An Empirical Study to Identify the Determinants of Success of Women Entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

Women entrepreneurs and women-owned enterprises have made a mark in wealth creation, employment generation and to the growth of the economy as a whole. As per the Fourth All India Census of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (2006-07) women enterprises constitute to 13.72 per cent of the total number of enterprises in the country.Researches show that firms owned by women entrepreneurs are likely to be concentrated in the service sector (Orser and Connell 2005; Sena et. al., 2010) and have negligible presence in the male dominated manufacturing concerns. The present paper attempts to find out the factors which determine the success of women entrepreneurs. On the basis of researches done earlier various factors have been identified including individual characteristics like self attitude, quality & traits, confidence and education; social factors like family support, social environment occupational segregation/ gender; technology support and government support. The impact of these factors has been assessed on the basis an empirical study conducted on women entrepreneurs located in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 100 entrepreneurs were interviewed through a structured questionnaire to seek their opinion on various factors and their impact on their success. The findings of the survey throw major light on the opinion of women entrepreneurs, especially of Uttar Pradesh, on the determinants of their success.