Study of the effect of entrepreneurial capital on the entrepreneurial performance of women higher education graduates living in Tehran"

Women's entrepreneurship, as a phenomenon related to the pillars of sustainable development, is essential for the economic, social, and cultural growth of a population. Due to the demographic conditions of unemployed educated women and related research needs, a more accurate understanding of this issue is necessary. Therefore, in the beginning, qualitative research was conducted with 52 participants and the "grounded theory" method and semi-structured in-depth interview tools. Then, the present survey research was conducted to evaluate its findings. Findings indicate the direct and indirect impact of entrepreneurial capital on entrepreneurial performance. The statistical population includes women entrepreneurs and educated people living in Tehran. The research tool is a researcher-made questionnaire and "random-online" sampling method. One hundred fifty respondents completed questionnaires, and their data were tested using SPSS software. The structure of the model was examined by LISREL software.
The results indicate that entrepreneurial capital has a positive and significant relationship with entrepreneurial performance. Moreover, among entrepreneurial capitals, "accrual capital" has the most direct impact on entrepreneurial performance, and it also plays a central role in the Structural Equation modelling. Then there are action and credit-economic capitals, respectively. Action capital is ranked first in total impact, followed by accrual, credit-economic, and operational capital, respectively. Path analysis shows that accrual capital only directly, action capital and credit-economic capital directly and indirectly, and operating capital only indirectly affect entrepreneurial performance. The results confirm the hypotheses and can be transferred and generalized to other statistical communities.
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Entrepreneurial Capitals, Entrepreneurial Performance, Women Higher Education Graduates, Accrual Capital.  
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‌Introduction
‌ Today, in Iran, the population of unemployed educated women is significant. Because the entrepreneurship of educated women contributes to society's economic, social, and cultural development, planning to expand it is essential, and a more accurate understanding is essential. Thus, in a qualitative study using the "grounded theory" method and in-depth interviews with 52 participants, the theorems of the resulting paradigm model indicated that "in addition to credit-economic capital, there are some internalized social factors such as operating capital, action capital, and commitment capital that affect the entrepreneurial performance of educated women." Qualitative measurements require the assessment of hypotheses based on those theorems. Therefore, the present survey research was conducted to investigate the transferability and generalizability of the theory. The general hypothesis is that "entrepreneurial capital has a positive and significant impact on the entrepreneurial performance of graduated women in higher education living in Tehran." Independent variables consist of operating, action, accrual, and credit-economic capital. The statistical population includes women entrepreneurs and higher education graduates living in Tehran.
The main question of this research is whether the qualitative research findings can be transferred to other statistical communities? In other words, "does entrepreneurial capital have a significant positive relationship with entrepreneurial performance and its sub-factors in the community of educated women entrepreneurs living in Tehran?" Or not? How (direct or indirect) and to what extent?
 
Methodology
‌ The research method is a survey. The "random-online" sampling method and research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that 150 members of the statistical community completed. The questionnaire consists of 74 units of criteria and items taken from the statements of participants. According to alpha Cronbach's tests, items have internal reliability and alignment. Factor analysis and Bartlett tests also show acceptable validity and reliability of the structure. Parametric tests were used to ensure the uniform distribution of variables by normality tests such as standard deviation, skew-elongation and Kolmogorov-Smirnov.
 
Findings
‌Descriptive statistical findings show that most respondents have an average of high accrual capital and moderate operating, action and credit-economic capital. Also, all respondents have economic problems. In inferential statistics, the results of the Pearson correlation show that the independent and general variable of "entrepreneurial capital" has a positive, significant and moderate relationship with the dependent and general variable of "entrepreneurial performance". Pearson correlation coefficient values ​​show that all four main independent variables have a positive and significant relationship with the dependent variable. Correlation numbers indicate that the variable "accrual capital" has the first rank. After that, the independent variables of "credit-economic capital" in the second rank, "operational capital" in the third rank and "action capital" in the fourth rank have a direct, significant, average and relatively moderate relationship with the variable of entrepreneurial performance.
Path analysis was performed by LISREL software. The structure of the model and the direct and indirect effects of the variables showed that the variable of accrued capital has centrality and maximum effect compared to other capitals; because not only does it have the most direct effect on entrepreneurial performance, but also the indirect effect of other variables is exerted by accrual capital. In other words, accrual capital is mediating in the Structural Equation modelling. After that, action capital and credit-economic capital have a direct and indirect effect, respectively, and operating capital is only indirectly effective. However, in terms of total impact, the results indicate that action capital has the most total impact. Then there are accrual, credit-economic and operational capitals, respectively. In general, considering that the results of this survey indicate the effect of "capital from internalized social factors" on entrepreneurial performance, it confirms the hypotheses derived from the data theory of the foundation. Therefore, we can say that the findings of qualitative research can be transferred and generalized to other statistical communities.
 
Result
‌Considering the alignment of the various dimensions of the present study findings with previous studies suggest that although some entrepreneurial capital may seem to be part of "individual advantages", the characteristics of "internalized social effects" is personalized in the process of socialization and has emerged in the form of individual traits. For example, "action capital" that creates the elements of decision-making and entrepreneurial action is the product of motivational factors and developmental culture formed in the family, formal and informal learning environments, and social interactions. So, suppose formal and informal cultural education affirms gender equality and personal development by stimulating various motivations such as self-actualization, financial independence, social competition, and the like. In that case, it will create such an investment that is actually in the process of socialization. The individual becomes designed and internalized and equipped to decide and act. "Operational capital", which results from increasing the life experiences of employment and various communication-adaptive and specialized skills, is gradually created through trial and error, imitation, and learning, to fill possible gaps in business, making adaptive connections reduces vulnerabilities. "Credit-economic" capital also appears similarly under the influence of the social base and socio-economic relations governing the family and society. Creating social emotion, responsibility, and a sense of social solidarity depends on how the family interacts with others and society, social interactions, and formal and informal learning environments, which not only gradually create characteristics such as security, intimacy, and cooperation but also with their emergence, creates the comparative advantages of entrepreneurship, and consequently the entrepreneurial practices of educated women, the results of which are beneficial to society. Therefore, social planners and families have solemn responsibilities to create appropriate conditions for educated women's entrepreneurial capital. Consequently, it is suggested that social conditions be created to strengthen entrepreneurial capital through cultural, formal, and informal education.