Title: Women entrepreneurs and their firms: attributes and problems

Authors: Abdullah Al-Owaihan, C.P. Rao

Addresses: Department of Marketing and Management, College of Business Administration, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5486, Safat 13055, Kuwait. ' Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management, Morgan State University, 1700 E. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, Maryland, 21251, USA

Abstract: Women entrepreneurs make significant contribution to the socio-economic development of both developed and developing countries. The participation of women entrepreneurs in the small business sectors of many countries is on the rise. While there are many research studies dealing with special problems and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs vis-a-vis their male counterparts, most of these studies were limited to industrially advanced countries and very few dealt with developing countries| contexts. In order to contribute to the research dealing with women entrepreneurs| attributes and related problems, an empirical research study was conducted in Kuwait representing a distinctive Arab cultural context. The research profiled the typical characteristics of Kuwaiti women entrepreneurs. In addition, the relationship between the women entrepreneur attributes and their relationship to business problems faced by them was investigated and reported. The implications of the research findings for women|s entrepreneurship were discussed.

Keywords: woman entrepreneurs; female entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship; small business; attributes problems; Kuwait; Arab culture; support programmes; entrepreneurial activity.

DOI: 10.1504/JIBED.2010.035199

Journal for International Business and Entrepreneurship Development, 2010 Vol.5 No.1, pp.48 - 62

Published online: 14 Sep 2010 *

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