Relevance of social capital in women’s business performance in Bangladesh

Abstract

Social capital has been projected as a key resource in entrepreneurial success. While the association between successful business activity by rural women and their ability in building social capital is often seen as a pathway of poverty reduction, a thorough understanding of the relevance of social capital in women's business performance could have crucial insights into ways for alleviating rural poverty in developing countries. Nonetheless, the relevance of social capital in women's business performance has hardly studied in the specific context of Bangladesh. The present review is undertaken to fill this information gap. Social capital has positive impact on gaining legitimacy, building mutual trust and co-operation in women's business. Besides, women enterprises with enhanced social capital are found to possess better access to other forms of capital. The review shows the importance of external actors such as microfinance institutions in developing social capital of women enterprises in Bangladesh. Alongside microfinance, regulative factors such as different rules and regulations of the government can positively facilitate women entrepreneurship development in rural Bangladesh.

Contextuality of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Business Performance: The Case of Women Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

“…According to the existing literature, the social environment represents the main barrier for women to start their business in Bangladesh: the prevailing societal norms, religious values, family expectations and traditions limit women's mobility and significantly influence their participation in business activities (De Vita et al, 2014;Mozumdar et al, 2017). Women's involvement in entrepreneurial activities in this country depends on patriarchy (e.g., most of them depend on their parents or husbands for initial financial resources to start a business) and religion (Drinkwater, 2009;Rabbani & Chowdhury, 2013).…”

Determinants of the Business Performance of Women Entrepreneurs in the Developing World Context

“…Empirical research results show that business training has a positive effect on the net income [100] and annual sales of women entrepreneurs [98]. Social capital: Social capital, defined in the literature as the resource, whether actual or virtual, that can be achieved through a network of social ties or relationships [101,102], is considered as a determinant of business performance [25,38,96,102,103]. This can be a potential resource for entrepreneurs who can derive it from their network, which is defined as a set of interactive ties/relationships that individuals have and can benefit from in pursuing their interests [38,104].…”

Rural Poverty Alleviation Strategies and Social Capital Link: The Mediation Role of Women Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation

“…According to Mozumdar et al (2017), social capital creates a business opportunity for women entrepreneurs to survive even in the case of extremely poor rural settings. Similarly, Yusuf (2008) indicates entrepreneurs explore their social capital through their connections and social networks with their customers, suppliers, and other market individuals to create business opportunities.…”