Women Entrepreneurship and Adaptation to the Industry Transformation : The Case of The Indigenous Textile Industry (Aso-Oke) in Nigeria
Oladipupo, Anifat Olajumoke (2021)
Oladipupo, Anifat Olajumoke
2021
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-03-03
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202102011845
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202102011845
Tiivistelmä
This thesis fundamental objective is to examine indigenous women’s adaptation to industry transformation using Nigeria as a case study. The study is motivated by the gap in the knowledge of how women entrepreneurs in developing countries cope with industry transformation. It shed lights on unattended questions regarding the adaptability, challenges, and opportunities women entrepreneurs in developing countries perceived as they adapt their business processes to fit the requirements of a changing industry.
The theoretical framework presents relevant theory on women entrepreneurship both in developing countries and Nigeria. Firstly, the theory of women entrepreneurship is broadly discussed, as well as the difficulties encountered by women entrepreneurs across the developing nations. Also, the entrepreneurial activities of women in Nigeria, the challenges, and opportunities they perceived in the course of doing their business are discussed. This study uses a qualitative approach with an inductive design. The empirical data were collected by conducting eleven in-depth interviews; the participants consist of women entrepreneurs in the indigenous textile (ASO-OKE) business, among which six (6) weavers, four (4) weavers and retailers, and one (1) retailer.
The empirical findings suggest that the women entrepreneurs under study are going through an adaptation process due to a significant change in ASO-OKE designs, its usage, the consumers and that of the indigenous textile industry in general. Thus, their internal and external environments, as well as their personal motivational traits, play a significant role in their adaptation process. This implies that direct and indirect opportunities are perceived. In particular, new financial opportunities are the most notable as they enable the women to reinvest in new roles. While the challenges the women entrepreneurs face are similar to those identified in previous research, the present study shows that challenges such as deficiency or insufficiency access to proper education, training, and marketing problems are less relevant.
However, new challenges such as lack of intellectual property rights protections are predominant in this case. This signifies a shift in the assumptions regarding challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs, and particularly among indigenous women entrepreneurs in most developing countries. The study also expands our understanding of the significance of gender on industry’s adaptation process. In this case, adaptation was facilitated by the availability of emotional support from immediate family.
Finally, the study promotes and contributes to the preliminary, background, and existing knowledge on women entrepreneurship in indigenous industries as it provides new insights on how women entrepreneurs adapt their business, how they face new challenges, and how they explore new opportunities during industry transformation. Beyond these contributions, the study proposes a four-dimensional model that helps explain women's adaptation process in changing industries in developing countries.
The theoretical framework presents relevant theory on women entrepreneurship both in developing countries and Nigeria. Firstly, the theory of women entrepreneurship is broadly discussed, as well as the difficulties encountered by women entrepreneurs across the developing nations. Also, the entrepreneurial activities of women in Nigeria, the challenges, and opportunities they perceived in the course of doing their business are discussed. This study uses a qualitative approach with an inductive design. The empirical data were collected by conducting eleven in-depth interviews; the participants consist of women entrepreneurs in the indigenous textile (ASO-OKE) business, among which six (6) weavers, four (4) weavers and retailers, and one (1) retailer.
The empirical findings suggest that the women entrepreneurs under study are going through an adaptation process due to a significant change in ASO-OKE designs, its usage, the consumers and that of the indigenous textile industry in general. Thus, their internal and external environments, as well as their personal motivational traits, play a significant role in their adaptation process. This implies that direct and indirect opportunities are perceived. In particular, new financial opportunities are the most notable as they enable the women to reinvest in new roles. While the challenges the women entrepreneurs face are similar to those identified in previous research, the present study shows that challenges such as deficiency or insufficiency access to proper education, training, and marketing problems are less relevant.
However, new challenges such as lack of intellectual property rights protections are predominant in this case. This signifies a shift in the assumptions regarding challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs, and particularly among indigenous women entrepreneurs in most developing countries. The study also expands our understanding of the significance of gender on industry’s adaptation process. In this case, adaptation was facilitated by the availability of emotional support from immediate family.
Finally, the study promotes and contributes to the preliminary, background, and existing knowledge on women entrepreneurship in indigenous industries as it provides new insights on how women entrepreneurs adapt their business, how they face new challenges, and how they explore new opportunities during industry transformation. Beyond these contributions, the study proposes a four-dimensional model that helps explain women's adaptation process in changing industries in developing countries.