Gender based entrepreneurial mindset and their influence on performance of small and medium manufacturing firms

Abstract

The recent decades has seen many women venturing in manufacturing businesses and competing alongside the male entrepreneurs. They have competitively ventured in all sectors like transport, banking, and commercial services and others. However, research has indicated that their performance in business in terms of market growth, market share, sales volumes, and employment creation among other performance indicators is far much below their male counterparts. This research explores on the gender based entrepreneurial mindset measured through innovativeness, business alertness and creativity and their influence on performance of small and medium manufacturing firms It looks in to the effects of socialization, entrepreneurial orientation and other factors that act as barriers to better performance by female entrepreneurs. The performance indicators like market share, growth, change in number of employees and sales volumes over five years period was used to measure performance. Logistic regression analysis indicated that male entrepreneurs performed better in all performance indicators than the female entrepreneurs. All stakeholders need to address the barriers by re-orienting the women entrepreneurs by setting hands on programs that will prepare them for what is really on the ground and change focus from a classroom theory to a real industrial experience.