“I’m a stay at home businesswoman”: an insight into informal entrepreneurship in Jordan

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Women and disadvantaged minorities within emerging and developing economies often resort to business activity within the informal economy as a way to overcome various barriers and challenges to formal workforce participation. This paper aims to explore the characteristics, motives, barriers and challenges of female engagement in informal business activities in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach: The qualitative analysis used in this paper is based upon empirical findings from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 14 female informal entrepreneurs in Amman, Jordan. Findings: The study revealed that informal female entrepreneurs tend to be both opportunity- and necessity-driven. Generating profit and contributing to the household income seems to be their main motive. Their businesses were funded either through personal savings or from their social network (e.g. husband, family and friends). Promotion of the business relied mostly on word-of-mouth or social media. High inflation, high competition, time pressures and lack of business skills were cited as the biggest challenges. Besides being content with the status quo, lack of knowledge about the procedures for registering a business and fear of bureaucracy were among the main reasons for not legalizing their activities. Originality/value: There are very few studies that analyse informal micro-entrepreneurship in the Arab world, particularly in the Jordanian context, which is of growing interest due to low number of women in the workforce and the growing number of refugees in the country. This study therefore presents new knowledge around women’s informal micro-entrepreneurship in Jordan and provides recommendations for further research and policy-making

“I’m a stay at home businesswoman”: an insight into informal entrepreneurship in Jordan

Purpose – Women and disadvantaged minorities within emerging and developing economies often resort to business activity within the informal economy as a way to overcome the various barriers and challenges to formal workforce participation. This paper aims to explore the characteristics, motives, barriers and challenges of female engagement in informal business activities in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative analysis employed in this paper is based upon empirical findings from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 14 female informal entrepreneurs in Amman, Jordan. Findings – The study revealed that informal female entrepreneurs tend to be both opportunity and necessity driven. Generating profit and contributing to the household income seems to be their main motive. Their businesses were funded either through personal savings, or from their social network (e.g. husband, family and friends). Promotion of the business relied mostly on word-of-mouth or social media. High inflation, high competition, time pressures and lack of business skills were cited as the biggest challenges. Besides being content with the status quo, lack of knowledge about the procedures for registering a business and fear of bureaucracy were among the main reasons for not legalizing their activities. Originality/value – There are very few studies that analyse informal micro-entrepreneurship in the Arab world, particularly in the Jordanian context, which is of growing interest due to low number of women in the workforce and the growing number of refugees in the country. This study therefore presents new knowledge around women’s informal micro-entrepreneurship in Jordan and provides recommendations for further research and policy making

Supporting opportunities for female entrepreneurs in Jordan

Female entrepreneurship in developing countries is a growing body of research that tries to address the main challenges faced in such a context. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on the real opportunities for female entrepreneurs in terms of support for their start-ups. A lack of studies with this specific focus may detach the pertinent literature from real business practice and the true conditions faced by women during the start-up process. We grounded our analysis in Jordan, a country that has received little attention, despite the fact that it has one of the liveliest entrepreneurial contexts in the Middle East. A sample of 28 institutions operating in Jordan that offer support for entrepreneurial activities were examined. This is followed by a discussion of the main implications of the initiatives dedicated to female entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurial intentions of young women in the Arab world: socio-cultural and educational barriers

Purpose: Female entrepreneurship is a growing segment in the context of developing countries and has the potential to become a driving force for economic development. However, research suggests that females are less inclined towards entrepreneurship when compared to their male counterparts. This fact is related to a complex mix of causes such as the belief that entrepreneurship is a male domain, certain conditions within the economic and social environment and a general lack of confidence with regards to succeeding in such activities. Barriers to female entrepreneurship are prevalent in the patriarchal Arab World. This study aims to measure the perceptions of female Jordanian business students with regards to the socio-cultural barriers to entrepreneurship. It also looks at the conduciveness of the education they are receiving in terms of new venture creation. Design/methodology: A sample of two hundred fifty-four female business students from two universities in Jordan were asked to evaluate various factors within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including the business education they are currently receiving. A factor analysis has been performed to show which relevant elements may prevent young women from engaging with entrepreneurial activities. Yet, a comparison of perceptions about the educational system has been also presented to understand how a supportive educational environment may affect the previous analysis. Findings: The results indicated that a strong supportive education system to some extent may reduce the perception of potential barriers for entrepreneurship but the overall impact can be limited. Conversely, an educational system lacking a supportive environment and concrete initiatives can deeply affect and worsen the fears of engaging in entrepreneurship amongst female students. Originality/value: The role of women in the Arab World is quite marked and the reluctance of women to take a more decisive engagement in entrepreneurship may be reinforced by conservative, societal traditions. A supportive education system has the potential to act as a catalyst to encourage active female participation in the entrepreneurial domain, thus helping to spur economic development in the regio

Expatriate adjustment and organisational citizenship behaviour: a study in an institute of higher education

Bu çalışmanın amacı yurtdışına çalışmaya giden yabancı öğretim elemanların uyum sürecini ve ayni zamanda uyum ile işyerinde gösterdikleri Örğütsel Vatandaşlık Davranışı (ÖVD) arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektir.İş tatmininin bir ara değişken olarak uyum ve vatandaşlık ilişkisinde etkili olup olmadığına da bakılmıştır. Bu güne dek yabancı çalışanların uyumu ile ilgili olarak yapılan çalışmalarda daha çok yöneticiler ele alınmıştır. Bu araştırmada ise yabancı öğretim görevlileri incelenmiştir. Kıbrıs'da, ögretim dili İngilizce olan bir üniversitede farklı akademik pozisyonlarda, 27 farklı bölümde ve değişik etnik kökenden oluşan 162 öğretim elemanı araştırmaya katılmıştır. Ölçme aracı olarak, uyum ve ÖVD 'lık alanında daha önce güvenirliği kanıtlanmış anketler kullanılmıştır. Şirketleri tarafından yurtdışına gönderilen yabancı yöneticilerin aksine,yabancı öğretim elemanların yurtdışına çalışmaya gitmelerinin 3 temel sebebi; üniversitenin onlara sunduğu cazip imkanlar, üniversite de daha önce çalışan bir arkadaşlarının tavsiyesi ve memleketin ılık iklimi. Toplanılan data'yı incelemek ve 23 tane hipotezi test etmek için bağımsız t-testi, tek yönlü ANOVA, korelasyon ve çoklu regresyon analizi uygulandı.Çıkan sonuçlara göre örgütte çalışılan toplam sürenin, sosyal destekden duyulan tatminin ve iş tatmininin uyumu manidar bir şekilde açıkladığı bulundu. Yanında eşlerini ve/veya çoçuklarını getiren yabancı öğretim elemanları ve getirmeyenler arasında manidar bir farklılık bulunmadı.Bu memleket hakkında topladıkları ön bilgilerin uyum üzerinde bir etkisi olmadığı görüldü. Öğretim görevlilerin etnik kökeni ile uyumu ve gösterdiği ÖVD'ı arasındaki korelasyon manidar çıkmadı.Öğretim görevlilerinin iş tatmini ve uyum seviyesi ÖVD'ı manidar bir şekilde açıkladığı ğörüldü. Uyum ve ÖVD'ı arasındaki ilişkide iş tatmininin kısmen etkili olduğu görüldü. Son olarak, çalışmanın katkılar, sınırlılıkları ve öneriler örgüt,araştırmacılar ve akademisyenler açışından tartışıldı. ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to explore the adjustment process for expatriate lecturers and to see if their adjustment is associated with Organisational Citizenship Behaviour that they display within the workplace. The mediating affect of satisfaction with the job on the relationship between expatriate adjustment and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour will also be tested for. To date, scholars have primarily concentrated on the expatriate manager in their attempts to study the phenomenon of expatriate adjustment. This research looked at the adjustment process of a different type of expatriate, namely the expatriate lecturer. 162 lecturers of varying ethnic backgrounds and academic positions and who teach in 27 different departments in a university in North Cyprus, where the medium of instruction is English participated in the study. Lecturers completed questionnaires consisting of reliable instruments within the fields of adjustment and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour. Unlike the expatriate manager who is sent on a foreign assignment by his company, the three main reasons why expatriate lecturers chose to go abroad to teach were the attractive pay and benefits package offered by the university, a friend already working there recommended it and the mild climate of the country. Independent t-tests, ANOVA, Correlation analysis and Multiple Regression analysis was used to analyze the data and test a total of 23 hypotheses. Results indicated that significant predictors of expatriate adjustment were time in the host organization, satisfaction with social support and satisfaction with the job. No significant difference was found between those expatriates who were accompanied by spouse and /or children and those who were not. As the expatriate lecturer does not undergo training before going abroad, the amount of self initiated pre-departure information they tried to collect about the host culture did not have an effect on their adjustment. The ethnic background of the expatriate lecturer was also not linked to their adjustment and displays of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour. Adjustment was significantly correlated with Organisational Citizenship Behaviour. Significant predictors of an expatriate's level of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour were satisfaction with the job and their level of adjustment. Finally an expatriate's degree of satisfaction with the job had a partially mediating effect on the relationship between adjustment and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour. Contributions, limitations and implications for the organization, practitioners and academicians are discussed

Rural entrepreneurship from the perspective of Bedouin communities

In recent years there has been a growing body of research on how entrepreneurial activities can help the economic development of rural areas by decreasing poverty, creating employment opportunities and income and improving the overall quality of life for the people of that area. However, there is a paucity of research on rural entrepreneurship in developing contexts (Pato and Teixeira, 2016), particularly that of the Middle East. The paper presents an exploratory study on the indigenous Bedouin tribes of Petra/Wadi Mousa in Jordan who manage their livelihoods through small businesses that predominantly cater to foreign tourists visiting the archaeological wonder. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to profile 73 rural entrepreneurs and to ascertain their motives for starting a business and the challenges they face. The majority of rural entrepreneurs were male, under the age of 40 and owned a souvenir business. Most were necessity entrepreneurs, whose major challenge were financial issues, coupled with a lack of governmental support and bad tourism policies. The paper concludes by providing recommendations to the authorities on how to promote entrepreneurship as a way of economic development within rural areas, particularly those who have tourism potential and as a way of securing livelihoods for indigenous groups like the Bedouins of Petra, who have given up their nomadic past and need a sustainable source of income