How Do Female Entrepreneurs Form and Develop Their Networks? - Themes Derived from women narratives.
How female entrepreneurs form and develop network relationships during their business life cycle has been the focus of interest of many researchers. The analyses of the different narratives of female entrepreneurs have produced six themes.
Parents' relocation due to seasonality
Tourism's seasonality affects the distribution of domestic activities and hence the negotiation of related gender roles. Participants rely not only on help from their immediate family members, such as their partners or children but also from their parents. As many of the respondents' parents often live in different cities with their children, relocation of domestic activities occurs. The parents come to live with the female entrepreneurs for four to six months during the high season to help their children with household and business activities. This situation is noticeable for study respondents with small kids. My field experience evidenced this:
I went to meet Kumudu on the 13th of July 2016, and she asked me to wait for her for another few minutes; meanwhile, her mother talked to me. She said that every high season she comes to live with her daughter for a few months in order to help her with domestic and business activities. (field notes).
This is an example of "temporary migration" and the consequent seasonal relocation of domestic activities. Deepa is a guest house owner in Hikkaduwa whose parents (who live permanently in Baddegama) relocate to Hikkaduwa for the high season to help their daughter with domestic activities such as childcare. Her parents take on what Deepa calls the responsibility of "child parking". They do more than just "child parking"; they carry out various social and domestic activities such as caring for the young children, taking the children to schools and classes, feeding them, cooking, cleaning and paying bills on Deepa's behalf. They also provide emotional support for their daughter in the busy and often stressful high season.
A similar trend in parental relocation from their permanent residence to provide domestic assistance is observed in Kumudu's story, when her mother comes to help out during the high season months, relocating from her home. During the high season, as Kumudu says, domestic tasks such as "cleaning, the clothes, the food are all responsibilities of my mother- when she is here".
The extracts above show the restructuring of social and domestic duties on a seasonal basis caused by tourism, an aspect that is absent from most tourism literature (Bakas 2014). Whilst invisible, this tourism-related relocation of domestic duties displays how tourism encourages female entrepreneurs to negotiate their gender roles by effectively off-loading these activities onto a relocated parent. As the relocated parents are only seasonally available to take over domestic responsibilities, they temporarily disrupt negotiations of domestic activities' gender roles by taking responsibility for their children's domestic welfare. While this may reduce negotiations of domestic activities-sharing within the family, upon their parents' departure, the female entrepreneurs are left to renegotiate these activities and their related gender roles. This adds complexity to how gender roles are transformed, as the tourism entrepreneurs can take up productive roles more effectively as they delegate domestic and childcare responsibilities to their parents.
Access to networks beyond local customers- a focus on international customers
Relationships with international customers were regarded as part of their everyday lives by these female entrepreneurs. Relationship with customers was further developed through extending reciprocity and hospitality. This reciprocity and the appreciation of relationships with international customers, such as gift-giving, free meals and socializing with customers (organized fun activities, pleasure trips), were evident throughout the narrative interviews and the researcher's fieldwork observations. Such reciprocal behaviour demonstrates these entrepreneurs' close relationships with international customers. Deepa described her experience:
Our guests are primarily repeated customers. Most guests are British or Russian, and they call or email to make a reservation. They have trust in us and are assured of good service here. Some call this their second home.
According to the above extract, having repeat customers is a sign of business success in relationships. Furthermore, these women thought about keeping quality relationships to make their international customers happy by giving a good service. The researcher's field experience confirmed this:
I stayed three nights in three different guesthouses. All the rooms I stayed in were arranged with care, and they are of an excellent standard. They maintain reasonable standards of cleanliness, sanitation, quality food etc., as they mainly focus on international customers. I saw international tourists enjoy homemade local dishes during a homestay (Field notes, the 11th of August 2016).
All the women confirmed their knowledge of their customers' needs, desires, dislikes and so forth, which enabled them to keep intimate relationships with customers. This is how one of the respondents (Seethani) told her knowledge about international customers: "What Brittan's like is not what Americans like. Russians' likes are different from others". Even though none of the women had participated in intercultural awareness training, everyone has adequate knowledge about cultural diversity and understanding of their international customers.
All the participants were aware of their cultural values, beliefs, social norms, traditions, and artefacts that appeal to international customers. These women's products and services were in line with cultural values and elements such as art, design, and materials unique to the country. Chaya (the tourist shop owner) stressed that her products are unique to Sri Lanka, and she used such uniqueness to attract customers:
You know, Sri Lanka's best brand name in batik today… its mine… Customers from different countries such as Germany, Sweden, France, UK, and the USA so on come to my shop, and they are delighted with my products (Chaya).
There are some souvenir shops with masks, puppets, shells, corals, batiks, paintings, to Sri Lankan tea to target international customers. Jewellery is adapted here to western tastes; it is not of the vulgar, golden type, but the simple, silver type with beautiful semi-precious stones.
Close relationships with locals
Dramatic changes and development of the rural areas in recent years have introduced a new development model, theorized by Ray (2001) as "neo-endogenous development", based on local development by connecting endogenous material and cultural potential (Ray 2001). According to the "neo-endogenous" development model, social and cultural capital is the main driving force for economic development (Ward et al. 2005), and the value of local institutions and resources and awareness of business opportunities in the same locality is considered as crucial (Bosworth and Farrel 2011).
An example in the Sri Lankan tourism sector is maintaining healthy relationships with other local businesses such as greengrocers, fishmongers, beach vendors, craft sellers, taxis, local authorities and the local NGO, resulting in better sales opportunities for locals and quality services for tourists (Kousis 1989, ILO 2013).
Hotels and restaurants focus on the cost advantages of using local labour and supplies, and guests were motivated to enjoy local activities.
I also try to help street vendors and small businesses. So the fishmonger and the greengrocer are friendly with me (Kishani).
Tourism business owners maintain good relationships with three-wheel drivers. When a driver takes a guest to a particular place, they usually receive extra payment. Three-wheeler taxis, or 'Tuk Tuk', are a vital part of Sri Lanka's transport network. They operate similarly to taxis and are usually a convenient and highly cost-effective way to get around. Many foreigners find it an easy and cheap way to travel short distances during their stay, as they have an open roof, allowing viewing the surroundings, and enjoy the wind blowing by.
The hotel owner, Kishani, maintains a good relationship with the taxi drivers. The hotel allows drivers who want to register at the hotel and is limited to 15 drivers. Further, the hotel provides an identity card and a uniform for drivers with the hotel logo. The Kishani Hotel does not need to interevent to decide in the charges of rides but provides the drivers and their customers a hint about a fair amount. As Kishani explains:
This is a perfect method, and the hotel has a positive relationship with the three-wheel drivers. It is suitable for all the parties. When other three-wheel drivers bring in guests, I pay them a commission.
Some female-owned hotels in this study have an agreement with few three-wheel drivers waiting at the hotels. For example, Seethani hotel repainted the vehicles in the same colour to show that the vehicles are only for hotel guests. As Seethani explains:
In the beginning, it seemed like an effective strategy, as the drivers get rides from the hotel guests, and the hotel knows with whom their guests were going. After complaints of charging and some other bad experiences of guests with drivers, I had to advise my guests not to use these vehicles. After that, I had to face a lot of problems from three-wheel drivers. So, we always try to keep a good relation with them.
Seethani's hotel is located in the Hikkaduwa town area, and there are many three-wheel parking areas everywhere. Therefore, the hotel guests will not essentially get a taxi from in front of the hotel. Though Kishani and Seethani's hotels' initiative are examples of positive three-wheeler regulation, they provide reliability and safety with the hotel registration.
Informal recruitment
The importance of local relationship is seen in recruitment, especially tourism-related businesses, depending on local resources (Bosworth 2012). All the women in the study also mentioned that recruitment typically happens from the local community by word of mouth through personal networks such as current staff members, fishmongers, greengrocers, etc. For many areas, seasonality continues to be an essential aspect of life, and they need staff that can fit in around this peak demand. Indrani relates:
The employees are different every year because we can't employ anyone permanently as the business doesn't function for half the year. We speak to the fishmonger, the man who sells vegetables or ask around for employees.
Informal recruitment tends to be connected with low-skilled labour (Bosworth 2012). In line with this, most women in this study actively hired individuals without good prior qualifications or relevant work experience. This method eliminated a significant barrier to recruitment, in which applicants would otherwise have to invest in capability and gain experience to meet even essential requirement. This is critical for recruiting underprivileged individuals from the local community because creating pre-requisite qualifications for jobs (as many large tourism organizations currently involve) almost excludes more impoverished people from entree to even the lowest-skilled jobs. Furthermore, employing local staff and recruiting informally is typically cheaper for the company than bringing in outsiders, which is why Sri Lankan tourism has a substantial impact on reducing poverty. While jobs in the tourism industry are often considered unskilled and seasonal, the importance of the income generation to local economies should not be taken lightly. This was evidenced by my fieldwork experience, as follows:
Many employees are local, and very few trained staff members come from areas outside of Hikkaduwa. A local community labourer is paid around RS1000) daily. Trained staff members' daily pay is between 2,500.00- 3,000.00 (Field notes, the 9th of September 2016).
One of the biggest challenges faced by hotels and other tourism-related businesses stemmed from social issues due to local and informal recruitment. In general, employees from the local area prioritize family and community over job responsibilities, challenging employers' different expectations about ethical work behaviours such as attendance, punctuality, and time off. Moreover, most of the staff members of these female-owned businesses do not usually have prior job experience and learning by doing was used as the only method to training.
Membership of various tourism-related organizations
One of the most effective ways for an entrepreneur to build and develop weak ties is through membership in various societies (Premarathna 2001). Belonging to similar social groups, for example, having a membership of professional groups, is an essential connection for organizational networking. Therefore, researchers argue that such professional ties involvement is significant to small business female entrepreneurs due to their lack of resources and knowledge.
Hikkaduwa Tourism Service Providers' Association (HTSPA) is a thriving organization in the town of Hikkaduwa. The organization has 23 parties, including three-wheel drivers, minivan drivers, guesthouses, tourist shops, guides, restaurants, hotels, etc. The programme was introduced by the Divisional Secretarial office because there were numerous problems reported in the sector in Hikkaduwa. The HTSPA was established to overcome such issues and ensure the safety for tourists, increase the living status, and keep sustainable tourism in the area.
In a few cases, I found that female entrepreneurs were members of various organizations. Kumari owns a travel and tour agency, and her business is at the developing stage. Unlike other women, her network consists of professional ties as well. As Kumari explained:
There is also a TAASL members' night held annually, and I attend that because many agents attend that. There we can make contacts and, based on these connections, we receive beachside tours and surf riding business opportunities.
She further explained that, by taking membership of several organizations, women could develop their business networks and make contacts with different business owners who are ready to share their experiences and expertise. More specifically, they can learn from each other as they provide information and tangible resources needed in the entrepreneurial process. This finding is consistent with Granovetter's weak tie theory: the more weak ties business owners have, the more connected to the world we are and the more likely we are to receive critical information about ideas and opportunities in time to respond to them.
Attending seminars, conferences, trade fairs and training programmes
Generally speaking, events such as trade fairs, conferences and training programmes bring together individuals with a common interest in technology, products or services for a specific industry. Specifically, as a start-up company seeking to get the business's name 'out there, one needs to gain Influence through these trade show events to the business's advantage.
Chaya runs a tourist shop in Hikkaduwa; it has been four years since she started this business, and now there is a good demand for her clothes. Chaya gave her thoughts about attending events such as trade fairs, exhibitions, conferences and training programmes:
I am a member of ASMTE, and I participate in their workshops and training programmes. I am also registered with the Department of Textiles and did a course in fashion design. It was beneficial to understand how they attract customers and use new fashion etc.
This quotation from Chaya shows two critical thoughts. First, she related new knowledge gained (current trends in the fashion industry) to discuss the importance of participating in training programmes. Second, she was able to get a deeper understanding of why the new knowledge and skills were essential by participating in the training programme. Practicably in this way supported her use of her new knowledge and skills to increase her customer base.
Another respondent, Kumari, explained her experience of participation in training in terms of her business's development:
After the training programme, I introduced a self-service coffee machine to the restaurant. During the training programme, we talked not only about our businesses, but also a book we have read, a movie we have watched. So everybody can learn from each other.
In line with the community of practice theory, Kumari's idea makes known the mutual exchange of participation in a community of practice. She describes her approach being changed even as she, through her participation, changed the community. In other words, participation changes the community as the community changes the participant.
Attending social gatherings
Another way of evolving the network is by attending social gatherings organized by various communities, forums, neighbourhoods etc. The most common approach adopted by female entrepreneurs is attending religious and cultural events organized by people of the same ethnicity (Werber, Mendel and Derose 2014). Contacts through social gatherings have always played an influential role in business success, and those with an extensive network of contacts are usually exposed to more opportunities and better leads (Lechner, Dowling and Welpe 2006).
When people attend a live event such as a social gathering, they have access to other attendees. These events are an excellent opportunity to make connections, share information, learn about peers and the sector, etc. During social gatherings, networking is not limited to entrepreneurs, and these informal connections are often invaluable. Anoma related her experiences and how she tries to contact different people in social gatherings:
I look at every social gathering as an opportunity to find out how other people think, what they do for a living, and what they know about me. Furthermore, if I can assist them, I like to do so.
In line with Wenger's (1998) COP theory, Anoma's explanation refers to the importance of being mutually engaged in activities. She is happy to share information and resources and be responsible for others.
Another respondent, Kishani, revealed that relationships with different types of people in her daily routine Influence the smooth running of her business. As she explained:
I also try to help street vendors and small businesses. So the fishmonger and the greengrocer are friendly to me. The people in "Galwala" in Galle are thugs, but they too are friendly with me. I visit them and participate in their weddings and funerals because we need people from all walks of life, without which it would be difficult to run this business.
This quote from Kishani illustrates the idea of emphasizing the importance of informal networking, which has been invaluable to running her business. By engaging in casual conversation with others, she learns a lot about people and who they are. She finds informal networking to be a much more effective way of running the business, mutually beneficial to a relationship. Furthermore, it illustrates how networking can arise anywhere and how one does not need to be in a professional setting to network and meet people who will support your business activities, and vice versa.