The Role of Environmental and Psychological Factors in Assisting Sustainable Entrepreneurial Performance (SEP) of Women-Led Micro Firms: A Study Based in Kandy District

Abstract

Women entrepreneurs have most certainly been identified for their notable additions towards the socio-economic advancement of most countries over the past decades. However, the majority of the literature on female entrepreneurs have been cantered on developed countries, and inadequate knowledge is found on women entrepreneurs in developing countries such as Sri Lanka. In accordance with bridging the said theoretical and empirical gap, this study mainly assembled a unit of analysis of women entrepreneurs in the micro-enterprise sector in the Kandy district with a sample that covered all its divisional secretariat areas. Reliability and validity were tested by carrying a pilot survey of 25 respondents. With the gain of 210 respondents on the final survey, it was found that both the main variables in study had positive relationships with Sustainable Entrepreneurial Performance. Further, opportunities for green entrepreneurship and training support did not prove any relationship, while the rest that are social perception, analytical planning, proactiveness, teamwork, government support policy, business environment, green attitude, perceived controlled behaviour, optimism, innovation, leadership and psychological factors had positive relationships with Sustainable Entrepreneurial Performance. Government, private organizations, and Non-Government Organizations (NGO) should consider necessary efforts to enhance the business talents of women with more industrial opportunities and better entrepreneurial setting in Sri Lanka. This study, thereby offers vastly to the knowledge about women entrepreneurship in a developing economy and also assists to consolidate anyone’s understanding about this subject and the scope of entrepreneurship while presenting practical