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Encouraging innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is one of the government's main policy initiatives at the local, regional, and national levels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study's primary purpose is to explore the innovation characteristics, challenges, and factors influencing innovation in the Emirati female-owned nascent, start-up, and established SMEs. A semi-structured interview method was used to explore ten Emirati female entrepreneurs' experiences on innovation and adoption intent, and the data were analyzed using NVIVO software. The analysis reveals that respondents believed in a strong vision, education, and risk-taking attitude as an innovative entrepreneur's essential characteristics. Furthermore, new technology adoption, networking, implementation of new or improved products, processes, marketing, and organizational innovation are considered essential to help entrepreneurs commercialize their innovative business idea. This study's findings will help policymakers and business women's councils identify the specific inhibitors and facilitators linked to innovation. The results will help develop various effective policies to promote innovation among Emirati women-owned SMEs.

This research is based on a theoretical interest and practical need to examine female actors as entrepreneurs and innovators. The Saudi Vision 2030 emphasizes entrepreneurship, innovation and stronger female participation in the work force. The purpose of this paper is to point to theoretical underpinnings in female entrepreneurial and innovative activity and to examine success factors for female entrepreneurial innovators in the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

The paper is based on secondary data sources. The secondary data in this research were collected from recent academic journals related to female innovation and entrepreneurship. The selected literature represents international and regional (Middle Eastern) research, including research addressing KSA.

Theories are not universal but contextually bound, and Western theories may not directly apply to the KSA context. The late female labor history and gender segregation have not formed an environment similar to the West where innovation has a male connotation and where gender is created or recreated in interaction. The paper suggests gender differences and similarities in innovation as a suitable approach to examine female entrepreneurs and innovators in KSA. While there are similar tendencies between the Saudi and international contexts in regard success factors, KSA inhibits unique factors associated with female entrepreneurs and innovators and their environment.

This research is aimed at academia and offers points to consider for theoretical examination, focusing on the fitness of theory from an economic, social and cultural perspectives. The research may offer knowledge to policymakers and practitioners in the Middle East region and KSA when applying new policies on entrepreneurship and innovation.

The value of the research lies in its timeliness. While there are economic rationales for research on female entrepreneurial innovators, there are theory-related reasons to examine the topic. With the increased interest in research on Saudi female entrepreneurs, academic discussion needs to take a closer look at the context to gain an understanding of how theoretical approaches may or may not transfer across regions.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss issues related to entrepreneurial undertakings of women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the purpose of contributing to the development of context-dependent knowledge of entrepreneurship. Focussing on the life narratives of two expatriate female business-owners who created a common enterprise, the case permits to uncover and critically assess the different stages of the entrepreneurial process in a unique cultural setting.

The authors employed a narrative case study approach to allow for a rich contextual information to emerge from the detailed accounts of individual lives and entrepreneurial experiences of case protagonists. Data were gathered from multiple sources (e.g. interviews, e-mail exchanges, web sites) and subsequently analyzed and coded into prevalent themes by two researchers and one assistant independently, permitting to achieve both data and investigator triangulation.

This case elucidates the entrepreneurial journey of two female expatriates who launched their individual businesses and joined efforts in the establishment of Heels and Deals (H & D), a network that helps UAE-based women-entrepreneurs reach their professional aspirations within a patriarchal society. The cofounders are now at a cross-roads where they have to make a choice between running their own businesses to secure their sustainability and focussing on H & D to lead its international expansion. The narratives of the case protagonists allow contrasting the discovery and creation views of entrepreneurship and examining the role of leadership skills and personality characteristics in entrepreneurial success.

Despite an increasing number of businesswomen in the UAE, little is known about the way they approach the complex entrepreneurial process and deal with challenges and opportunities faced on the road. The case bridges this gap by offering the possibility to reflect on how expatriate female entrepreneurs in a Middle-Eastern context balance multiple trade-offs to succeed in their business-related endeavors.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the innovation decisions of Emirati women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This study uses a two-phased approach. In the first phase, empirical research on 50 Emirati female entrepreneurs is conducted to discover the extent of innovation in their ventures. In the second phase, the study uses an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritize factors considered important in facilitating business innovation among SMEs. The AHP model is developed with 9 criteria and 25 sub-criteria based on the previous literature. Face-to-face interviews are conducted with Emirati female entrepreneurs operating nascent (n = 10), start-up (n = 10) and established innovative (n = 10) businesses to collect data for the AHP study. The data collected are interpreted and a priority vector is assigned to each criterion and sub-criterion.

Female SME owners prioritize government policies, research and development, innovation strategy and skill development as the main criteria that influence their innovation decisions. Family support, access to external financing, social networks and the allocation of funds are the main sub-criteria affecting their decisions to be innovative. Furthermore, respondents who are in the nascent business stage consider family motivation as the greatest influence on initiating new ideas through financial and moral support. Among all respondents, the nascent business owners rank skill development the highest because they are still in the initial stages of their business journeys, and thus, obtaining these skills could help them increase innovation and success in their ventures. However, respondents in the established stage rank innovation strategy the highest.

The study results can help policymakers and women’s associations, such as businesswomen councils, identify the specific inhibitors and facilitators linked to innovation and, thereby, help develop various effective policies to promote innovation among Emirati women-owned SMEs.

The study is one attempt to facilitate innovation among Emirati women-owned SMEs through its efforts to discover the determinants of innovation efforts at nascent, start-up and established business stages as defined by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2012). The study can help Emirati women-owned SMEs understand the critical factors influencing innovation and can encourage them to incorporate innovative characteristics for business growth and resilience. Furthermore, the study can provide insights for policymakers, financial institutions and non-governmental organizations on factors hindering innovation among Emirati women-owned SMEs, which may serve as a tool for creating resilience among female entrepreneurs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate various problems experienced by cottage-based women entrepreneurs to launch and develop their ventures in Oman and to focus on women going beyond their traditional family roles for various reasons to establish themselves in Omani society.

The study applies a mixed research approach using a quantitative survey of 142 cottage-based Omani women entrepreneurs and qualitative face-to-face interviews with ten women entrepreneurs, presented as six short case studies. The intensity of the business-related problems is determined through the exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis is used to confirm the model by determining the goodness of fit between hypothesized model and sample data.

Access to government for current business needs, access to specialized suppliers for staying ahead of the competition and high cost of raw materials were the problems mentioned as being important, while marketing-oriented problems were of least concern.

This study was undertaken in one region of Oman only and thus poses problems when extrapolating the findings to other areas.

The study suggests how policymakers can support women entrepreneurs to diversify and start new ventures while simultaneously contributing to the socio-economic development of Oman.

Research on cottage entrepreneurship in the context of an Arab country is scarce and the study provides an overview of the obstacles and support required for the development of women entrepreneurship in Oman.

This study seeks to develop a clearer understanding of the motivational factors affecting Saudi female business undergraduates' choice of pursuing entrepreneurship.

The research adopts a quantitative approach to gain general understanding of the students' perceptions with regard to their motivations to pursue entrepreneurship. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire survey administered to 214 female business undergraduates at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University (PMU) in Al-Khobar, to investigate their perceptions of entrepreneurial motivations. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis were used to identify the motivational factors. Multiple regression analysis was used to reveal relationships between the motivation factors and entrepreneurial motivation of female business undergraduates.

The study revealed four generalised entrepreneurial motivations among Saudi female business undergraduates: personal motivational factors with an emphasis on freedom and social status; business motivational factors such as financial rewards and security; social motivational factors manifested in the influence of the community, roles and family; and environmental motivations which were mainly associated to education, the market knowledge and ability to access finance.

The study was restricted to female students at PMU University. Thus, generalisation of the results could be limited. The findings of the study could be useful to relevant authorities to enhance and boost entrepreneurship for female students and hence to contribute to the national Vision 2030.

This study is among those few studies located in the MENA region that explore Saudi female university students' attitude towards entrepreneurship. It adds to the authors' understanding on the four generalised factors by highlighting the importance of the family's role and entrepreneurship education in motivating Saudi female students towards entrepreneurship engagement. It also contributes to the understanding of these motivations that could be applied in other similar contexts.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategic use of social media and chat applications of women entrepreneurs to promote their businesses.

Because of the nature of the study and dearth of sufficient data in the Middle Eastern society on the women entrepreneurship, this study employed a qualitative research methodology. The research comprised of 20 in-depth interviews with immigrant women entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates. They were identified through personal contacts and referrals.

All the expatriate women interviewed are using social media and chat applications to promote their business. Facebook is used for brand creation and WhatsApp is used as a direct marketing tool to evoke purchase response. Though traditional promotional tools are far from redundant, their role is more supplementary. The increasing trend is a combination of traditional tools and digital tools. Digital tools seem to have an upper hand in their business promotions.

This study is limited to SME sector in one industry and in one country. The qualitative nature of this study could affect the generalizability of the results. A more extensive study is needed and future research should be more diverse including widening the selection of respondents, industries and countries.

This study is a novel attempt to gauge an in-depth understanding of modern communication tools. It looks specifically at the integrative strategies pursued by the immigrant women entrepreneurs using Facebook and WhatsApp.

Utilizing boundary theory as a guiding framework, this study aims to explore facets of work–life balance (WLB) that women entrepreneurs experience in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It sheds light on strategies women entrepreneurs use to manage and shape boundaries between their personal and professional lives.

In this qualitative study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 50 women entrepreneurs to gain a deeper understanding of their WLB challenges.

Integration is a boundary management approach used by most women in our sample, facilitated by the thin work–life boundary inferable from their entrepreneurial careers. Integration has all the hallmarks of being imposed on women entrepreneurs because of family role challenges and societal expectations, on top of their entrepreneurial obligations. Women are reactors; they shoulder societal, family and entrepreneurial roles while having little control over events and circumstances.

Boundary theory suggests two roles must be interconnected to coexist successfully. Women entrepreneurs can benefit from the synergy between their personal and professional lives. As their roles tend to be more complex, it is essential to consider the consolidation of both spheres as an ongoing process to maximize their benefits.

Today’s independent forms of working are contingent on flexible work arrangements, work intensification and wireless communication. Understanding how women entrepreneurs find balance amid boundarylessness adds to our limited knowledge of people in comparable environments.

This study aims to develop a push–pull factors theory of women entrepreneurship, to identify and prioritize the factors influencing Emirati women entrepreneurs, and also aims to implement the proposed theory in two cases: Emirati women entrepreneurs with business family and non-business family backgrounds.

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model was developed with 6 criteria and 19 sub-criteria, based upon the findings of previous studies. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey given to 20 Emirati women entrepreneurs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The respondents were selected on the basis of their family backgrounds. The data collected were interpreted and a priority vector was assigned to the criteria and sub-criteria.

A well-researched methodology was used for the synthesis of priorities and the measurement of consistencies. The findings show that education, skills and training are the three main criteria considered to be the most important factors that influence the growth and success of Emirati women entrepreneurs.

The model can be used by authors for future academic and entrepreneurial studies. The findings interpreted can help policymakers and related associations develop various policies based on the specific factors found to empower Emirati women entrepreneurs in an effective manner. This process will increase the participation of Emirati women in the entrepreneurial field. The research model had limited dimensions and the findings cannot be generalized. Hence, it would be valuable to conduct future study in other countries to generalize the findings. The model can be enhanced by including other factors, and alternatives could be based on types of sectors.

This study is the first of its kind to present an AHP model that contains most dimensions influencing the success and growth of Emirati women entrepreneurs and prioritizes the dimensions based on their importance.

This paper aims to explore the crucial role of socio-cultural factors in the entrepreneurial experiences of women in the Gulf region.

A focused qualitative systematic analysis of 65 published articles was conducted to present existing approaches to studying women's entrepreneurship in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and identify the key socio-cultural factors impacting women's entrepreneurial realities.

It was found that gender roles, family influence, social networking and religion are among the most significant factors influencing the entrepreneurial experiences of women in the GCC.

It was found that the region's prevalent social norms, vis-à-vis how gender roles are defined and practiced, greatly influence the lived experiences of women entrepreneurs. The role of family support (or lack thereof) and the access to networking opportunities to start and grow ventures significantly affect women's entrepreneurial successes. The findings also point to the overarching ideological and practical guidance, Islam is believed to offer, on how life in general and businesses, in particular, should be conducted.

The paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on women's entrepreneurship in the Gulf by promoting context-dependent knowledge. In particular, the findings highlight the importance of critical and nuanced evaluation of existing theories of gender and entrepreneurship. The examination can help policymakers develop more effective and inclusive entrepreneurship policies in the region.