Navigating corporate frontiers assessing barriers and facilitators for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

Abstract

Women’s entrepreneurship is crucial for Bangladesh’s economy. It has gained popularity in recent times, primarily because successful business operations by women entrepreneurs aid in the effective navigation of corporate frontiers. This thesis explores the navigation of corporate frontiers while assessing the barriers and facilitators in women’s entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. The thesis’s primary research objective is to evaluate the impact of navigating corporate frontiers, primarily through assessing barriers and facilitators for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. The other research objectives include identifying the benefits gained in the corporate frontiers by women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, assessing the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in the corporate frontiers while operating in Bangladesh, and recommending ways to improve and overcome these obstacles to bring about positive changes in the corporate frontiers of women entrepreneurs, thereby cultivating a comprehensive and engaging corporate environment.

Quantitative data analysis was used for the thesis, complemented by the analysis of primary data sources. The researcher obtained data from primary sources, which included the women entrepreneurs who participated in the research as respondents. Several findings were revealed through the univariate analysis of the data. One finding focused on identifying the benefits or facilitators derived from navigating the corporate frontiers of women’s entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. The primary data analysis indicated that increased global expansion, strategic partnerships, improved risk management, and increased technological adaptation can aid in such cases for the corporate frontiers. The findings suggest positive and neutral effects from global expansion and various benefits or barriers from strategic partnerships, increased joint innovation, problem-solving, and resource access. The findings further indicate that increased risk management led to flexible work practices and increased innovation, whereas increased technology adaptation resulted in an improved supply chain and decision-making. These findings help fulfill the first research objective of the thesis.

The findings also help identify barriers to navigating corporate frontiers for women entrepreneurs. They reveal inadequate support systems, financial issues, challenges in balancing personal and professional life for global expansion, regulatory matters and gender-related biases, and legal and psychological barriers to risk management. The study’s main findings focused on the impact of corporate frontiers on women’s entrepreneurship in Bangladesh; the evaluation showed that increased risk management, strategic partnerships, global expansion, and adoption of technologies were key to improving the navigation of corporate frontiers and enhancing women’s entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. The final research objective of the thesis is to recommend ways to overcome the barriers and bring about positive changes in the corporate frontiers of women entrepreneurs to cultivate a comprehensive and engaging corporate environment. This thesis recommends options for reducing gender discrimination, improving rules and regulations, and adapting technologies to address the final research objective. This thesis provides concise and realistic suggestions for future research avenues.