A Critical analysis of the experiences of female business owners in the development and management of tourism-related micro and small handicraft businesses in an Islamic society: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Abstract

The aim of this research was to provide an analysis of the experiences of female business owners in the development and management of micro and small handicraft businesses in Jordan, which is an Arab Islamic country. The study adopted a critical realism and critical theory/feminism stance with the focus being on the inter-action between structure and agency. The Structuration Theory was the main theory underpinning interpretation of the findings for this thesis; it is concerned with structure and agency and the duality between the two. Structure refers to the environment within which the women live and work: the socio-cultural-religious environment and the external business-related environment. Agency refers to the nature and extent of the freedom demonstrated by women business owners when choosing their course of action within these environments. The study used a sequential, mixed method research approach, which was chosen as the most effective and appropriate approach to explore these phenomena. The primary data was collected through a drop and collect quantitative self-completion questionnaire in the first phase, followed by face-to-face in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews in the second phase. The samples consisted of 264 women, who completed the questionnaire during the quantitative phase of the research, and 12 women, who were interviewed in-depth in the qualitative phase of the research. The quantitative data analysis was conducted using SPSS, whilst the qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. Most of the published research on the experiences of, and influences on, female owners of micro and small businesses is based on Western countries (He 2011). This research adds to that knowledge by focusing on female business owners of handicraft businesses in the patriarchal, collective, Islamic society of Jordan. The quantitative research provides a profile of the women business owners, along with details of their businesses and their experiences during the start-up and operational stages. The qualitative research identifies the power of the socio-cultural-religious and business environment factors on the behaviour and attitudes of the women business owners. Together, these research findings reveal the influence of the socio-cultural-religious factors and business environment factors on the behaviour and attitudes of female owners of micro and small handicraft businesses, as well as the ability of these women to choose their own courses of action. The findings of the quantitative and qualitative research were synthesised into a conceptual framework.