Identify the Factors Affecting the Transition of Necessity Female Nascent Entrepreneurs to Established Entrepreneurship

Women play a crucial role in promoting entrepreneurial activities and enhancing the economic status of society. The entry of women into the business space can be motivated by necessity or opportunity. Necessity women's entrepreneurship, considered unproductive, contrasts with opportunity women's entrepreneurship, which is known as productive entrepreneurship. Businesses led by opportunity female entrepreneurs tend to have a longer and more stable life cycle compared to those led by necessity entrepreneurs. This is due to the former's high entrepreneurial capabilities and access to various human, social, and financial capitals, enabling them to reach the stage of established entrepreneurship. Consequently, they make substantial contributions to economic growth and development. On the other hand, necessity entrepreneurs, facing lower entrepreneurial capabilities and limited access to various forms of capital, often struggle to progress to the established entrepreneurship stage and make comparatively less contribution to the economy. The present study aims to identify the factors influencing the transition of necessity female nascent entrepreneurs to established entrepreneurship. This research is applied in terms of its purpose and exploratory in nature. The statistical population of the research consists of 15 necessity female nascent entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship specialists from Poldakhter city, Lorestan province, who were selected purposefully. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview method, and theme analysis was applied for data analysis. The research findings revealed that financial support, appropriate laws and tax systems, access to empowering centers, technical and commercial infrastructure, formal and informal education, social capital, business management competencies, social status, market freedom, traits, and psychological capital are influential in the transition of necessity female nascent entrepreneurs to established entrepreneursh.
 
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Keywords




Women, Entrepreneurship, Necessity, Opportunistic, Productive
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‌Introduction
Researchers have identified two different types of motivation for starting a new business among women entrepreneurs, which include necessity and opportunity entrepreneurial motivation (Sendra-Pons et al., 2022). Entrepreneurship with necessity motivation refers to the push motivations that arise from unemployment, family pressure, dismissal, being unemployable (due to an unfavorable background), and people's dissatisfaction with their current situation, leading them to engage in entrepreneurial activities. On the other hand, entrepreneurship with opportunity motivation involves pull motivations arising from the discovery of opportunities, the need for independence, innovation, and the desire to improve prosperity and wealth, prompting people to start new businesses (Zwan et al., 2016). Necessity entrepreneurship is considered unproductive, while opportunity entrepreneurship is known as productive entrepreneurship (Fu et al., 2020).
The findings of the GEM (2021) indicate that businesses led by opportunity nascent entrepreneurs have a longer and more stable life cycle than those led by necessity entrepreneurs. This is due to their high entrepreneurial capabilities and access to various human, social, and financial capitals, enabling them to reach the stage of established entrepreneurship, thereby contributing significantly to economic growth and development. However, necessity entrepreneurs, facing lower entrepreneurial capabilities and lacking access to various forms of capital, are often hindered from reaching the established entrepreneurship stage and make a comparatively smaller contribution to the economy (Zwan et al., 2016).
The transition of necessity female nascent entrepreneurs to established entrepreneurship is crucial for the economic prosperity of societies. From the researchers' perspective, it is essential to focus on necessity female nascent entrepreneurs because they constitute one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurial populations capable of contributing to wealth generation in the economy. Therefore, policies should be developed to ensure that the necessary platform is provided for these entrepreneurs, and they receive sufficient support and assistance to acquire the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to achieve established entrepreneurship (Martinez-Rodriguez et al., 2020).
According to the GEM report (2021), concerning the ratio of opportunity nascent entrepreneurship to necessity entrepreneurship, it can be said that the level of productive entrepreneurial activities in Iran is not in good condition compared to other developed countries. Additionally, the rate of necessity nascent entrepreneurship is high in developing countries, emphasizing the need to identify the factors that cause the transition of necessity nascent entrepreneurs to productive and established entrepreneurship.
 
Methodology
The current research is applied in terms of purpose and exploratory in terms of method. The statistical population of this research includes entrepreneurship experts and necessity female nascent entrepreneurs in Poldakhtar city, Lorestan province, who have reached the stage of established entrepreneurship. In this research, the purposeful sampling method was used to determine the sample size. A semi-structured interview was employed as a data collection tool. Theoretical saturation was achieved through thirteen interviews, and two additional interviews were conducted for further certainty. Regarding the validity and reliability of the research instrument, content validity and the intra-subject agreement method of two coders were employed. To evaluate the internal and external validity of the research findings, Guba and Lincoln's four criteria (1995: 235), including credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability, were applied. For data analysis, the theme analysis method with the approach of Braun and Clarke (2006: 81) was utilized.
 
Findings
The findings of this research, obtained through qualitative data analysis and semi-structured interviews, are presented in the form of 27 sub-themes and 10 main themes, explaining the transition of necessity female nascent entrepreneurs in Lorestan province to established entrepreneurship. Regarding the derivation of the main themes, it should be mentioned that the main theme of financial support was extracted from the sub-themes of venture capital and government financial assistance. The main theme of appropriate laws and the tax system has been obtained from the sub-themes of solving administrative bureaucracies and addressing tax system problems. Access to empowering centers is the main theme derived from the sub-themes of access to parks and incubator centers, as well as skill-oriented centers. The main theme of technical and commercial infrastructure has been extracted from the sub-themes of support facilities and professional services. The main theme of formal and informal education is obtained from the sub-themes of holding workshops and seminars and teaching the principles of entrepreneurship. Social capital is the main theme obtained from the sub-themes of network relations and trust. Furthermore, the main theme of business management competencies is derived from the sub-themes of opportunity exploitation, strategy formulation, marketing research, sales management, and implementation. The main theme of social status is obtained from the sub-themes of financial ability, family background, and education level. Finally, the main theme of market freedom is extracted from the sub-themes of ease of business entry into the market and antitrust laws, and the main theme of characteristics and psychological capital is derived from the sub-themes of uncertainty tolerance, desire for achievement, self-efficacy, resilience, and hope.
 
Result
With the attention and focus of necessity female nascent entrepreneurs in Lorestan province and the government on the main variables discovered in this research, favorable results will be achieved. Consequences such as access to financial resources, administrative simplifications, and a reduction in the tax burden, as well as the utilization of services related to improving skills and business growth, can be expected. Additionally, other positive outcomes include acquiring operational knowledge, obtaining support from the perspective of resources and information, the ability to identify and solve problems and challenges in the business environment, improved social status, better management, and the implementation of appropriate decisions for the stabilization and development of the business. The realization of these consequences for necessity female nascent entrepreneurs will likely lead to their transition to established entrepreneurship, thereby having positive effects on economic growth and development.
 
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