Thesis
Digital technologies as a catalyst for transforming female entrepreneurship in developing countries
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2026
- Thesis identifier
- T18065
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 202186555
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- Recent evolutions of digital technologies on the global stage have disrupted and contributed to reshaping the entrepreneurial landscape in ways that have notably featured high in rethinking business models, competition, and value chain processes and activities. The prospect of digital technologies fostering business innovation and propelling entrepreneurial transformation is increasingly being promoted as key to creating new opportunities for growth and development, particularly in developing countries. Moreover, the pervasive and accelerated use of digital technologies has currently attracted much attention in academic and business spheres, resulting in the consensus that there is a need for a better understanding of the novel phenomenon of digital entrepreneurship. Interestingly, there is evidence which shows that the benefits of these technologies are neither automatic nor always equally gained among entrepreneurs. Notably, women across the globe continue to face multiple challenges in advancing their business endeavours in this digital era. Considering this reality and in keeping with an in-depth empirical study within the spatially fragmented islandness and post-colonial contexts of the Caribbean region, this thesis sheds light on the complex multidimensional nature of the interplay between the phenomena of female entrepreneurship and digital entrepreneurship. Among developing countries in the Global South, the unique context of the Caribbean region presents nuances and novel perspectives on the orientation and endeavours of female entrepreneurs and the ways in which digital technologies are used as a source of opportunities to overcome challenges they face in the entrepreneurial and digital environments. From a theoretical perspective, this study draws on post-colonial feminist theory and the Technology Affordances and Constraints Theory (TACT). The purpose of the study is to gain deeper insights on how digital technologies alleviate existing constraints among female entrepreneurs and improve their entrepreneurial opportunities towards achieving gender equality. In so doing, this study adopts an overarching contextual gendered approach and considers complementary perspectives from the field of entrepreneurship, and the sub-fields of female entrepreneurship and digital entrepreneurship which contribute to a better understanding of the phenomena within the broader socio-economic, geo-political and demographic realities of the Caribbean. By employing a qualitative approach and adopting the philosophical stance of interpretivism, semi-structured interviews were conducted among 30 female digital entrepreneurs across three Caribbean countries - Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica. Through purposive snowball sampling, the selected research participants included a diverse group of participants by age, sectors, educational background, geographic location and category of digital entrepreneurs (light, medium and extreme) who make use of digital technologies in their businesses. The research findings reveal that through the agency of the female entrepreneurs, digital technologies influence the transformation of female entrepreneurship towards empowerment, leadership, resilience and the multiple contexts of people, place and time. While operating in the digital environment, the female entrepreneurs employed deliberate entrepreneurial strategies to build capacities and broaden their networks and market environment beyond their limited geographic spaces. Notwithstanding, the findings also provided insights on paradoxes related to the adaptability, as well as the growth and sustainability strategies of the business ventures, characterised as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), given the “depersonalised” aspects of digital businesses and the tendency of gender biases linked to female entrepreneurs becoming more invisible or inadvertently ascribed to the enterprises. Hence the results highlight the importance of the agency of the female digital entrepreneurs in shaping a more gender inclusive transformed business environment. By focusing on the Caribbean, which embodies a range of nuanced contexts, this study contributes to contextualising female digital entrepreneurship and broadening the debate beyond the EuroWestern centric perspectives. Hence, post-colonial theorisation offers a critical lens to support the thrust of the study. In considering the human and organisational aspects of business entities, together with the intertwining aspects of technology and social practices, the use of TACT provides insights on concepts of “affordance” and “constraint” in a relational manner rather than a deterministic way. In a similar vein, post-colonial feminist theory offers diverse analytical insights of the social relations dynamics, while also emphasising the historical perspectives of female entrepreneurship in the Caribbean context. Hence, the study contributes to theory building by emphasising that with the integration of gender perspectives and the embeddedness of context, female digital entrepreneurship occurs both as a process and in the moment at a given point in time. The policy and practical implications from the study highlight that emerging digital technologies can become both an equaliser and a disruptive factor in labour markets and can address gender inequality and equally transform female entrepreneurship in island economies such as those of the Caribbean. Consequently, this thesis makes the case for developing a novel “SHERO” model which goes beyond the stereotypical perspectives of the masculine hero entrepreneur and the (s)hero entrepreneur by showcasing how female entrepreneurs use digital technologies in their business operations to significantly improve their entrepreneurial Sustainability, Hope, Empowerment, Resilience and Optimism (SHERO) in a more integrated and holistic manner.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Nicolopoulou, Katerina
- Lockett, Nigel
- Lassalle, Paul
- Resource Type
- DOI
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PDF of thesis T18065 | 2026-09-18 | Public | Download |