Entrepreneurial Decision-Making Approaches of Award-Winning Women Business Operators in Kandy District of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Women's entrepreneurship has been widely identified as a driver of economic and social development worldwide. However, literature in women entrepreneurship argues that women entrepreneurs lag behind men and women business operators are constrained. Despite numerous constraints faced by Sri Lankan women business operators, some have overcome such barriers and become successful, and also have achieved provincial and national level recognitions through winning awards. Women business operators who have earned such recognitions warrant investigations to unravel the entrepreneurial decision-making approaches they have adopted to overcome various challenges in constrained environments. Therefore, this research aims to study the entrepreneurial decision-making approaches of award-winning women business operators in the Kandy district of Sri Lanka using theoretical lenses of Effectuation and Causation. A qualitative multiple case study design was adopted and 30 in-depth interviews were conducted with successful women business operators who have been awarded in "Star Awards". The analysis revealed that entrepreneurial decision-making approach of the respondents does not change with the sector (i.e. manufacturing and service) they operate.  Women business operators have become more effectual when starting up their businesses and have combined the causation approach with effectuation when growing their businesses.