Antecedents of Business Success among Women Owned MSMEs: Perspectives from an Emerging Economy

Abstract

The purpose of this research endeavor is to explore the antecedents of business success in the Indian perspective, with specific reference to women owned Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs). The Resource Based View (RBV) servers as the theoretical perspective of this research endeavor. The research philosophy adopted in the study is positivism. A multistage mixed sample design is embraced and cross-sectional data is captured form 149 women entrepreneurs in the MSME sector through a structured pre-tested questionnaire. This study has adopted the PLS-SEM approach to test the hypotheses relating to the relationship among the exogenous constructs such as marketing capability, entrepreneurial competency, knowledge sharing, access to financial resources, and technology usage with the endogenous construct i.e. business success. This research has found that business success has a significant positive association with entrepreneurial competency, technology usage, access to financial resources and knowledge sharing. However, this study fails to gather empirical evidence to support the association between marketing capability and business success. The interpretations presented in this papers lays a foundation to policy makers in designing skill enhancement, support initiatives and effective policy framework that will boost the competitiveness of women owned MSMEs in India. This empirical research is original as antecedents of business success is explored in the theoretical backdrop of the Resource Based Theory and within the scope of women owned MSME enterprises.