Running their own show: Malaysian women entrepreneurs’ kaleidoscope careers
Running their own show: Malaysian women entrepreneurs’ kaleidoscope careers
Purpose: Considerable research has been conducted to highlight women's career decisions to opt-out of corporate positions, but little is said about those who leave to become entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to theorize kaleidoscope career parameters in relation to entrepreneurship stages and demonstrate the role of macro-national context (i.e. government initiatives and cultural practices) in women entrepreneurs' career choices. Design/methodology/approach: The authors interviewed 34 Malaysian women entrepreneurs (MWEs) who were established in their careers and explored the following two research questions: (1) what career parameters are prioritized at different entrepreneurship stages? and (2) how does macro-national context influence women entrepreneurs' careers? Findings: Adopting a kaleidoscope career lens, the authors show that authenticity was prioritized during the initial entrepreneurship stage, while balance and challenge were prioritized during the establishment and business advancement stages, respectively. The authors demonstrate that government support was conducive to women's decision to opt-in and stay in the entrepreneurship path. The findings also denote that cultural practices facilitated women's pursuit of entrepreneurship by encouraging family members to support women entrepreneurs in their career choices and actions. Originality/value: The qualitative approach enabled us to specify the context-specific meaning women entrepreneurs in our study associated with authenticity, balance, and challenge. In doing so, this research extends the kaleidoscope career model to better understand women's career patterns at different entrepreneurship stages.
Business owners, Entrepreneur, Kaleidoscope career, New careers, Women's career
613-639
Au, Wee Chan
d784e090-2936-4010-a963-2d1a27f90472
Beigi, Mina
2986037e-5bb3-4ec0-be55-bf291ac17e24
Shirmohammadi, Melika
08b4c9e0-4f76-486f-b4c5-f25528476711
8 October 2021
Au, Wee Chan
d784e090-2936-4010-a963-2d1a27f90472
Beigi, Mina
2986037e-5bb3-4ec0-be55-bf291ac17e24
Shirmohammadi, Melika
08b4c9e0-4f76-486f-b4c5-f25528476711
Au, Wee Chan, Beigi, Mina and Shirmohammadi, Melika
(2021)
Running their own show: Malaysian women entrepreneurs’ kaleidoscope careers.
Career Development International, 26 (5), .
(doi:10.1108/CDI-02-2021-0043).
Abstract
Purpose: Considerable research has been conducted to highlight women's career decisions to opt-out of corporate positions, but little is said about those who leave to become entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to theorize kaleidoscope career parameters in relation to entrepreneurship stages and demonstrate the role of macro-national context (i.e. government initiatives and cultural practices) in women entrepreneurs' career choices. Design/methodology/approach: The authors interviewed 34 Malaysian women entrepreneurs (MWEs) who were established in their careers and explored the following two research questions: (1) what career parameters are prioritized at different entrepreneurship stages? and (2) how does macro-national context influence women entrepreneurs' careers? Findings: Adopting a kaleidoscope career lens, the authors show that authenticity was prioritized during the initial entrepreneurship stage, while balance and challenge were prioritized during the establishment and business advancement stages, respectively. The authors demonstrate that government support was conducive to women's decision to opt-in and stay in the entrepreneurship path. The findings also denote that cultural practices facilitated women's pursuit of entrepreneurship by encouraging family members to support women entrepreneurs in their career choices and actions. Originality/value: The qualitative approach enabled us to specify the context-specific meaning women entrepreneurs in our study associated with authenticity, balance, and challenge. In doing so, this research extends the kaleidoscope career model to better understand women's career patterns at different entrepreneurship stages.
Text
Running Their Own Show
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 25 July 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 16 August 2021
Published date: 8 October 2021
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Funding: This work was supported by Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia’s Fundamental Research Grant Scheme [FRGS/2/2013/SS05/MUSM/03/2] and Monash University Malaysia [B-2-13].
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Keywords:
Business owners, Entrepreneur, Kaleidoscope career, New careers, Women's career
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 450985
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/450985
ISSN: 1362-0436
PURE UUID: fa1ebc56-121f-431b-a21c-257cde1285a1
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 31 Aug 2021 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 06:47
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Contributors
Author:
Wee Chan Au
Author:
Melika Shirmohammadi
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