo-Agbe, E.A., & Adeola, O. (2020). Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment through tourism in Africa: Towards agenda 2030. InEmpowering African Women for Sustainable Development. 121-132.
Agarwal, S., &Lenka, U. (2018). Why research is needed in women entrepreneurship in India: A viewpoint. International Journal of Social Economics, 45(7), 1042–1057.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Agarwal, V., Mathiyazhagan, K., Malhotra, S., &Pimpunchat, B. (2022). Building resilience for sustainability of MSMEs post COVID-19 outbreak: An Indian handicraft industry outlook. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 101443.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Ardito, L., Scuotto, V., del Giudice, M., &Petruzzelli, A.M. (2019). A bibliometric analysis of research on Big Data analytics for business and management. Management Decision, 57(8), 1993–2009.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Chauhan, C., Parida, V., & Dhir, A. (2022). Linking circular economy and digitalisation technologies: A systematic literature review of past achievements and future promises. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 177, 121508.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Chhabra, S., Raghunathan, R., & Rao, N.V.M. (2020). The antecedents of entrepreneurial intention among women entrepreneurs in India. Asia Pacific Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 14(1).
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Datta, S., &Sahu, T.N. (2021). Impact of Microcredit on Employment Generation and Empowerment of Rural Women in India. International Journal of Rural Management, 17(1), 140–157.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Faugoo, D., &Onaga, A.I. (2022). Establishing a Resilient, Economically Prosperous and Inclusive World by Overcoming the Gender Digital Divide in the New Normal. In Responsible Management of Shifts in Work Modes – Values for a Post Pandemic Future, 1, 115–129. Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Ghosh, R.C., & Pandita, D. (2022). Women Entrepreneurs E-Business Management: Initiating Rewriting of Rules. 2022 7th International Conference on Business and Industrial Research (ICBIR), 306–311.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Gupta, A. (2019). Towards Participatory Democracy: Can Digitalisation Help Women in India? Indian Journal of Public Administration, 65(4), 897–915.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Kanwal, S. (2022). Share of women-owned MSMEs in India FY 2021. Statista.
Maheshwari, S., Gautam, P., &Jaggi, C.K. (2021). Role of Big Data Analytics in supply chain management: current trends and future perspectives. International Journal of Production Research, 59(6), 1875–1900.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Popovic-Pantic, S., Semencenko, D., & Vasilic, N. (2022). Economic Inclusion of Women Entrepreneurs During Covid-19 in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. InTowards Economic Inclusion in the Western Balkans.249-277.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Raj, A., & Agrawal, A.M. (2019). The Future Wave of Rural Women Empowerment: Work-From-Home Opportunity.PRAGATI: Journal of Indian Economy,6(1), 1-15.
Rastogi, M., Baral, R., & Banu, J. (2022). What does it take to be a woman entrepreneur? Explorations from India. Industrial and Commercial Training, 54(2), 333–356.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Tchamyou, V.S., Diop, S., &Asongu, S. (2021). African Women Vulnerability Index (AWVI): Focus on Rural Women. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Sahoo, B.B., & Swain, K.C. (2020). Micro, small and medium enterprises (msmes) in India: The engine of growth.International Journal of Social Science,9(1), 31-43.
Schillo, R.S., & Ebrahimi, H. (2022). Gender dimensions of digitalisation: A comparison of Venture Capital backed start-ups across fields. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 34(7), 733–745.
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Shabir, Z. bin. (2022). Only 10% Women Entrepreneurs Operate MSMEs In J&K. Kashmir Observer.
Srivastava, S., &Misra, R. (2017). Exploring antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions of young women in India. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 9(2).
Indexed at, Google Scholar, Cross Ref
Received: 08-Dec-2022, Manuscript No. AMSJ-22-12977; Editor assigned: 12-Dec-2022, PreQC No. AMSJ-22-12977(PQ); Reviewed: 22-Jan-2023, QC No. AMSJ-22-12977; Revised: 24-Feb-2023, Manuscript No. AMSJ-22-12977(R); Published: 03-Mar-2023