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

Abstract

This article presents a novel insight into the extent to which social capital, social innovation, and women entrepreneurial activities contribute to rural poverty alleviation. Applying the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique through SmartPLS software version 3.0, data from a total sample of 333 women entrepreneurs in the Agribusiness sector from the Sekyere South District in Ghana were empirically analyzed. The findings from the study highlight the transformative potential of rural women entrepreneurs who utilize social capital from both formal and informal social networks toward rural poverty alleviation. Thus, study results revealed that women entrepreneurship growth performance is positively and significantly associated with rural poverty alleviation. Furthermore, the impacts of social innovation and relational social capital on poverty alleviation showed positive. We recommend that policymakers and development practitioners should empower more women into entrepreneurial activities in the agribusiness sector in rural areas to promote rural poverty alleviation in developing countries.

Reconstructive Social Innovation Cycles in Women-Led Initiatives in Rural Areas

“…The Scopus search (performed on 28 October 2020) for "Social innovation", "Women"/"Gender", and "Rural" resulted only in 15 items-out of which seven papers were on technical and medical analyses, therefore, of no relevance for the scope of our paper. The other nine papers used analytical concepts of feminist coalitions in connection to matters of care [20], social capital and entrepreneurial activities [21], women's empowerment [22], responsible micro-franchising as a place-based social innovation [23], technology interventions as social innovations to close gender-technology gaps [24], SWOT analysis [25], the role of social innovation in dispute resolution linked to marginalized women [26], and institutionalization process of gender equality and non-discrimination [27].…”

Toward Economic Growth and Value Creation Through Social Entrepreneurship: Modelling the Mediating Role of Innovation

“…The results showed that innovation mediated the relationship between these variables. Another study conducted by Osei and Zhuang (2020) found that entrepreneurship and social innovation are significant mediators between rural poverty and social capital. Such studies explicitly show that innovation could be a powerful mediator between two positive constructs.…”

Rural women entrepreneurship: a systematic literature review and beyond

“…Petridou and Glaveli (2008) found a positive impact of training programmes on entrepreneurial skills and attitude by analysing a sample 104 rural women members of cooperatives in Greece who attended a specific training programme. Osei and Zhuang (2020) on the basis of data collected from 333 women agrientrepreneurs from rural Ghana concluded that rural women entrepreneurial growth potential is significantly, positively related to poverty alleviation.…”

“…Rural areas are generally portrayed as backward, peripheral, deficit in entrepreneurial activities (Markantoni and Hoven, 2012). Academicians and governments focus on rural entrepreneurship as it symbolises innovations (Kabgu, 2018;Nosratabadi et al, 2020), selfemployment, reduces poverty (Obinna and Ejike, 2017;Osei and Zhuang, 2020), growth of economy (Kyrgidou and Petridou, 2013), and thus ensures dynamic and sustainable (Warren-Smith and Jackson, 2004) economies. In developing economies across the globe, it has been noted that rural women are engaged in child care activities (Markantoni and Hoven, 2012) and other household work.…”