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- Hashim, Sumaya
(författare)
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Women Entrepreneurship : Masculinity, Legitimacy and Well-being
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overarching research purpose of this dissertation is to understand how women entrepreneurs establish and grow their businesses in a patriarchal society. This research question is addressed through the compilation of four research papers. The first research paper is a literature review that synthesizes current literature on women entrepreneurs in the Gulf States and identifies possible research avenues.The remaining three papers are empirical studies that use Bahrain, one of the Gulf States, as an empirical setting. The first empirical study challenges the assumption of entrepreneurship as a gendered phenomenon and sets out to understand entrepreneurship as a new phenomenon in a context that is male dominated. It draws on masculinity theory to understand the interplay between women entrepreneurs and the different forms of masculinity enacted by men. The second empirical study challenges the persistent traditional representation of the male entrepreneur as the founder and leader of a family business by using legitimacy-as-perception as a theoretical lens to investigate how female-led family ventures gain legitimacy from family and non-family members. The third empirical study challenges the stereotypical view of women entrepreneurs in developing countries by drawing on eudaimonic well-being literature to understand why and how some women start or grow a business after initiating a divorce, while others do not.The dissertation makes several contributions to (women) entrepreneurship and to the different theories that it adopts in various ways. First, the dissertation extends women entrepreneurship literature by showing how women entrepreneurs influence their social context to attain royal awards, deal with different forms of masculinity enacted by men, and rebuild their eudaimonic well-being through their entrepreneurial activities. Second, the dissertation introduces the notion of “Asabiyyah” to explain the unique social makeup that informs the behavior of women entrepreneurs. Third, the dissertation contributes to the theoretical lenses that it adopts, for instance to the legitimacy-as-perception lens by showing the reciprocal nature of legitimacy. It broadens the masculinity theory by bringing attention to “own-business” as an institution where the private and the public spheres overlap and organize gender relations. This dissertation also contributes to the growing literature on eudaimonic well-being by offering an understanding of the interplay between entrepreneurship, engagement in meaningful activities, and eudaimonic well-being, an area that has largely remained a black box. Last but not least the dissertation offers several practical implications to further improve and foster entrepreneurship for women in Bahrain.
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| 3. |
- Alasfoor, Reyadh
(författare)
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The Gulf Cooperation Council : Its Nature and Achievements
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- When Britain decided, in 1968, to terminate its official colonial presence in the Persian (Arabian) Gulf as of 1971, this action prompted the Gulf Arab States (Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman) to start the search for a form of partnership that would bring them together to better cope with the insecurity and danger surrounding them and their regimes. A key problem after the British withdrawal has been the notable military weakness of these states and the inability to effectively defend themselves against aggressive action. The six states share a similar economic, social, and political system, and acquired marked geo-political importance after the conclusion of World War II as a result of the discovery of massive oil and gas reserves. Following two years of negotiation, the states signed, on May 25, 1981 a charter creating a regional entity called the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ? which turned out to be something of a unique integrative experiment in the Arab world. Its main objectives are a customs union and political cooperation; harmonization of policies; a common external tariff; and general integration within its specified cultural, geographical, economic, and political bounds. The present study aims to analyze the regional cooperation and integration of these states. It is an attempt to trace the nature, emergence, and development of the GCC in a primarily tribal culture. It furnishes a description and exploration of specific aspects of the GCC: its structure and charter; its economic and political achievements; the challenges facing it; the factors that either enhance or hinder its ambitions. It is also an attempt to identify and discuss the security problems the member states face. This study additionally advances a theoretical framework focusing on certain concepts stemming from existing integration theories that have applicability to the integration of the GCC. The dissertation suggests that the GCC is in fact unique; neither a federal or confederal, it represents an elastic entity and political framework. Empirically, the study examines the GCC during the first twenty-five years of its existence (1979-2004), with the just stated aims to explore, explain, and analyze this integration effort in its specified cultural, geographical, political, and economic settings. To aid our understanding of this integrative venture, several important questions revolving around the very concept of integration, are raised. For instance, what are the circumstances under which the GCC emerged? To what extent is integration projects elite-inspired and forged, and to what extent, if at all, is it grass-root inspired? What challenges are the member states facing when trying to achieve their objectives? What is the significance of the existence of a ?core? within this integration? What are the local integrative and disintegrative factors, and how do they operate to hinder or enhance the integration project? What general observations can this study engender in terms of past and present integration aspects with specific focus on locally, regionally, and globally generated supports and stresses?
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