Proceedings of Annual Switzerland Business Research Conference
12 - 13 October 2015, Novotel Geneva Centre, Geneva, Switzerland
ISBN: 978-1-922069-86-3
Gendering Entrepreneurship and Technology: A Mixed
Methods Study of Retailers in a Developing Economy1
Mbuh DeLancey Rebecca2
Technological advances have contributed in boosting entrepreneurship throughout the world.
Increasingly the success of an entrepreneur depends on the implementation of new
technologies at various stages in the business. Introducing (new) technology can provide
challenges and opportunities to the owners who make management decisions for
entrepreneurs in developing countries. The objectives of this study are to understand what
factors influence decisions leading to the introduction of new technologies, the immediate
and long term benefits, and technological contributions to entrepreneurial growth. This study
used primary and secondary data collection methods to examine gender differences in
incorporating technology in small businesses in Cameroon. The questionnaires and
interviews were conducted between December 2014 and February 2015. The quantitative
analysis relies on empirical data with a sample of 158 men and women entrepreneurs from
ten retail businesses. The qualitative analysis employs in-depth interviews with ten
entrepreneurs (5 men and 5 women) selected randomly from the sample and securing their
consent. It is evident from the findings of this study that there are noticeable gendered
differences in the decision making, implementation, and demonstrated benefits of
technology’s role in entrepreneurship.
Key Words: Entrepreneurship, Technology, Gendered Differences, Decision Making,
Cameroon
1
This work was support by the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund of 2015.
College of Business Administration, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, 107 Imun-ro, Dongdaemun-gu,
Seoul 130-791, Korea. Ph: +82 10 4432 5253; Email: inaneh@yahoo.com/rmdhufs@hufs.ac.kr
2