Inner drive plays a more decisive role than external conditions in shaping the intention of Indian women to become entrepreneurs, according to research in the International Journal of Business Innovation and Research. The findings could have implications for policymakers in encouraging business development especially as women-owned businesses have the potential to generate employment, reduce poverty, and serve as nodes of empowerment in both urban and rural settings.
Bijay Prasad Kushwaha of the Vellore Institute of Technology in Vellore, Raj Kumar Singh of Graphic Era Hill University and Vikas Tyagi of Himgiri Zee University in Dehradun, India, and Bhagwati Prasad Chaudhary of Lumbini Banijya Campus in Butwal, Nepal, surveyed more than 400 women who were either in the process of launching or planning to launch their own business ventures. The data obtained offers new insights into the underlying motivations and what hinders entrepreneurial ambition among women in one of India’s most dynamic urban economies, the Chandigarh Tri-city region of Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Mohali, in northern India.
Women make up half of India’s population but are significantly underrepresented in the business world. The team wanted to know why and so divided the various motivational factors into two broad categories. Thre first, internal factors that encompass personal attributes, such as self-confidence, motivation, and resilience. The second, external factors refer to the broader environment, including the availability of financial capital, support from institutions, and prevailing market conditions.
They found that internal factors, especially those related to a woman’s psychological disposition and social context, are more influential than the external factors. This suggests that personal belief in one’s abilities, coupled with encouragement from family and community, serves as a stronger catalyst for entrepreneurship than the presence of supportive infrastructure alone.
Perhaps counterintuitively, not only did external factors have little real impact, the statistically significant impact they did have was exerted as a negative influence on entrepreneurial intent. Bureaucratic red tape, lack of institutional clarity, or gender-based discrimination, for instance, were more likely to discourage women from starting businesses, even when they have the motivation and support to do so.
Kushwaha, B.P., Singh, R.K., Tyagi, V. and Chaudhary, B.P. (2025) ‘How to empower women? Modelling the factors increasing women’s entrepreneurial intention’, Int. J. Business Innovation and Research, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp.108–129.