Purpose

Focusing on female entrepreneurs operating in a resource-scarce environment, this study aims to draw from the resource-based view to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial competences and firm growth.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a cross-sectional research design. Data was collected from 232 women entrepreneurs operating in Kampala’s two biggest markets. The data were analyzed to test the mediation effect of absorptive capacity on the relationship between entrepreneurial competences and firm growth; a Sobel test and bootstrap estimation were analytical approaches that were used.

Findings

This paper argues that for female entrepreneurs, the venture growth process is not simply dependent on inimitable resources such as competences, as these are first not readily available to female entrepreneurs and second, only provide a temporary competitive advantage. Rather, venture growth also involves the ability to continuously identify and exploit knowledge resources through an absorptive capacity that may be limited by the sociocultural context within which the female entrepreneur operates in sub-Saharan Africa.

Originality/value

The novelty of this research resides in support for the mediating role of the ability to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it and apply it to commercial ends. This study shows that female entrepreneurs use externally generated knowledge as a mechanism to grow their firms and this is impacted by the sociocultural context within which they operate. The study further improves the understanding of the resource-based view by suggesting that a black box exists in the relationship between resources and performance. It is shown that the possession of one resource facilitates the acquisition of other resources and proposes that the role of resources continuously unfolds as a firm develops.

中文翻译：

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女性企业的创业能力与成长：吸收能力的中介作用

目的

本研究关注在资源稀缺环境中经营的女企业家，旨在从基于资源的观点出发，考察创业能力与企业成长之间的关系。

设计/方法/方法

本研究采用横断面研究设计。数据来自在坎帕拉两个最大市场经营的 232 名女企业家。分析数据以检验吸收能力对创业能力与企业成长关系的中介作用；Sobel 检验和 bootstrap 估计是使用的分析方法。

发现

本文认为，对于女性创业者而言，创业成长过程不仅仅依赖于能力等不可模仿的资源，因为这些资源首先对女性创业者来说并不容易获得，其次只能提供暂时的竞争优势。相反，风险增长还涉及通过吸收能力不断识别和开发知识资源的能力，这种能力可能受到女企业家在撒哈拉以南非洲地区经营的社会文化背景的限制。

原创性/价值

这项研究的新颖之处在于支持识别新信息价值、吸收新信息并将其应用于商业目的的能力的中介作用。这项研究表明，女性企业家使用外部产生的知识作为发展公司的机制，这受到她们经营所在的社会文化背景的影响。该研究通过表明资源与绩效之间的关系中存在一个黑匣子，进一步提高了对基于资源的观点的理解。结果表明，拥有一种资源会促进其他资源的获取，并表明资源的作用随着企业的发展而不断展开。