Nuanced Gender Perceptions on the Influences of Formal Education and Business Networks on Tourism-Related Business Operations: Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
Keywords:
gender nuances; business operations; business performance; business networks; sub-Saharan AfricaAbstract
Entrepreneurship contributes significantly to every nation’s socio-economic development. Previous studies reveal that having adequate formal education and belonging to relevant business networks can be indicators of successful business development. However, some of these studies show that female-owned businesses are facing more challenges than their male-owned counterparts. This study explored nuanced gender perceptions on the influences that formal education and business networks can have on tourism-related business operations in Durban Central Business District, KwaZulu-Natal. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from purposively selected 150 (75 females and 75 males) tourism-related entrepreneurs. We employed descriptive, bivariate and multivariate data analyses in this study. This study did not make a conclusive finding that gender plays a role in differentiating business success or performance, as mostly perceived. However, respondents with tertiary education agree more to being successful than those without tertiary education; male entrepreneurs agree more than female entrepreneurs that level of formal education is key to business performance; and male entrepreneurs tend to be more active members of business networks. This study recommends that entrepreneurship training and mentorship programmes should emphasise that formal education (not gender) supports business success, and encourage women entrepreneurs to be active members of relevant business networks.
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Ezeuduji, I. O. & Nkosi, S. (2017). Tourism Destination Competitiveness using Brand Essence: Incorporating the ‘Zuluness’ of the Zulu Kingdom. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 1-7.
Ezeuduji, I. O. & Ntshangase, S. D. (2017b). Entrepreneurial Inclination: South African Youth’s Mental Attitude towards starting Tourism Business. Journal of Economics and Behavioural Studies, 9 (4), pp. 144-152.
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Fairlie, R. W. & Robb, A. M. (2009). Gender differences in business performance: evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners survey. Small Business Economics, 33, pp. 375-395.
Ferguson, L. (2011). Promoting gender equality and empowering women? Tourism and the third millennium development goal. Current Issues in Tourism, 14(3), pp. 235–249.
GEM (2012). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2012 Women’s Report. Available at https://www. gemconsortium. org/report/gem-2012-womens-report. Accessed July 22, 2019.
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Hodges, N. ; Watchravesringkan, K. ; Yurchisin, J. ; Karpova, E. ; Marcketti, S. ; Hegland, J. ; Yan, R. & Childs, M. (2015). Women and Apparel Entrepreneurship: An exploration of Small Business Challenges and Strategies in Three Countries. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 7 (2), pp. 191-213.
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Jha, P. ; Makkad, M. & Mittal, S. (2018) Performance-Oriented Factors for Women Entrepreneurs – A Scale Development Perspective. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 10 (2), pp. 329-360.
Jiyane, G. V. ; Majanja, M. K. Mostert, B. J. & Ocholla, D. (2013). South Africa as Information and Technology Society: The Benefit to Informal Sector Women Entrepreneurs. South African Journal Libs and Information Science, 79(1), pp. 1-12.
Jiyane, V. G. ; Ocholla, D. N. , Mostert, B. J. & Majanja, M. K. (2012). Contribution of Informal Sector Women Entrepreneurs to the Tourism Industry in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. KwaZulu-Natal: Barriers and Issues. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 18(4), pp. 709-728.
Jonsson, S. (2015). Entrepreneurs’ Network Evolution – The Relevance of Cognitive Social Capital. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 21 (2), pp. 197-223.
Kimbu, A. N. ; Ngoasong, M. Z. ; Adeola, O. & Afenyo-Agbe, E. (2019). Collaborative Networks for Sustainable Human Capital Management in Women’s Tourism Entrepreneurship: The Role of Tourism Policy. Tourism Planning & Development, 16(2), pp. 161-178.
Klyver, K. & Grant, S. (2010) Gender differences in entrepreneurial networking and participation. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 2 (3), pp. 213–227.
Kuada, J. (2009). Gender, Social Networks, and Entrepreneurship in Ghana. Journal of African Business, 10(1), pp. 85–103.
Lans, T. ; Blok, V. & Gulikers, J. (2015). Show Me Your Network and I’ll Tell You Who You Are: Social Competence and Social Capital of Early- Stage Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 27 (7-8), pp. 458-473.
Marlow, S. & McAdam, M. (2013). Gender and entrepreneurship: Advancing debate and challenging myths; exploring the mystery of the under‐performing female entrepreneur. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 19 (1), pp. 114-124.
Mersha, T. & Sriram, V. (2019). Gender, Entrepreneurial Characteristics, and Success: Evidence from Ethiopia. Thunderbird International Business Review, 61 (2), pp. 157–167.
Meunier, F. ; Krylova, Y. & Ramalho, R. (2017). Women’s Entrepreneurship: How to Measure the Gap between New Female and Male Entrepreneurs? Policy Research Working Paper 8242, pp. 1–28. World Bank Group. Available at https://elibrary. worldbank. org/doi/pdf/10. 1596/1813-9450-8242. Accessed April 2, 2020.
Mkhize, G. & Cele, N. (2017). The role of women in tourism in KwaZulu-Natal. Agenda, 31 (1), pp. 128-139.
Nardi, P. M. (2018). Doing Survey Research: A Guide to Quantitative Methods (4th Ed). New York: Routledge Publications.
Nsengimana, S. ; Iwu, C. G. & Tengeh, R. K. (2017). The Downside of Being a Female Entrepreneur in Kigali, Rwanda. The Scientific Journal for Theory and Practice of Socio-economic Development, 6(12), pp. 151 – 164.
Nxopo, Z. & Iwu, C. G. (2016). The Unique Obstacles of Female Entrepreneurship in the Tourism Industry in Western Cape, South Africa. Commonwealth Youth and Development, 13(2), 55–71.
Nyaruwata, S. & Nyaruwata, L. T. (2013). Gender Equity and Executive Management in Tourism: Challenges in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region. African Journal of Business Management, 7(21), pp. 2059-2070.
Okereke, E. C. (2019). Influence of Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Intention in Polytechnics Poly Technics in Adamawa State. Online Journal of Arts, Management and Social Sciences, 4(1), pp. 44-53.
Ramadani, V. (2015). The Woman Entrepreneur in Albania: An Exploratory Study on Motivation, Problems and Success Factors. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 17(2), pp. 204-221.
Rao, D. K. (2018). Growth and Development of Women Entrepreneurs in India Challenges and Empowerment. International Journal of Advanced Research and Development, 3(1), pp. 235-242.
Rauch, A.; Rosenbusch, N. ; Unger, J. & Frese, M. (2016). The Effectiveness of Cohesive and Diversified Networks: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Business Research, 69, pp. 554-568.
Santos, G.; Marques, C. S. & Ratten, V. (2019). Entrepreneurial Women’s Networks: The Case of D’Uva – Portugal Wine Girls. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 25(2), pp. 298-322.
Sarfaraz, L.; Faghih, N. & Asadi Majd, A. (2014). The relationship between women entrepreneurship and gender equality. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 2 (6), pp. 1-11.
Shepard, L. J. (2015). Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations. New York: Routledge.
Srećković, M. (2018). The Performance Effect of Network and Managerial Capabilities of Entrepreneurial Firms. Small Business Economics, 50, pp. 807-824.
Sudarmanti, R.; Van Bauwel, S. & Longman, C. (2013). The Importance of Fieldwork Research to Reveal Women Entrepreneurs Competence in Communication. Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, 3(4), pp. 74-87.
Tajeddini, K.; Ratten, V. & Denisa, M. (2017). Female Tourism Entrepreneurs in Bali, Indonesia. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 31, pp. 51-58.
Tavakol, M. & Dennick, R. (2011). Making Sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2(1), pp. 53-55.
Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (2019). Tourism boom. Available at https://www. zulu. org. za/. Accessed February 28.
Tshabalala, S. P. & Ezeuduji, I. O. (2016). Women Tourism Entrepreneurs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Any Way Forward? Acta Universitatis Danubius Œconomica, 12(5), pp. 19-32.
Veal, A. J. (2011). Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism: A Practical Guide (4th Ed. ). Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Vossenberg, S. (2013). Women Entrepreneurship Promotion in Developing Countries: What Explains the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship and How to close it? Working Papers from Maastricht School of Management, No 2013/08. Available at https://econpapers. repec. org/paper/msmwpaper/2013_2f08. htm. Accessed February 2, 2020.
Welsh, D. H. B.; Kaciak, E.; Memili, E. & Zhou, Q. (2017). Work-Family Balance and Marketing Capabilities as Determinants of Chinese Women Entrepreneurs’ Firm Performance. Journal of Global Marketing, 30(3), pp. 174-191.
Zlatkov, C. M. (2015). Women Entrepreneurship in Serbia: A Qualitative Study of the Perceived Enabling Factors for the Female Entrepreneurship. Master’s Thesis. Uppsala: Sveriges Lantbruksuniveritet (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences).
Business Environment Specialist (2013). Understanding Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa. Available at http://www. sbp. org. za/uploads/media/SBP_Alert__Understanding_Women_Entrepreneurs_in_SA. pdf. Accessed May 11, 2018.
Chawla, D. & Sondhi, N. (2011). Research Methodology: Concepts and Cases. London: New Delhi, Vikas Publishing.
Chinomona, E. & Maziriri, E. T. (2015). Women in Action: Challenges Facing Women Entrepreneurs in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. International Business & Economics Research Journal, 14(6), pp. 835-850.
Chirwa, E. W. (2008). Effects of Gender on the Performance of Micro and Small Enterprises in Malawi. Development Southern Africa, 25(3), pp. 347-362.
Daniyan-Bagudu, H. ; Khan, S. J. M. & Roslan, A. H. (2016). The Issues and Challenges Facing the Female Entrepreneurs in Lagos State, Nigeria. 3rd Kanita Postgraduate International Conference on Gender Studies. (16-17 November) 149–155. Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang.
Etikan, I. ; Musa, S. A. & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5 (1), pp. 1-4.
Ezeuduji, I. O. & Nkosi, S. (2017). Tourism Destination Competitiveness using Brand Essence: Incorporating the ‘Zuluness’ of the Zulu Kingdom. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 1-7.
Ezeuduji, I. O. & Ntshangase, S. D. (2017b). Entrepreneurial Inclination: South African Youth’s Mental Attitude towards starting Tourism Business. Journal of Economics and Behavioural Studies, 9 (4), pp. 144-152.
Ezeuduji, I. O. & Ntshangase, S. D. (2017a). Entrepreneurial Intention: South African Youth’s willingness to start Tourism Businesses. Acta Universitatis Danubius Œconomica, 13 (5), pp. 48-58.
Fairlie, R. W. & Robb, A. M. (2009). Gender differences in business performance: evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners survey. Small Business Economics, 33, pp. 375-395.
Ferguson, L. (2011). Promoting gender equality and empowering women? Tourism and the third millennium development goal. Current Issues in Tourism, 14(3), pp. 235–249.
GEM (2012). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2012 Women’s Report. Available at https://www. gemconsortium. org/report/gem-2012-womens-report. Accessed July 22, 2019.
George, D. & Mallery, P. (2003). SPSS for Windows step by step: A simple guide and reference. 11. 0 update. 4th Ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Gidarakou, I. (2015). Women’s Entrepreneurship in Rural Greece. International Journal of Business and Management, 10 (10), pp. 129-142.
Greenberg, J. & Mollick, E. (2017). Activist Choice Homophily and the Crowdfunding of Female Founders. Administrative Science Quarterly, 62 (2), pp. 341-374.
Hodges, N. ; Watchravesringkan, K. ; Yurchisin, J. ; Karpova, E. ; Marcketti, S. ; Hegland, J. ; Yan, R. & Childs, M. (2015). Women and Apparel Entrepreneurship: An exploration of Small Business Challenges and Strategies in Three Countries. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 7 (2), pp. 191-213.
Iwu, C. G. & Nxopo, Z. (2015). Determining the specific support services required by female entrepreneurs in the South African tourism industry. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 4(2), pp. 1-13.
Iwu, C. G. ; Ezeuduji, I. O. ; Eresia-Eke, C. & Tengeh, R. (2016). The Entrepreneurial Intention of University Students: The Case of a University of Technology in South Africa. Acta Universitatis Danubius Œconomica, 12 (1), pp. 164-181.
Jha, P. ; Makkad, M. & Mittal, S. (2018) Performance-Oriented Factors for Women Entrepreneurs – A Scale Development Perspective. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 10 (2), pp. 329-360.
Jiyane, G. V. ; Majanja, M. K. Mostert, B. J. & Ocholla, D. (2013). South Africa as Information and Technology Society: The Benefit to Informal Sector Women Entrepreneurs. South African Journal Libs and Information Science, 79(1), pp. 1-12.
Jiyane, V. G. ; Ocholla, D. N. , Mostert, B. J. & Majanja, M. K. (2012). Contribution of Informal Sector Women Entrepreneurs to the Tourism Industry in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. KwaZulu-Natal: Barriers and Issues. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 18(4), pp. 709-728.
Jonsson, S. (2015). Entrepreneurs’ Network Evolution – The Relevance of Cognitive Social Capital. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 21 (2), pp. 197-223.
Kimbu, A. N. ; Ngoasong, M. Z. ; Adeola, O. & Afenyo-Agbe, E. (2019). Collaborative Networks for Sustainable Human Capital Management in Women’s Tourism Entrepreneurship: The Role of Tourism Policy. Tourism Planning & Development, 16(2), pp. 161-178.
Klyver, K. & Grant, S. (2010) Gender differences in entrepreneurial networking and participation. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 2 (3), pp. 213–227.
Kuada, J. (2009). Gender, Social Networks, and Entrepreneurship in Ghana. Journal of African Business, 10(1), pp. 85–103.
Lans, T. ; Blok, V. & Gulikers, J. (2015). Show Me Your Network and I’ll Tell You Who You Are: Social Competence and Social Capital of Early- Stage Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 27 (7-8), pp. 458-473.
Marlow, S. & McAdam, M. (2013). Gender and entrepreneurship: Advancing debate and challenging myths; exploring the mystery of the under‐performing female entrepreneur. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 19 (1), pp. 114-124.
Mersha, T. & Sriram, V. (2019). Gender, Entrepreneurial Characteristics, and Success: Evidence from Ethiopia. Thunderbird International Business Review, 61 (2), pp. 157–167.
Meunier, F. ; Krylova, Y. & Ramalho, R. (2017). Women’s Entrepreneurship: How to Measure the Gap between New Female and Male Entrepreneurs? Policy Research Working Paper 8242, pp. 1–28. World Bank Group. Available at https://elibrary. worldbank. org/doi/pdf/10. 1596/1813-9450-8242. Accessed April 2, 2020.
Mkhize, G. & Cele, N. (2017). The role of women in tourism in KwaZulu-Natal. Agenda, 31 (1), pp. 128-139.
Nardi, P. M. (2018). Doing Survey Research: A Guide to Quantitative Methods (4th Ed). New York: Routledge Publications.
Nsengimana, S. ; Iwu, C. G. & Tengeh, R. K. (2017). The Downside of Being a Female Entrepreneur in Kigali, Rwanda. The Scientific Journal for Theory and Practice of Socio-economic Development, 6(12), pp. 151 – 164.
Nxopo, Z. & Iwu, C. G. (2016). The Unique Obstacles of Female Entrepreneurship in the Tourism Industry in Western Cape, South Africa. Commonwealth Youth and Development, 13(2), 55–71.
Nyaruwata, S. & Nyaruwata, L. T. (2013). Gender Equity and Executive Management in Tourism: Challenges in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region. African Journal of Business Management, 7(21), pp. 2059-2070.
Okereke, E. C. (2019). Influence of Entrepreneurship Education on Entrepreneurial Intention in Polytechnics Poly Technics in Adamawa State. Online Journal of Arts, Management and Social Sciences, 4(1), pp. 44-53.
Ramadani, V. (2015). The Woman Entrepreneur in Albania: An Exploratory Study on Motivation, Problems and Success Factors. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 17(2), pp. 204-221.
Rao, D. K. (2018). Growth and Development of Women Entrepreneurs in India Challenges and Empowerment. International Journal of Advanced Research and Development, 3(1), pp. 235-242.
Rauch, A.; Rosenbusch, N. ; Unger, J. & Frese, M. (2016). The Effectiveness of Cohesive and Diversified Networks: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Business Research, 69, pp. 554-568.
Santos, G.; Marques, C. S. & Ratten, V. (2019). Entrepreneurial Women’s Networks: The Case of D’Uva – Portugal Wine Girls. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 25(2), pp. 298-322.
Sarfaraz, L.; Faghih, N. & Asadi Majd, A. (2014). The relationship between women entrepreneurship and gender equality. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 2 (6), pp. 1-11.
Shepard, L. J. (2015). Gender Matters in Global Politics: A Feminist Introduction to International Relations. New York: Routledge.
Srećković, M. (2018). The Performance Effect of Network and Managerial Capabilities of Entrepreneurial Firms. Small Business Economics, 50, pp. 807-824.
Sudarmanti, R.; Van Bauwel, S. & Longman, C. (2013). The Importance of Fieldwork Research to Reveal Women Entrepreneurs Competence in Communication. Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, 3(4), pp. 74-87.
Tajeddini, K.; Ratten, V. & Denisa, M. (2017). Female Tourism Entrepreneurs in Bali, Indonesia. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 31, pp. 51-58.
Tavakol, M. & Dennick, R. (2011). Making Sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2(1), pp. 53-55.
Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (2019). Tourism boom. Available at https://www. zulu. org. za/. Accessed February 28.
Tshabalala, S. P. & Ezeuduji, I. O. (2016). Women Tourism Entrepreneurs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Any Way Forward? Acta Universitatis Danubius Œconomica, 12(5), pp. 19-32.
Veal, A. J. (2011). Research Methods for Leisure and Tourism: A Practical Guide (4th Ed. ). Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
Vossenberg, S. (2013). Women Entrepreneurship Promotion in Developing Countries: What Explains the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship and How to close it? Working Papers from Maastricht School of Management, No 2013/08. Available at https://econpapers. repec. org/paper/msmwpaper/2013_2f08. htm. Accessed February 2, 2020.
Welsh, D. H. B.; Kaciak, E.; Memili, E. & Zhou, Q. (2017). Work-Family Balance and Marketing Capabilities as Determinants of Chinese Women Entrepreneurs’ Firm Performance. Journal of Global Marketing, 30(3), pp. 174-191.
Zlatkov, C. M. (2015). Women Entrepreneurship in Serbia: A Qualitative Study of the Perceived Enabling Factors for the Female Entrepreneurship. Master’s Thesis. Uppsala: Sveriges Lantbruksuniveritet (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences).
Published
2020-06-03
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Nzama, N. ., & Ezeuduji, I. O. . (2020). Nuanced Gender Perceptions on the Influences of Formal Education and Business Networks on Tourism-Related Business Operations: Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa: Array. EuroEconomica, 39(2). Retrieved from https://dj.univ-danubius.ro/index.php/EE/article/view/292
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