Presenting a women’s entrepreneurship model in the cottage industry

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University. Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management and Accounting, Shahid Beheshti University. Tehran, Iran

10.22059/jed.2025.401749.654576

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Objective: Entrepreneurship is a key driver of economic and socio-cultural development in societies. The cottage industry, with its unique capabilities, provides a suitable platform for women's entrepreneurship. Through the production of high value-added handmade products, this industry plays an effective role in economic and social development, preserves cultural identity, and holds export potential. The flexibility and creative nature of the cottage industry have created significant opportunities for women. Although scattered studies have been conducted in this field, no integrated model has been presented. Therefore, the objective of this research is to identify the factors influencing women's entrepreneurship in this industry and to develop a model based on relevant resource-based, institutional, and social network theories.

Method: The present study employs an interpretive approach and utilizes the meta-synthesis method. Metasynthesis, as a qualitative research method, allows for the inference of new results by analyzing and combining the findings of related studies. In this regard, the seven-step model developed by Sandelowski and colleagues (2006) was applied. The research questions revolve around the following axes: women's motivations, necessary resources, process components, supporting factors, challenges, and advantages. Subsequently, a search was conducted in the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases using various combinations of the keywords "Cottage/Handicraft industry," "Women/Female entrepreneurship," and "developing countries" within the timeframe of 2014–2024. The search was limited to articles published in English-language journals. The extracted articles were screened according to the PRISMA algorithm, and the quality of the remaining articles was assessed and scored based on CASP (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme) criteria. A total of 166 articles with a score above 31 were included in the research process. Content analysis was used to identify, examine, and extract patterns in the articles.

Findings: Based on a systematic content analysis of 166 selected articles, six main categories were identified and classified, including: motivations, essential resources, key processes, supportive factors, and challenges. In this analysis, 24 core themes and 72 open codes were also extracted. Then, by using these codes and relying on related source-oriented, institutional and social network theories, a model for women's entrepreneurship in the home handicraft industry was developed. A key finding of this research is the provision of a new framework for understanding the seemingly contradictory relationship between tradition and innovation. This approach both preserves cultural authenticity and enables competitiveness in modern markets.

Conclusion: This study employs a metasynthesis approach to identify and analyze key components, resulting in an integrated, interdisciplinary model of women's entrepreneurship in the homemade industry. The model addresses a theoretical gap in prior research, which lacked an integrated vision, by combining metasynthesis findings with resource-based, institutional, and social network theories. The findings reveal that women's entrepreneurship in this industry is a complex and dynamic phenomenon, which can only be fully understood through a holistic and systematic perspective. The model, therefore, illustrates the interplay of individual (micro-level), network (meso-level), and institutional (macro-level) factors.Through this process, six core categories and 24 central themes were identified, forming the structure of women's entrepreneurship in this sector. These components are: Motivations: Encompassing economic, social, and psychological dimensions. Challenges: Including barriers related to resources, human resources, technology, competition, marketing, infrastructure, the institutional environment, and a lack of social capital. Resources: Comprising both tangible and intangible assets such as human, psychological, social, and financial capital. Processes: Involving innovation within tradition, identification of actors and their roles, and core versus support activities. Supporting Factors: Including backing from formal and informal institutions. Advantages: Leading to the sustainable development of women's entrepreneurship in the homemade handicraft industry. Ultimately, based on these themes and the integrated theories, a comprehensive model of women's entrepreneurship in the homemade handicraft industry has been developed. The present model revealed mediating and moderating mechanisms that had been less addressed in previous studies. This model emphasizes that the success of women's entrepreneurship in the cottage industry, in addition to internal resources and capabilities, is affected by social networks (mediators) and institutional context (moderators). On the other hand, by identifying various challenges, this research shows that policymaking and planning in this area should be multidimensional and systematic. Finally, the model of this research not only covers the theoretical gap in existing research, but also provides a clear path for future research by providing testable propositions, as well as practical guidance for policymakers, support institutions, and women entrepreneurs themselves. In particular, simultaneous attention to cultural, economic, social, and institutional dimensions in the form of an integrated model can lead to sustainable development in the cottage industry and empowerment of women entrepreneurs.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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