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Running their own show: Malaysian women entrepreneurs’ kaleidoscope careers

Wee Chan Au (School of Business, Monash University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia)
Mina Beigi (Southampton Business School, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK)
Melika Shirmohammadi (Human Development and Consumer Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA)

Career Development International

ISSN: 1362-0436

Article publication date: 16 August 2021

Issue publication date: 8 October 2021

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Abstract

Purpose

Considerable research has been conducted to highlight women's career decisions to opt-out of corporate positions, but little is said about those who leave to become entrepreneurs. The purpose of this paper is to theorize kaleidoscope career parameters in relation to entrepreneurship stages and demonstrate the role of macro-national context (i.e. government initiatives and cultural practices) in women entrepreneurs' career choices.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors interviewed 34 Malaysian women entrepreneurs (MWEs) who were established in their careers and explored the following two research questions: (1) what career parameters are prioritized at different entrepreneurship stages? and (2) how does macro-national context influence women entrepreneurs' careers?

Findings

Adopting a kaleidoscope career lens, the authors show that authenticity was prioritized during the initial entrepreneurship stage, while balance and challenge were prioritized during the establishment and business advancement stages, respectively. The authors demonstrate that government support was conducive to women's decision to opt-in and stay in the entrepreneurship path. The findings also denote that cultural practices facilitated women's pursuit of entrepreneurship by encouraging family members to support women entrepreneurs in their career choices and actions.

Originality/value

The qualitative approach enabled us to specify the context-specific meaning women entrepreneurs in our study associated with authenticity, balance, and challenge. In doing so, this research extends the kaleidoscope career model to better understand women's career patterns at different entrepreneurship stages.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This work was supported by Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia’s Fundamental Research Grant Scheme [FRGS/2/2013/SS05/MUSM/03/2] and Monash University Malaysia [B-2-13].

Citation

Au, W.C., Beigi, M. and Shirmohammadi, M. (2021), "Running their own show: Malaysian women entrepreneurs’ kaleidoscope careers", Career Development International, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 613-639. https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-02-2021-0043

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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