Literature Review

In this chapter of study, the focus will be on the review of literature that represents the barriers and opportunities for the development of Chinese female entrepreneurs. As such, the literature of this study reflects on what has come up from past studies as researchers gathered accurate data that help in creating the research findings and recommendations. As many scholars have written concerning the subject of female and entrepreneurship in emerging and developed economies, it is apparent that from these strides, women entrepreneurs in the different part of the world have essential development in the sector of business(Simo 2012). With this essence, this chapter of this research concentrates on the study Chinese women and the barriers and opportunities they come across within the business world(Chu, 2014). The literature review of this topic helps the researcher to familiarize oneself with the subject of this survey, clarify the study problem, and understand several variables that are on this topic. The literature review will also base the question argument on the theoretical view, as many of the scholars who have studied this subject support the concept of their argument on the theoretical orientation. Since the researcher  objective here is to know and understand the way other reviews influence the subject, the main reflect on this section of the study is on review of the previous studies that has been carried out in the form of books, journals, internet information’s, and the research that conducted by other people in the academic background.

An Overview of the Chinese Female Entrepreneurs

An entrepreneur is a person who identifies a business opportunity and comes up with the adequate, required, and enough resources to work on this occasion. In developed economies, such as China, the women have tended to be competitive in the entrepreneurial business just like the way men(Dautzenberg, 2012). The reason on to why there is the development of female entrepreneurs in the country like China is due the availability of finances for female business people, improved infrastructure, the aspect of women wanting to be independent, decision-making forums, among other factors that are changing the entrepreneurial companies. As researcher claim that China is amongst the country with the highest number of female gender in the workforce sector, it is relevant for one to note that women in China still faces challenges as they try to strive in the aspect of entrepreneurship(Dautzenberg, 2012). Nevertheless, although the research shows that the chines female entrepreneurs has for the last decades encountered several challenges in the business operation field, other reports indicates that the same Chinese female business people are joining the world elite of business people due to the opportunities they are gathering and business opportunities that are in China for the women. In fact, the current data shows that 73 percent of the self-made women billionaires in the world come from China, as the majority of the Chinese women use they knowledge importantly to propel in the world of business.

A report by CCTV media claims that with the current business trends in China, many women in the country are embracing the business opportunities at hand, as they focus on improving their potentiality in the world of commerce(Simo 2012). In an interview with Kitty Fok, regarding the Chinese female entrepreneurs, CCTV claims that the state of women entrepreneurs in China is changing, as the Chinese women are becoming well-versed leaders. Besides, in the business unit, Chinese women are becoming risk takers, decision makers, suitable financial managers, and the people who can learn the human resource group in the best way. Consequentially, the aspect of taking and making good of these opportunities by the Chinese women has influenced the China’s economy positively, as the Chinese female entrepreneurs are generating new jobs for the local people(Simo 2012). More so, it is increasing the level of trade in the country, reducing the problem of poverty, and above it all, playing an important role in the community development. Nonetheless, according to the USAID’s leaders, in particular, the Chief Economist Steve Radelet, there are many barriers that women entrepreneurs in the world encounters and the Chinese female entrepreneurs are among them(Nakagaki, 2016). Due to these factors, the women entrepreneurs are finding it hard to utilize the opportunities at hand, which in turn is hindering Chinese social-economic development. Despite 2014, report by the China Association of Women Entrepreneurs that self-owned business for women is becoming outstanding, in Beijing; many women still go through of hardship to get involved in the entrepreneurship industry. To some researchers, the economic transition is something that is forming the barriers for the female entrepreneurs in China, as it influencing the sector in the different form such as capital circulation, business gap, and policy initiatives, whereby women are forcing the government to initiate forces that will sustain entrepreneurship development in China for females. In recap, this means the barriers that women in entrepreneurship are facing relates to the countries trading policies, gender perspective, and the social, economic development forums.

Barriers for the Development of Chinese Female Entrepreneurs

Research reveals that most the barriers for the development of Chinese female entrepreneurs are difficult to solve, but the Chinese government is already addressing these challenges so that the women in this country can embrace and take the opportunity positively(McAdam, 2013). This means that these barriers are things that need a national concern, as female entrepreneurs are showing a promising sign of taking the Chinese economy to the next level. To a better understanding, in this section of this review, much focus is on the analyses of the previous studies, which concentrate on the barriers that are hindering the development of female entrepreneurs in China. The review will focus on examining case studies on the same topic, journals, article, course books, and web pages that narrow down the key challenges faced by the women entrepreneurs in China. These sources have relevant information concerning this study, and the researcher intends to highlight every bit that all the sources have concerning the key barriers that female entrepreneurs undergo in China.

Nakagaki, (2016) reveals that lack of information and networking is one of the obstacles that the Chinese women entrepreneurs are facing in the current state of business in China. in this context, the research tends to say that when one compares the male enterprise owners in China, one can note an important concept, whereby many women who intend to run and own a business in China do not have access to various information regarding how to set a prosperous business. As such, some of the crucial information that the Chinese female entrepreneurs need to operate a business include finance management in the firm and the way to incorporate technology into their business. Furthermore, a study by USAID found that women entrepreneur in China often lacks networking opportunities to share their ideas of activities or even connect with other women who are in the entrepreneurship business in China(Osterreich, 2012). This is a clear indication, that less networking process, Chines female entrepreneurs are not embracing all sort of opportunities that the country has to offer. In fact, most of these opportunities are diverted to their counterparts, who are the male entrepreneurs, as research by SME state that Chinese female makes up only 36 percent in the small and medium business industry.

Education is another factor that is considered as a barrier for Chinese female entrepreneurs, as in China many women are disproportionately less and likely to have learning skills in the business course(Park, and Shen, 2003). On the educational front, research state that there fewer institutions in China that are providing business management courses for women and this reason, it is becoming hard for female Chines entrepreneurs to gather the necessary business skills or the skills that they need to create a network of women entrepreneurs in the country. Moreover, with less education concerning the business skills for the Chinese women, this is making it difficult for them to access the financial element that they need to run and operate their enterprise. McAdam, (2013) outlines that Education is a core factor that is influencing Chinese women in the involvement of entrepreneurship industry, as for these to be competitive and successful individual skills are relevant. On the other hand, lack of business education is making the chines women entrepreneurs to make unrealistic decisions and put their investment in the wrong form entrepreneurship business. For example, if one is a female entrepreneur and she needs to make the decision to hire and the people that the business requires, one will need to apply the HR manager skills such as job appraisal, employment turnover, among other skills that as an HR manager one needs having.

Nakagaki, (2016) state that lacks government support is another barrier that Chinese female entrepreneurs are facing, and it is influencing their business ability adversely. In the recent years, policymakers in China have not fostered the idea of encouraging women to invest in the entrepreneurs industry. This has led to underutilization of female human capital in China and makes it difficult for them to propel in the industry(Park, and Shen, 2003). Conversely, this is affecting the Chinese economy, as the government has not identified the significant that the female entrepreneurs can play toward the aspect of economic growth. More so, the legal and regulatory framework that the Chinese government has set is not supportive of women entrepreneurs. Some of the policies that the government is using to regulate the entrepreneurs industry in China include the right to access finances, business set up myriad, among other policies. All of these legal and government systems are a challenge to female entrepreneurs in China, as they prevent them from imitating their ideas of starting or formalizing enterprises.

Evidently, in China, there is the aspect of shortage financial support for equity enhancing programs. Irrefutably, this is a challenge for entrepreneurs in particular women, as this decrease the demand of starting up small and medium businesses under the ownership of female entrepreneurs(Osterreich, 2012). In this point, a clear understanding that can get is that women in China are not treated equally or gets the equal right to the access of financial programs, whereby they acquire the required capital to join the entrepreneurs industry. This challenge creates a financial gap, where small female entrepreneurs lack enough capital to initiate their business plan. The business capital is the prime factor in the entrepreneurial industries and with the programs in China that regulate the access of financial support, women entrepreneurs are eventually being discouraged into transforming their ideas into working concepts.

Many scholars have also touched on the issue of social-cultural norms, as another barrier for Chines female entrepreneurs(Simo, 2012). In this context, the researches by different scholars tend to declare that in China many women do not fully participate in many industries because of the cultural things and social reasons. Similarly, Chinese women are not joining in the labor force due the cultural and social reasons, which is also making it difficult for them to run entrepreneurs businesses in the country(Hernandez, Nunn, and Warnecke, 2012). When Chinese women are compared with men, one can see that most of the women have a belief that concerns the work that they should do and the ones that should be undertaken by the males in the country. The social and cultural beliefs are making women in China to become tolerance for risks, as the norms and beliefs make female entrepreneurs be risk adverse since they find it hard to make the decision to either run a business of their own or work in other industries where they can get regular jobs.

Opportunities for the Development of Chinese Female Entrepreneurs

From the review of different studies, the researcher tends to found that the entrepreneurs’ opportunities for Chinese women are necessary(Simo, 2012). Therefore, to create the required opportunities for the female entrepreneurs in China, various group of associations need to be involved in the process, as this is a significant step for all the actors in the entrepreneurship industry(Hernandez, Nunn, and Warnecke, 2012). On the opportunities for the development of Chinese women entrepreneurs, the collaboration of different players will help women in this country to nature their innovative ideas and put their business ideas into actions. In this essence, for female entrepreneurs in China to move forward, all the players in this industry who include the private sector, community, and the government ought to work with one motive, which is empowering women’s participation in the entrepreneurship industry, as this will ensure economic development for the Chinese people. Ray, and Turpin, (2009) states that opportunities for female entrepreneurs in China need to created and achieved from the best practices of business and working together toward the achievement of the same goals and objectives.

First, the market opportunity is one of the crucial entrepreneurship opportunity that has led to the development of female entrepreneurs in China. Over the past years, the Chinese market has changed, and it has become one of the economic transition factors. For this reason, many women’s has become leaders of businesses that are owned by individual by in country. The development in the Chinese market was officially endorsed in 1979 by the policies of encouraging women to join or start the industry of small and medium business forumsSong, (2015). This change has now given courage to many female entrepreneurs, as the number of firms that are owned in China has continuously increased when compared to the past era. More so, the availability, of the Chinese market has as well enlarged the growth of small and medium private businesses that are operated by women(Zhu Rui. 2015). The increase of entrepreneurship business that runs under the ownership of women in China continues to strengthen women individualism in the enterprise industry and most of it all weakening some of the social and cultural norms regarding the responsibility of Chinese female gender.

The expansion of Chinese business sector, whereby most of the SME businesses in China are flourishing in both rural and urban areas is another opportunity that is influencing the development of female entrepreneurs in China. Hernandez, Nunn, and Warnecke, (2012) suggest that more than 70 percent of the small businesses in China are located in rural areas, as these companies largely focus on the agricultural trading. Hernandez, Nunn, and Warnecke, (2012) reveals that in the last decades, the Chinese rural entrepreneurship industry has expanded, as the business owners incorporate various factors such as technology and state science to their management. Consequentially, this sense of rural and urban business expansion is giving women the opportunity to start or open new entrepreneurs business. This means that the innovative women in China can either start a business in the area in the country as the opportunity is in the hand of business people operating their enterprise in the rural or urban regions(Ray, and Turpin, 2009). For example, Beijing is one of the leading city whereby, most of the SME firms belong to the both women and men, but the majority of the businesses in this town are under the ownership of Chines women.

The introduction of entrepreneur’s forum in China is another opportunity for the Chinese females’ entrepreneurs, as the forum is influencing the decisions of Chinese women with the innovative business ideas. For example, China Association of Women Entrepreneurship is one of the business forum that is set to help women in China to nature and narrow their ideas into working or practical ideas(Hines, 2005). In China, most of the female entrepreneurs are not conscious about the way environment may affect their business, but with the formation of China Association of Women Entrepreneurship, this is changing as the group is educating the female Chines entrepreneurs to understand the way to control the primary environmental factors that may affect their business in a negative manner. According to Menkhoff, and Gerke, (2012) in between 2012 and 2013, almost half of all the SME firms that were owned by women decreased the effect of the environment to their business by 20 percent and 47.7 percent respectively all because of the crucial information that these firms gained from the China Association of Women Entrepreneurship forums. According to Zhu Rui(2015) the person who introduced this forum, it is apparent that the association is executing a meaningful role in expanding the size of market share in China, and it is promoting the awareness of the best business that women need to invest in the way the company will influence the society. In numbers, more than 260 Chinese females from different sectors such as the ministries and other representative attend the meetings of the forum, as they identify the association as one of the things that are promoting entrepreneurship opportunities in China for women. In the latest report by the China Association of Women Entrepreneurship, the Chinese female entrepreneurs are embracing this trend as a business opportunity(Qian, Xu, and Li, 2010). This is helping the women entrepreneurs to control the problem they are facing in their business and barriers, which is in turn leading to further development of the Chinese women in the Entrepreneurship business.

Critical Review

This subject of entrepreneurship is something that has attained the attention of many people since the industry has a significant role in the economic development. Ideally, in this study, the focus is on barriers and opportunities that are in the Chinese industry and the way these two connected areas are influencing the women in the industry(Krug, 2014). In this research, it is clear that much of the entrepreneurship literature is divided into different sections, which are perspective and structure review, whereby the view of the various scholars is examined in connection the topic of this study. In each review, the researcher has explained very well the concept of entrepreneurship and shown it is different with the idea of the entrepreneur, whereby scholars use these two words interchangeably(McAdam, 2013). Chinese female entrepreneur is a wide-ranging topic, but with the subject attracting the attention of many researchers, a researcher can organize the literature of this subject in the most appropriate way. Lastly, the researcher can observe that more review on the same topic is necessary so that findings can be essential helpful for the study.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

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