Intangible resources and the growth of women businesses

Abstract

Purpose Intangible assets are widely considered as key success factors for the growth of businesses in various economies. While the relationship between intangible assets or resources and business growth or performance have been extensively researched in advanced economies, there is limited understanding of the complexity of the phenomenon in developing/emerging markets. In Ghana specifically, there is a dearth of research on the impact of intangible assets on the growth of women businesses. Consequently, this paper aims to investigate how intangible assets available to women entrepreneurs contribute to the performance of their businesses. Design/methodology/approach Using an exploratory sequential research design (a type of mixed methods design), the data collection was organized into two main phases. The first phase was the qualitative phase where nine respondents were interviewed, and the responses were analysed using thematic analysis. The second phase was the quantitative phase where some 264 questionnaires were collected and analysed using multiple regression analysis. Findings Specifically, the findings focused on three intangible resources: social capital, human capital and reputational capital. The study found that, social, human and reputational capital all significantly contributed to the growth of women businesses. The study also showed a positive and significant effect of social capital, reputational capital and human capital on business growth. Practical implications These findings have implications for women entrepreneurs in Ghana. If they must grow their businesses, then using intangible assets alone may not be able to deliver growth in the required proportions. Serious consideration must be given to the significant impact of intra and extra industry networking and the social competency skills of the entrepreneur. The rationality of this assertion hinges on the findings made from this study that social competence can be effectively used to further enhance the effects of the value of one’s intangible assets. Originality/value Policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa and specifically Ghana have accorded high priority to private sector entrepreneurship towards reduction in the dependence of the citizenry on government for jobs. Perhaps, this paper adds to the growing body of knowledge on female entrepreneurship in Ghana to understand how intangible assets available to women entrepreneurs contribute to the performance of their businesses.

Women Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Review to Outline the Boundaries of Scientific Literature

“…From our analysis, we found a study that considered the impact of human, social and reputational capital on women's businesses in Ghana. The results showed the positive impact of the three types of capital on corporate growth, but, to a greater extent, they highlighted the importance of women's social networks for the growth of their businesses, and to further improve the value of their intangible skills (Sallah and Caesar, 2020).…”

The antecedents of success among small- and medium-sized enterprises: evidence from Ghana

“…In developing countries such as Ghana, the major challenges confronting SMEs are the increasing level of competition from foreign companies and large-scale firms, inadequate supply of business inputs, lack of access to credit and working capital, energy challenges and unfavourable economic conditions (Thompson Agyapong et al, 2018). Hence, empirical studies in Ghana consent that lack of access to qualified personnel, access to credit, competition from the international markets, low level of domestic demand, infrastructure, labour and management challenges and business environment problems impact on the success of SMEs (Sallah & Caesar, 2020).…”

“…Tangible resources include capital, access to capital and location (among others). Intangible resources consist of knowledge, skills and reputation and managerial capabilities entrepreneurial orientation, among others (Kellermanns et al, 2016;Sallah & Caesar, 2020). In this paper, the internal resource of firms includes raw materials, staff or employees and financial resources of firm (Leonidou et al, 2017).…”

“…In support of this postulation, Aylin et al (2013) asserted that one of the crucial factors determining the success of SMEs is managerial skills and that one factor that is likely to cause the failure of SME is lack of management skills. Sallah and Caesar (2020) also argue that many SMEs are bound to struggle and eventually collapse in the absence of intangible core skills and managerial capabilities given their direct impact on the growth of SMEs. Based on this assertion, the researchers hypothesise that: H2: There is a positive relationship between managerial competencies and success of SMEs in Ghana.…”

Datasets of social capital and business performance in the Nigerian informal sector

“… This dataset is useful for researchers who intend to reuse or reanalyze it to investigate the possible relationships between social capital resources and business performance in the informal sector of an emerging economy [1] . For instance; to examine the comparative effect of internal or external social capital resources on the financial or non-financial performance (or both) of male and female-owned enterprises [2] ; to examine the comparative effect of internal or external social capital resources on the business performance of family-owned and non-family-owned enterprises; or to examine the comparative effect of internal or external social capital resources on the financial or non-financial performance of sole proprietorship-based or partnership-based enterprises. The potentials of this dataset when analyzed through inferential statistical analysis, are valuable to enhancing entrepreneurs’ and policymakers’ awareness level regarding the importance of internal and external social capital resources in enhancing the financial and non-financial performance of SMEs in the informal sector of an emerging economy.…”