Growth perception amongst women entrepreneurs: an emerging economy perspective

Consistent with studies that focus on business growth amongst female and male entrepreneurs, this study examines the way women entrepreneurs in Lagos-State, Nigeria, perceive business growth. It utilises Nvivo for coding transcribed data obtained through face-to-face interviews that involved 35 women entrepreneurs in Lagos-State. From an in-depth analysis of their conceptualisation of business growth, the study develops comprehensive insights into the way growth is perceived in women-owned enterprises in Lagos-State. It reveals that women entrepreneurs involved in the day-to-day operations of small garment-producing enterprises associate growth with a percentage change in their clientele however small. More importantly, they accept that their descriptors of growth derive from the interrelation between their social environment, individual thought and behaviour. Thus, this study contributes to the literature on gender and entrepreneurship by illustrating context-specific parameters that shape the way women entrepreneurs in a developing country conceptualise business growth.