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The purpose of this paper is to identify the growth barriers of women’s home-based businesses (HBBs) in Iran.

The qualitative approach was used by 22 in-depth interviews with Iranian female HBBs owners/mangers.

Business growth barriers of women were categorized in a multi-level framework of individual barriers (micro), business-related barriers (medium) and environmental barriers (macro). The most important micro-level barrier is lack of skills and experience, while the financial barriers identified as the most business-related one and, finally, the problems of having work interactions with men is the most important environmental barrier women-owned HBBs mentioned.

The results of this paper can help policy-makers better understand growth barriers for women-owned HBB and attenuate these barriers by developing purposeful supportive growth policies that are commensurate with the barriers. Also, HBB women owners themselves could better concentrate on removing barriers by deepening their understanding of their business growth barriers.

The paper contributes to the scarce knowledge about women-owned HBBs in Iran, a rapidly growing, developing country, which can provide better insights from a less explored context. Moreover, as there is only a limited understanding of HBB growth, especially in relation to women business owners, the paper results can prove helpful for researchers in the domain of female entrepreneurs.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the growth motivations of women owning and managing home-based businesses (HBBs) in Iran.

The qualitative approach was used by 20 in-depth interviews with Iranian female HBBs owners/mangers.

The business growth motivations of women owning and managing HBBs were categorized in intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Results show that women owning and managing HBBs are motivated to growth their businesses by intrinsic motivations including need for achievement, need for independence, proving competency and socio-cultural concerns. Also, they are motivated by some extrinsic motivations including financial issues, fame, positive feedback from others and the problems of working at home.

Given the importance of entrepreneurial growth, the findings provide additional insight into growth motivations of women entrepreneurs.

The results of this study can help policymakers to develop purposeful growth policies for women’s HBBs that are commensurate with the motivations.

Also, women owning and managing HBBs themselves could better concentrate on enhancing business growth by deepening their understanding of their business growth motivations.

The paper contributes to the scarce knowledge about women-owned HBBs in Iran, a rapidly growing, developing country, which can provide better insights from a less explored context. Moreover, as there is only a limited understanding of HBB growth, especially in relation to women business owners, the study results can prove helpful for researchers in the domain of female entrepreneurs. Also, this paper contributes to theory on the motivation for entrepreneurship and to research on growth motivation.

Despite the expansion of women's entrepreneurial activities and its positive effects on the economic development of societies, women still face numerous difficulties in starting and running a business compared to men, especially in developing countries because of gender discrimination in the field. The cultural context in societies is a significant factor affecting the status of entrepreneurship among the Iranian women. Therefore, the present research is an attempt to identify the challenges affecting entrepreneurship among Iranian women. The results obtained from 30 semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs and women with entrepreneurial roles showed that sociocultural challenges faced by women entrepreneurs are classified into: “the society's perception of entrepreneurship among women,” “women's social security,” and “common family norms governing a society.”

The ability to develop and maintain an effective network is an entrepreneurial competency. There are differences in female social networks' features as well as in the way of expanding it comparing to men's. But, there is little attention to female entrepreneurs' networks. This chapter focuses on the dynamics of female entrepreneurs' networks at different stages of the business life cycle. A qualitative study was conducted on a sample of Iranian female entrepreneurs in the trade sector situated in Tehran. The results of data analysis of 10 semi-structured interviews show a considerable change in networking activity over time. Although the most important role of networking for women entrepreneurs in both early-stage and established businesses is to achieve opportunities, information, and resources. Also, the combination of female entrepreneurs' networks is most male-dominated. And the main challenge of networking in the early-stage is being female, while it becomes rather an advantage for established ones. Finally, Iranian female entrepreneurs become more aware of networking benefits over time.

Women Entrepreneurship has received increasing attention over the past decade. In particular, a new area dealing with women entrepreneurs in the developing societies. The aim of this study is how is women entrepreneurship in developing economies? More specifically, we are excavating various questions at the individual and institutional level. The results of this study contribute to understanding the importance of the context on women entrepreneurs’ activities. Additionally, it systematically provides a comprehensive framework at multilevel analyses to cover all aspects of women entrepreneurship in developing countries. Ultimately, knowing women entrepreneurship in developing countries helps policymakers provide a firm ground for self-employment of women.

This study aims to investigate the entrepreneurial actions of successful Iranian women entrepreneurs. It is an attempt to find the roots, motivations, challenges and strategies of successful actions of these women, despite the unequal and masculine structure of the society.

This research was conducted through the theoretical framework of poststructuralist feminism and the qualitative method. By purposive sampling, the researchers selected 10 women entrepreneurs living in Khorasan Razavi province for in-depth interviews. These women have created many jobs based on local potential and become recognized as top entrepreneurs. The narratives of these women were analyzed phenomenologically.

The actions of these women are fertilized under the influence of family background and early socialization and in the combination of internal motivations and external stimuli. These women resist social barriers such as widespread patriarchy, gender division of labor in society and complex bureaucratic processes through the “strategic cycle” resulting from the interaction of “reliance on intertwined social networks,” “social entrepreneurship,” “gradual formation of social capital” and “reliance on local potentials.”

The strategies to overcome gender inequalities at the micro (family) and macro (society) levels introduced in this research can inspire women entrepreneurs who seek success in their businesses.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first qualitative research that, by studying the actions of successful Iranian women entrepreneurs, describes how they overcome structural inequalities and their success strategies.

International entrepreneurship and marketing research reports the impact of effectual decision-making logic on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) international performance. How the effectual logic of decision-making enhances the overall performance of SMEs in international business-to-business markets remains a puzzle in the field. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concept of networking capability as an important SME capability translating effectual decision-making into international performance.

The authors examine the model presented in this study using quantitative data from 153 founders or managers in charge of international business at SMEs throughout New Zealand. The authors also used 142 open-ended responses to provide post hoc exploratory analysis.

The findings of this study suggest that networking capability is a mechanism through which the logic of decision-making enhances the international performance of SMEs.

This study bridges between international marketing and entrepreneurship by investigating how the networking capability of internationalizing SMEs translates their founders’/managers’ effectual logic into a successful performance in international business-to-business markets.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the contextual factors that influence entrepreneurial intention to start the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Iran and to investigate why some manufacturing sector entrepreneurs achieve growth objectives while others do not.

In-depth semistructured interviews of 25 participants were used to investigate the contextual factors of entrepreneurship intention. On the basis of the data collected, a thematic content analysis has been carried out.

A set of contextual and cultural factors has been highlighted by the analysis. Data analysis led to the extraction of three main themes: external, internal and personal factors that were found to be significant determinants of entrepreneurship intention. In relation to the effect of these factors on their entrepreneurial behaviors, it emerged that there were the major barriers to entrepreneurial intentions including lack of resources, financial challenges and economic situation, which affected how they made strategic decisions about their plans. Moreover, the findings show that the key dimensions of organizational structure, public policies, social media, education and soft skills development are vital features and being influential in entrepreneurship.

The study has industry-specific, size-specific and region-specific limitations. The qualitative research approach affects the generalizable character of the results.

The research findings have important implications for practicing entrepreneurs, start-ups and policymakers. The manuscript suggests a transition to a more collaborative approach from experts and practitioners in the field through policymakers to tackling the underlying determinants of entrepreneurship intention in Iran as a motive to economic growth. This research is significant since its findings should help regulators and investors better understand the opportunities and threats among manufacturing SMEs. This study implies a step forward in research into the entrepreneurship intention and SMEs literature, since the results differ from the evidence found for large companies in developing countries such as Iran. There is also a great contribution toward the debate regarding the need to consider the context and the type of firm in enterprise development studies.

This is the first empirical study conducted in Iran that explores three key elements of entrepreneurship intention interactively in Iran through qualitative research analysis. The research study fills a literature gap on the determinants of manufacturing SMEs’ functions. This manuscript explores the contextual factors that influence on entrepreneurial behavior in a conflict country context, using a thematic analysis for in-depth results. A new approach to evaluating entrepreneurial opportunities was used. The advantage of this empirical strategy is that it takes into account in more detail the content observations and experiences with the industry-specific insights. It also gives more description about the contingent nature of practice. Moreover, this qualitative research acknowledged the areas of conflict and contradiction around entrepreneurship phenomena among SMEs.

This study investigates the impact of top management’s networking capabilities on the organizational networking and absorptive capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Puerto Rico. This study aims to enhance understanding of how top management influences the networking behaviors that drive SME performance.

Data were collected from Puerto Rican SMEs and analyzed using multi-item reflective indicators on a five-point Likert scale. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses and explore relationships between networking capabilities and absorptive capacities.

The study finds that top management’s networking capabilities are predominantly reactive, significantly impacting information acquisition, opportunity enabling and weak-tie resource mobilization. Both potential and realized absorptive capacities are critical for SMEs to leverage resources for competitive advantage.

Further research is needed to explore how these findings apply to other regions or industries and expand on the role of proactive networking in enhancing SME competitiveness.

The study underscores the importance of refining proactive and reactive networking capabilities to sustain competitive advantage in dynamic environments.

Puerto Rico’s unique economic context, including natural disasters and economic downturns, makes the findings relevant for SMEs in similar regions that rely on strong networks for resilience.

This research contributes to the dynamic capabilities literature by confirming SMEs’ proactive and reactive networking dimensions. It also offers a unique perspective by focusing on Puerto Rican SMEs facing distinct economic and social challenges.

Este estudio investiga el impacto de las capacidades de networking de la alta dirección en las redes organizacionales y las capacidades de absorción de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) en Puerto Rico. La investigación tiene como objetivo mejorar la comprensión de cómo la alta dirección influye en los comportamientos de networking que impulsan el desempeño de las PYMEs.

Se recopilaron datos de PYMEs puertorriqueñas y se analizaron utilizando indicadores reflexivos de múltiples ítems en una escala Likert de cinco puntos. Se empleó el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS-SEM) para probar las hipótesis y explorar las relaciones entre las capacidades de networking y las capacidades de absorción.

El estudio encuentra que las capacidades de networking de la alta dirección son predominantemente reactivas, lo que impacta significativamente en la adquisición de información, la habilitación de oportunidades y la movilización de recursos a través de vínculos débiles. Tanto las capacidades de absorción potenciales como las realizadas son fundamentales para que las PYMEs aprovechen los recursos para obtener una ventaja competitiva.

Esta investigación contribuye a la literatura sobre capacidades dinámicas al confirmar las dimensiones proactivas y reactivas de networking en las PYMEs. También ofrece una perspectiva única al centrarse en las PYMEs de Puerto Rico que enfrentan desafíos económicos y sociales particulares.

Se necesita más investigación para explorar cómo estos hallazgos se aplican a otras regiones o industrias y para profundizar en el papel del networking proactivo en la mejora de la competitividad de las PYMEs.

El estudio subraya la importancia de perfeccionar las capacidades de networking proactivas y reactivas para mantener una ventaja competitiva en entornos dinámicos.

El contexto económico único de Puerto Rico, incluidas las catástrofes naturales y las recesiones económicas, hace que los hallazgos sean relevantes para PYMEs en regiones similares que dependen de redes sólidas para su resiliencia.

Este estudo investiga o impacto das capacidades de networking da alta gestão nas redes organizacionais e nas capacidades de absorção das pequenas e médias empresas (PMEs) em Porto Rico. A pesquisa visa melhorar a compreensão de como a alta gestão influencia os comportamentos de networking que impulsionam o desempenho das PMEs.

Os dados foram coletados de PMEs porto-riquenhas e analisados usando indicadores reflexivos de múltiplos itens em uma escala Likert de cinco pontos. Foi utilizado o modelo de equações estruturais de mínimos quadrados parciais (PLS-SEM) para testar as hipóteses e explorar as relações entre as capacidades de networking e as capacidades de absorção.

O estudo conclui que as capacidades de networking da alta gestão são predominantemente reativas, impactando significativamente a aquisição de informações, a habilitação de oportunidades e a mobilização de recursos através de vínculos fracos. Tanto as capacidades de absorção potenciais quanto as realizadas são fundamentais para que as PMEs aproveitem os recursos para obter vantagem competitiva.

Esta pesquisa contribui para a literatura sobre capacidades dinâmicas ao confirmar as dimensões proativas e reativas de networking nas PMEs. Também oferece uma perspectiva única ao focar nas PMEs de Porto Rico, que enfrentam desafios econômicos e sociais distintos.

Mais pesquisas são necessárias para explorar como esses achados se aplicam a outras regiões ou indústrias, além de expandir o papel do networking proativo no aumento da competitividade das PMEs.

O estudo destaca a importância de aperfeiçoar as capacidades de networking proativas e reativas para manter a vantagem competitiva em ambientes dinâmicos.

O contexto econômico único de Porto Rico, incluindo desastres naturais e crises econômicas, torna os achados relevantes para PMEs em regiões semelhantes que dependem de redes sólidas para sua resiliência.