Influences Of National Culture And Cultural Feminism On Female Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This paper will seek to explore the possible influences of national culture on Sri Lanka and China’s female entrepreneurs along with a branch of the Feminist Theory called the Cultural Feminism Theory (Williams, 1975). Mainly to understand how, what, when and why do females decide to become entrepreneurs by starting a new business, expand their current operations and succeed in the long run. Even though the number of new startups and entrepreneurs are growing globally, out of that only a small percentage increase is held by females compared to their male counterparts and also the West is seeing more female entrepreneurs than the East.

Hence, the researcher tries to find answers as to why female entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka and China are lagging behind their Western counterparts and what could be done to foster the entrepreneurial spirit. This is done, by using Geert Hofstede’s 6D Model of National Culture (Hofstede, 2011) and the analysis of four case studies from successful female entrepreneurs from Sri Lanka and China through a cross-cultural lens.

Key words: National culture, Cultural feminism, Female entrepreneurship. Main structure of the Research Paper would be as follows:

1. Introduction
• What is Entrepreneurship? and who are Female Entrepreneurs?
• Significance of the problems as to why female entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka and China are slower than male entrepreneurs, as well as those of the West and are they held back due to fear of failure, lack of resources, cultural ties or other factors? Also what kind of challenges do they face in order to start, grow and succeed?
2. Theoretical Background Literature

Review to understand the past, present and current research gaps on gender differences, feminism, communication and other areas of national culture that has been explored on areas of HR, OB, leadership and so on.

3. Research Method and Analysis

Moreover, to understand the influences of cultural feminism in a practical business context, four case studies consisting of two female entrepreneurs each from Sri Lanka and from China would be taken for an in-depth analysis (from the list below). The female entrepreneurs from Sri Lanka were chosen from their achievements and accolades in different industries whilst the female entrepreneurs from China were chosen from the list of 2018 Forbes China Top 100 businesswomen.

4. Discussion and Conclusion
• Main findings & contributions regarding the study of national culture and cultural feminism together for the first time, to find possible connections on its influences on female entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka and China.
• Practical Implications maybe perhaps the magnitude of influence on a female arising from culture could vary on a case by case due to many factors
• Limitations and Future Research