Students’ attitude towards

entrepreneurship: does gender matter

in the UAE?
Sudipa Majumdar and Damodharan Varadarajan

Sudipa Majumdar and Abstract

Damodharan Varadarajan Purpose – The purpose of the study is to examine whether there is a difference in the entrepreneurial
are based at Business intentions among male and female students in UAE. The study is extremely relevant and interesting
Faculty, Higher Colleges of since females in the UAE have a higher success rate in education but this has not been translated into
Technology, Dubai, United comparable increases in employment rates. Given the social, cultural, and religious fabric of the
Arab Emirates. country’s indigenous society and the rising number of female graduates, this anomaly in the corporate
sector might result in more female entrepreneurs in this part of the globe, as compared to the rest of the
world.
Design/methodology/approach – The research studies a sample of first year business students from
the United Arab Emirates, namely Dubai Men’s College and Dubai Women’s College. The primary survey
was a part of an international study involving 12 universities in Europe, Middle East and Australia. A
five-point Likert scale was used for each question and dummy variables were computed based on the
scores. The authors used a multivariable econometric model to assess the statistical significance of the
determinants of entrepreneurial attitudes. The empirical assessment of the students’ entrepreneurial
propensity was based on the estimation of a logistic regression.
Findings – The authors’ results show that male and female students were equally strong in terms of their
propensity to become future entrepreneurs. Female respondents showed higher risk-taking behavior
than males, which was contradictory to past research findings that have typically found females to be
more conservative in risk-taking than males. The estimation results showed that the propensity of future
entrepreneurship does not depend on gender - it depended on factors like creativity, motivation and
awareness. This is a very important result since the authors’ sample does not follow the expected trend in
the existing literature on gender differences and entrepreneurship propensities where a wide gender
gap has been found.
Originality/value – Both academia and practitioners have increased their efforts in promoting an
entrepreneurial mindset within society. However, only a few studies have investigated entrepreneurial
attitudes amongst students and no research studies have been conducted in the UAE. The authors’
research fills this lacuna and shows that the efforts need to be directed towards nurturing the creativity
and awareness of both male and female students for future business ventures.
Keywords Entrepreneurship, Intent, Emirati, Students, Gender, United Arab Emirates
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
This study is an exploratory situation of Emirati students about their intentions to become
future entrepreneurs. The aim is to find if there are similarities and/or differences between
genders in doing future business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE has paid
increasing attention to entrepreneurship contribution to economic growth – the small and
medium enterprises have significantly contributed to the nation, in terms of contributing to
job creation, innovation, and economic growth.
Received 7 March 2012
Revised 3 June 2012 There has been a stream of research that has looked into the importance of higher education
22 July 2012
16 September 2012
in influencing potential entrepreneurs, with a focus on students in the Arab region. Rice
Accepted 6 January (2003) highlighted the importance of risk behavior and creativity as the important cultural

PAGE 278 j foresight j VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013, pp. 278-293, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1463-6689 DOI 10.1108/FS-03-2012-0011
elements within the Gulf countries that might be strongly related to entrepreneurial potential
and success. Further, motivation factor across genders was also identified as one of the
most crucial and important factor in explaining the entrepreneurial success, especially
among Emirati women (Tipu et al., 2011; Ryan et al., 2011). Madichie and Gallant (2012)
investigated the motivation factors of women business owners in the UAE and found that
positive changes in government policies and the socio-cultural environment were the key
drivers behind the phenomenal increase in female entrepreneurs in the region.
It is also becoming increasingly significant for policy makers to understand the decisive
factors that influence entrepreneurial propensity (Scott and Twomey, 1988). Kolvereid (1996)
reported that there is a growing interest among the youth in taking up entrepreneurship as a
career choice and therefore, it is important to explore the factors that influence
entrepreneurial behavior of students.
This paper is structured as follows. In the following section, a brief review of the literature on
existing studies of entrepreneurial intentions and the importance of entrepreneurship in the
UAE are presented. In section 3, the sample and descriptive statistics have been detailed.
The estimation model and results are presented in section 4. Conclusions of the study and
our limitations in this paper are summarized in sections 5 and 6.

2. Literature review
2.1 Entrepreneurship
Research on factors influencing the intent to start a new venture has concentrated on
different approaches. In the functional approach (Baumol, 1993) the entrepreneur is
described as an innovator and in the psychological approach (McClelland, 1961) the
entrepreneur is defined by his or her personality, motivations and behavior. Accordingly, the
interaction of personal characteristics (risky, creativity, and need for achievement) with
perceptions of competencies and familiarity (entrepreneurial experience, knowledge,
awareness, and interest) become critical to assess the students’ entrepreneurial potential.
Our study focused along these lines.
Entrepreneurs are generally considered risk-takers and therefore the notion of risk behavior
is an important element in the entrepreneurship literature (Caliendo et al., 2009; Kan and
Tsai, 2006). Risk refers to the ‘‘unpredictability or possible downside variability of
performance’’ (Miller, 2007) and the risk-taking propensity of an entrepreneur is high if she is
willing to knowingly take risks (Simon et al., 2000).
Entrepreneurship and innovative business behavior have also been associated with
creativity (Nyström, 1979; Walton, 2003) and in the business context, creative novelty is often
translated into idea development (Ward, 2004), new product innovations (Amabile, 1996)
and adapting or improving existing innovations (Kirton, 1987). Sternberg (1998) defines
creativity as ‘‘the ability to produce work that is both novel’’ (i.e. original) and appropriate
(i.e. useful, adaptive) – it would include new ideas, new products, or new approaches to
traditional products or services.
Within the research domain of personality traits and entrepreneurship, the concept of ‘‘need
for achievement’’ or ‘‘motivation’’ has received much attention. McClelland (1961) argued
that entrepreneurial roles called for a higher ‘‘need for achievement’’ as compared to other
types of occupational roles. Johnson (1990) carried out a traditional review and concluded
that need for achievement distinguished firm founders from other members of society.
Collins et al. (2000) conducted the first and only meta-analysis of need for achievement and
entrepreneurship studies, and found that need for achievement was an effective tool for
differentiating between firm founders and the general population. It might be particularly
effective at differentiating between successful and unsuccessful groups of firm founders.

2.2 Gender and entrepreneurship

Studies from the Western, industrialized countries suggest that male and female
entrepreneurs tend to share more similarities than differences (Brush, 1992; Gatewood

j j
VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013 foresight PAGE 279
 et al., 2003). Fagenson (1993) found that both males and females had a high value for
self-respect, freedom, and accomplishments. Cooper and Artz (1995) found high levels of
optimistic expectations regarding their ventures amongst both genders. On similar lines, no
statistical differences between male and female rates of entrepreneurship were reported in
countries like Thailand, China, and South Africa (Minniti et al., 2005).
The opposite results have been found in other studies, where female participation rates were
consistently lower than men – women were found to be less likely as men to start businesses
and much less likely to start high-growth, high-profit firms (Reynolds et al., 2004). The female
entrepreneurs have rarely mentioned a drive for high profits or growth, as their primary
objective for starting their business enterprise (Morris et al., 2006). Women have held
different values and goals from men and consequently have adopted different strategies
(Bird and Brush, 2002). Miskin and Rose (1990) explained that some gender difference in
motivation factors could be due to socio-economic traditions. Varied motivational attitudes
can also result in certain segments of population facing discrimination, which could include
women, youth and individuals of ethnic or immigrant origin (Deakins and Whittam, 2000).
Verheul (2005) concluded that female and male entrepreneurs differ with respect to their
personal and business profile: they start and run businesses in different sectors, develop
different products, pursue different goals and structure their businesses in a different
fashion. Female entrepreneurs often mentioned their need for independence (Carter and
Cannon, 1991); pursuit of social goals (Hisrich and Brush, 1987); and autonomy and
flexibility (Sexton and Bowman-Upton, 1990) as the main reason for starting their own
business ventures. This contrasts with male entrepreneurs who mostly mention economic
goals, monetary objectives, profitability, as the main motivators behind their business
(DeMartino and Barbato, 2002).
In less developed countries, cultural and social values played a major role in the intentions of
females becoming entrepreneurs. Roomi and Parrot (2008) suggested that most of the
challenges faced by female entrepreneurs originated from the structure of their societies. In
Pakistan, women faced social disapproval of working outside homes and the female
contribution to the economy was very low (Samina, 1997). Political tensions and uncertain
security situation in countries like Syria and Yemen imposed further constraints on women
and limited their access to economic opportunities (Freedom House, 2010). The Chinese
Confucian value system highlighted the subordinate status of wives to their husbands
(Graham and Lam, 2003) which posed several obstacles to women becoming innovators,
entrepreneurs and achievers. Therefore, it is important to understand the socio-economic
background and the dynamics of the particular nation.

2.3 Entrepreneurship in the UAE

This research considers UAE as a case study to investigate the perceptions of Emirati
students about their future aspirations. The choice of UAE is justified for a number of
reasons. UAE is an Islamic nation that emerged from a rural, conservative background and
rapidly transformed itself into an urban, sophisticated, dynamic society. However, this
unprecedented growth was not brought about by a matching in development in skills of the
local population but by bringing in skilled expatriate workers. The structure of the population
and labor market made the Emirati population a minority in their own country and needed to
define their own roles (Heard-Bey, 2005). The most important factor in selecting UAE is that
there have been relatively few studies on entrepreneurs and among students in the UAE.
The encouraging and optimistic policies of the UAE government to pursue a
non-discriminatory education policy for nationals resulted in an increasing number of
women taking tertiary education, especially in Dubai (Table I). In Dubai, the number of
professional women has risen sharply since Federal institutions such as Zayed University
and the Higher Colleges of Technology introduced dedicated business programs in an effort
to equip more women in the industry as well as to successfully start their own ventures.
Although women in the UAE had access to formal education almost two decades after their
male counterparts, today women are surpassing men in both secondary and tertiary
education.

j j
PAGE 280 foresight VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013
Table I Registered Emirati students at universities and colleges by gender – Emirate of
Dubai
Male Female

2000-2001 1,607 4,106

2001-2002 2,188 4,056
2002-2003 2,256 4,465
2003-2004 2,471 4,336
2004-2005 4,065 4,894
2005-2006 5,047 5,488
2006-2007 5,811 6,087
2007-2008 6,230 6,572
2008-2009 6,948 7,106
2009-2010 7,940 7,749

Source: Knowledge and Human Development Authority

Rates of female labor force participation increased drastically from 7.9 percent in 1995 to
17.1 percent in 2005 (see Table II) – but it was still very low as compared to the global
average female labor force participation rate of 52 percent, according to the International
Labor Office (ILO). As a direct consequence of the socio-economic policies, the UAE began
to face the twin problems of rising unemployment rates for nationals and an increasingly
educated population, of which women were a majority. Consequently, the Government
placed entrepreneurship, especially amongst women with high priority, as a two pronged
effort to avoid any frustration amongst the educated young female population and also bring
about the necessary increase in employments in the small and medium scale enterprises.
The imbalances and its consequences have been explained in Figure 1.

Table II Population participation in labor force by gender – Emirate of Dubai

Male Female

1975 40.9 1.6

1985 35.6 3.3
1995 40.7 7.9
2005 45.8 17.1

Source: Census 1975-2005: Ministry of Economy

Figure 1 Balancing nationalization with economic growth

j j
VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013 foresight PAGE 281
 The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2009) report categorized the UAE as an
innovation-driven economy, where the focus of growth ‘‘lies more on dynamics and
simulating new combinations of products and market’’. Even among the 20
innovation-driven economies in the world (Germany, Japan, UK, USA etc.), the
entrepreneurial capability, and intention was the highest in the UAE, coupled with the
lowest fear of failure. In this context, the significance and importance of individual
entrepreneurial activity become very crucial in UAE.
Gallant et al. (2010) investigated the attitudes of students in Dubai towards entrepreneurship
and their opinions about the role that Universities could play in fostering their interest
towards entrepreneurship. In one of our previous studies (Varadarajan et al., 2010), the
young female students in UAE showed more positive attitude and motivation towards
entrepreneurship than their counterparts across the globe. Ryan et al. (2011) found that
motivation was an important factor in explaining the entrepreneurial success, especially
among Emirati women. Madichie and Gallant (2012) found that encouraging changes in the
government policies and the socio cultural environment has resulted in an increase of Emirati
women entrepreneurs.
Martinez et al. (2007) reported that there has been a consistent interest in trying to identify
factors that led an individual to become an entrepreneur. Researchers have opined that it is
important to focus on the potential propensity of students before they have completed their
education, so that they could be trained, nurtured and the relevant education structure could
be incorporated into their curriculum. Teixeira (2007) and Kolvereid and Moen (1997)
stressed for more investigation and identification of potential students (future entrepreneurs)
earlier in their education program so that their knowledge and interest could be significantly
enhanced through education. The current study focuses with similar objectives by surveying
male and female students in the UAE to understand their attitudes towards becoming future
entrepreneurs.

Methodology
Our research is an extension of an international survey of first year business students,
involving twelve universities around the world. This paper studied the sample of First Year
Business students (the survey was implemented inside their classrooms) from a University in
the UAE, namely the Higher Colleges of Technology. The survey was a part of a wider
research project which investigated entrepreneurial attitudes of First Year business students
across the world (e.g. Germany, England, Ireland, South Africa, Uganda, Finland, Slovenia,
Portugal, Poland, Kenya, UAE, and Australia). It is recognized that, whilst there is a body of
literature on entrepreneurial intentions and attitudes, there is a lack of research in different
regional contexts and our paper, clearly adds to the body of literature and makes a
significant contribution to the research on factors influencing entrepreneurial propensity
among students.
Similar to the international project, the research questions for this research component are
as follows:
B Questions to get a better understanding of the propensity for students to undertake an
entrepreneurial study with the purpose of starting a new venture.
B Questions of demographic and classification nature with particular emphasis to age,
gender, work experience, awareness and their entrepreneurial experience.
B Questions regarding the personality traits of the individuals, with the intention of
measuring their creativity, risk-taking attitude, passion or need for achievement.
A descriptive, quantitative method was applied and the same questionnaire was used in all
the twelve universities. Our data consisted of 181 male and female students from Dubai
Women’s College and 63 male students from Dubai Men’s College – all students were in their
first year of business studies. The majority of the students belonged to the 18-20 age group.

j j
PAGE 282 foresight VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013
4. Results
4.1 Entrepreneurship propensity
While there has been significant research on the causes of entrepreneurial propensity or
intent (Greenberger and Sexton, 1988; Naffziger et al., 1994; Brandstätter, 1997; Peterman
and Kennedy, 2003), but only a few have focused on students. Those that exist tend to focus
on US and UK cases – despite the heterogeneity of sampling methods and target
population, the existing studies report that, on average, one quarter of students surveyed
claimed that after their graduation they would like to become entrepreneurs. Franke and
Lüthje (2004), analyzing business undergraduates from Austria, Germany, and the US,
found that entrepreneurial intents of USA was the double of Germany’s (50 percent against
25 percent) and substantially above that of the Austrian’s (36 percent). In Portugal, Teixeira
and Forte (2008) found that around 26 percent of final year students would see starting a
new venture as their future career. While new venture opportunities exist within nearly all
academic disciplines, the majority of entrepreneurship initiatives at universities are found to
be offered by business schools (Ede et al., 1998) and for business students (Roebuck and
Brawley, 1996).
In the present research, different measures of students’ entrepreneurial propensity were
calculated. First, the entrepreneurial intent or potential entrepreneurial propensity was
directly assessed by asking students which option they would choose after completing their
studies – starting their own business or being self-employed. Although such procedure is
widely and extensively used in the literature on this subject (Ede et al., 1998; Lüthje and
Franke, 2003; Franke and Lüthje, 2004; Gurol and Atsan, 2006), it is important to point that
the argument was based on a general statement to a possible action in the future. It would
probably be more accurate to examine the research questions by employing an ex post
observation (say, five years later when these students are entrepreneurs or employees), but
this would constitute not a measure of entrepreneurial intent but rather a measure of effective
entrepreneurial behavior. Moreover, to have such measure would require cohorts of
students, which was not materially possible at this stage of the research.
Second, the measure of effective entrepreneurial propensity was considered. Students who
had already created firms (effective entrepreneurial propensity in stricto sensu) were
considered, and the results showed that only 2 percent of the males and 3 percent of the
females had replied positively – so, it was necessary to broaden the concept. As a result, for
computation purposes, effective entrepreneurial propensity was defined to include students
who had already created firms or taken some steps towards the creation of firms (effective
entrepreneurial propensity in lato sensu). Using the concept of effective entrepreneurship,
27 percent of the females and 44 percent of the males responded positively. Since this
research takes only students who are just into college and in their first year of Business
Studies, it is obvious that very few students would have already created their own firms or
have taken steps to do so. As expected, a high proportion of Business students were found
to be interested to become entrepreneurs after completing their studies. Potential
entrepreneurship propensity or entrepreneurial intent is up to 65.1 percent for the males as
against 62.7 percent for females (Figure 2).
In order to find out if the gender difference in our sample was statistically significant or not,
we carried out an independent t-test by grouping the propensity variables according to
gender. The results (Table III) showed that t-statistic was not significant for any of the models,
which indicated that the entrepreneurship propensity between males and females did not
show any difference. This is a very important result since our sample does not follow the
expected trend in the existing literature on gender differences and entrepreneurship
propensities.
In research studies within the entrepreneurship literature, a wide gender gap has been
observed between males and females – most studies have found that men and women
entrepreneurs show pronounced differences in their business goals (Brush, 1992; Rosa
et al., 1994). Cliff (1998) found that women are less interested than men in growing their
firms. Anna et al. (2000) suggest that systemic social, cultural, and work structure barriers

j j
VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013 foresight PAGE 283
 Figure 2 Entrepreneurship propensity, by gender

Table III Gender wise entrepreneurship propensity – t-test for equality of means
Effective entrepreneurship propensity Potential entrepreneurship propensity
(created firms or taken steps) (intent)

t statistic 20.555 20.315

2-tailed
significance 0.580 0.754

may cause women’s intentions to differ from those of men. Teixeira and Davey (2010) found
that effective entrepreneurial propensity of male students is roughly the double of their
female counterparts when he looked into the respondents in Portugal. Stephan and
El-Ganainy (2007), focusing also the academia, found that women are less likely to engage
entrepreneurial activity or starting a company.
Brush (1992) found that men are more inclined towards entrepreneurial business than
women with similar background. It is believed that women face more difficulties in venturing
process as compared to their male counterparts. Particularly, women entrepreneurs face
more difficulty in arranging a capital to start or to support their business (Fay and Williams,
1993) or to have angel financing (Becker-Blease and Sohl, 2007), have a lower degree of
human and financial capital (i.e. education and work experience) invested for starting up the
new entity (Boden and Nucci, 2000). Consequently, various studies conducted in different
nations discovered that the objective success rate for women entrepreneurs is very less and
they face slower rate of growth, low profits, and low sales (Brush et al., 2006; Welter et al.,
2006). The research supports the generally held perception that to be an entrepreneur is a
purely masculine characteristic of the members of society (Lewis, 2006). Numerous studies
revealed that these kinds of stereotypes regarding gender influence the intentions of men
and women to involve and pursue entrepreneurial activities as their career (Gupta et al.,
2008).
However, our results do not follow this expected trend. 60 percent of young Emirati men and
women showed a positive intent of becoming an entrepreneur in the future, which was much
more than the percentages found in other countries like Austria (36 percent) and USA (50
percent) (Teixeira and Forte, 2008; Franke and Lüthje, 2004). More importantly, the
entrepreneurship propensity between males and females in our sample did not show a
significant difference. So, Emirati females were not found to be any different from their male
counterparts in terms of their intentions of becoming future entrepreneurs, which was not in
line with the expected trend in the existing literature on gender differences and
entrepreneurship propensities. This led us to delve further into the characteristics and
personality traits of our sample to find if the attitude of females differed from the males who
were in their first year of business studies in Dubai.

j j
PAGE 284 foresight VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013
4.2 Personality traits
In order to find out if the gender difference in our sample was statistically significant or not,
we carried out an independent t-test by grouping the personality trait variables according to
gender. The results have been presented in Table IV. Female respondents in our sample
showed risk-behavior that was contradictory to traditional belief – past research findings
have typically found females to be more conservative in risk-taking than males (Bernasek
and Shwiff, 2001). Our results show Emirati women to be significantly more positive in their
risk-taking behavior than men. This result was also found by the GEMS study in 2009, where
they concluded that the ‘‘fear of failure’’ factor was the lowest in the UAE, and was
exceptionally low amongst the Emirati women (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2009).
In terms of creativity, there were no gender differences – almost 70 percent of males and a
similar proportion of females were found to be high on their creativity levels (Figure 3).
However, in terms of motivation, females were found to be significantly more motivated than
males in terms of a high need for achievement. This result was in line with the empirical study
in Singapore (Lee, 1997); the research carried out amongst students in Tehran University
(Sookhtanlo et al., 2009) and also amongst the students in the Middle East (Ryan et al.,
2011).

4.3 Estimation Model

We used a multivariable econometric model to assess the statistical significance of the
determinants of entrepreneurial attitudes. The dependent variables were constructed in
terms of binary dummy variables which indicated that the use of conventional multiple
regression estimation technique would not be a valid model specification. The empirical
assessment of the students’ entrepreneurial propensity was based on the estimation of the
following general logistic regression:


P ðentrepreneur Þ ¼ 1= 1 þ e Z with Z

¼ b0 þ b1 Risky þ b2 Creativity þ b3 NeedforAchievement þ b4 Experience

þ b5 Knowledge þ b6 Awareness þ b7 Interest þ b8 Gender þ b9 Age

Table IV Gender wise personality traits – t-test for equality of means

Risk dummy Creativity dummy Motivation dummy

t statistic 2.450 20.389 3.769

2-tailed significance 0.015** 0.698 0.000***

Figure 3 Personality traits, by gender (percentages)

j j
VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013 foresight PAGE 285
 In order to have a more straightforward interpretation of the logistic coefficients, it is
convenient to consider a rearrangement of the equation, in which the logistic model is
rewritten in terms of the odds of an event occurring. So, we obtain the logit model:

Log fProb ðentrepreneur Þ=Prob ðnon 2 entrepreneur Þ g

¼ b0 þ b1 Risky þ b2 Creativity þ b3 NeedforAchievement þ b4 Experience

þ b5 Knowledge þ b6 Awareness þ b7 Interest þ b8 Gender þ b9 Age

The logit model was run for the dependent variable when the odds corresponded to potential
entrepreneurship propensity, since the proportion of the sample for effective propensity was
too less. Moreover, we are interested in the personality trait of future entrepreneurs, which is
given by the potential entrepreneurship propensity. The proxies for the variables used in the
model have been detailed in the Table V.
The goodness of fit test, based on the model chi-square statistic is significant at a 0.05 level,
indicating that both the models have predicted entrepreneurship propensity with the correct
specifications. This is also corroborated by the step statistics that indicate an improvement
of 91.7 and 77.9 percent in the predictive powers of the models when we included the
independent variables into the specification (the significance of each coefficient is on the
basis of the Wald statistic which follows a chi-square distribution). Estimates of the bs are in
Table VI.
Firstly, gender did not have any role to play in determining the future of the students and
gender was not a predictor of entrepreneurial intentions. Our sample shows that creativity
and need for achievement were important personality factors for entrepreneurial intent along
with their level of awareness. Awareness was measured in terms of the student reading
books or articles about entrepreneurship and innovation; participating in conferences;
attending lectures, workshops on entrepreneurship. It is evident that some training or
education about entrepreneurship shows a significant improvement in a student in seeing
himself/herself as a potential entrepreneur. Familiarity measures were estimated to include
the variables of experience, knowledge, awareness, and interest, in line with a previous
study by Naffziger et al. (1994). The definitions of the variables and the computations for the
proxy variables are shown in the Table V.
Peters et al. (1999) believed that social and personality features depend on the
entrepreneurs’ age and that can have indirect influence upon the levels of
entrepreneurship. Also Holtz-Eakin et al. (1994) showed that individuals’ age may be
connected with certain aspects of entrepreneurship like attitudes, professional experience
and human capital. However, Blau (1987) had a different opinion, stating that individuals’
age has no influence upon entrepreneurship. We too find that their age was a significant
factor, but it is interesting to note that this predictor had a negative sign indicating that the
younger students were more likely to foresee the future career as owning their business.
In terms of personality traits, past research findings have typically found females to be more
conservative in risk-behavior than males, but our results contradict these findings since the
percentage of female risk-takers outnumbered the males. Awareness, creativity and
motivation were important factors for potential entrepreneurship propensity, while gender
was not a predictor of entrepreneurial intentions. This effect has important implications –
universities and educational institutions have to design programs in which creativity and
awareness are developed. Hatten and Ruhland (1995) have opined that more people could
become successful entrepreneurs if more potential entrepreneurs were identified and
nurtured. This is particularly interesting in our context since higher awareness was found to
result in higher potential propensity – this indicates that students were more likely to become
entrepreneurs after participation in entrepreneurially related programs, like seminars,
lectures, workshops, conferences. We may conclude, as Kolvereid and Moen (1997)
suggest that entrepreneurship intent might be altered through education, by concentrating
on enhancing creativity, awareness, motivation of male and female students in the
entrepreneurship programs being offered by their universities.

j j
PAGE 286 foresight VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013
Table V Definition of the proxies for the relevant variables
Variable Definition of the proxy

Effective entrepreneurial propensity (EEP) – Dummy variables which assumed the value 1 in the event the student had
created firms already created firms (effective entrepreneurial propensity in strictu sense)
and 0 otherwise
Effective entrepreneurial propensity (EEP) – taken Dummy variables which assumed the value 1, in the event the student had
steps to start a business or created firms created firms or had taken some steps towards the creation of firms (effective
entrepreneurial propensity in latu sense) and 0 otherwise
Potential entrepreneurial propensity (PEP) The variable of entrepreneurial intent was directly assessed by asking
students, in a scale of 1(employee) to 5 (having my own business), which was
the most likely option for their future career. In the case the student answered 4
or 5, the entrepreneurial intent variable assumed the value 1 and 0 otherwise
Risk (dummy) ‘‘Risk’’ is the sum of three dummy variables. A first dummy assumed the value
1 when the student answered 1 (strongly disagree) or 2 (disagree) to the
statement ‘‘One should not start a business when there is a risk it might fail’’,
and 0 otherwise. The second dummy assumed the value 1 when the student
answered 1 (strongly disagree) or 2 (disagree) to the statement ‘‘Job
security/stability of employment/Stable income’’ when questioned ‘‘Why
would you prefer to be an employee rather than self-employed?’’. The third
dummy assumed the value 1 when the student answered 1 (strongly disagree)
or 2 (disagree) to the statement ‘‘It is not as risky as being self-employed’’
when questioned ‘‘Why would you prefer to be an employee rather than
self-employed?’’. Then we sum up the three dummy variables and
re-computed a new dummy variable which assumed the value 1 when the sum
variable assumed values 2 or 3 and 0 otherwise
Creativity (dummy) The variable ‘‘creativity’’ is a dummy variable which assumed the value 1 when
the student answered 4 (agree) or 5 (strongly agree) to the statement ‘‘I have
an idea that can be a business opportunity’’
Achievement (dummy) ‘‘Achievement’’ is the sum of two dummy variables. A first dummy assumed
the value 1 when the student answered 4 (agree) or 5 (strongly agree) to the
statement ‘‘Personal independence/managing own time’’, and 0 otherwise.
The second dummy assumed the value 1 when the student answered 4
(agree) or 5 (strongly agree) to the statement ‘‘Personal
independence/managing own time’’ when questioned ‘‘Why would you prefer
to be self-employed rather than employee?’’. Then we sum up the two dummy
variables and re-computed a new dummy variable which assumed the value 1
when the sum variable assumed values 2 and 0 otherwise
Experience (ln) Numeric variable, computed in logarithm that resulted from the sum of the
scores obtained in the answers to the statements: ‘‘I worked for myself as a
teenager’’; ‘‘I have been a freelancer or self-employed’’; ‘‘I have closely
followed or assisted family members who have started companies’’; ‘‘I have
closely followed or assisted friends or acquaintances who have started
companies’’
Knowledge (ln) Numeric variable, computed in logarithm that resulted from the sum of the
scores obtained in the answers to the statements: ‘‘I know techniques for
finding out what the market wants’’; ‘‘I understand the type of issues that
confront an entrepreneur in taking an idea to market’’; ‘‘I can create a business
plan and a business concept’’; ‘‘I know how to legally finance a new business
concept’’
Awareness (ln) Numeric variable, computed in logarithm that resulted from the sum of the
scores obtained in the answers to the statements: ‘‘I regularly read
books/articles about entrepreneurship/innovation’’; ‘‘I participate regularly in
conferences/lectures/workshops on entrepreneurship and/or innovation’’
Interest (ln) Numeric variable, computed in logarithm, that resulted from the sum of the
scores obtained in the statements: ‘‘Starting a new business from an idea’’;
‘‘Entrepreneurship using research’’; ‘‘Entrepreneurship within an existing
company’’, which answered the following question: How interested are you in
one of the following topics during your studies?
Gender (female ¼ 1) Dummy variable assuming value 1 in the case the student is female, 0
otherwise
Age (ln) Numerical variable, in logarithm, of students’ age

j j
VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013 foresight PAGE 287
 Table VI Determinants of students’ entrepreneurial propensity/intents
Potential entrepreneurial propensity
n Standard errors

Personality traits Risk (dummy) 0.605 0.452

Creativity (dummy) 1.794 0.475***
Achievement (dummy) 1.233 0.434***
Familiarity Experience (ln) 0.003 0.594
Knowledge (ln) 20.075 0.814
Awareness (ln) 1.798 0.557***
Interest (ln) 20.303 0.666
Demographic traits Gender (female ¼ 1) 0.233 0.452
Age (ln) 28.151 3.54**
Constant 20.679 10.72*
Goodness of fit tests Model Chi-square 73.421***
Significance 0.000
Step statistics 77.9

Notes: Statistical significance is shown as *10 percent levels; **5 percent; ***1 percent

5. Conclusions
Entrepreneurs are recognized as important drivers of economic and social progress and
entrepreneurial initiatives of the youth is regarded as an important factor of future growth of a
nation. Consequently, Universities are being expected to play a major role in propagating
entrepreneurial initiative among students and graduates and nurturing future entrepreneurs.
This explains why a growing number of UAE universities are offering specialized courses
and programs in entrepreneurship, in their Business curriculum.
The results of this empirical research suggest that no gender differences exist in the factors
that shape entrepreneurial intentions, particularly among Business students. Although there
seem to be important distinctions in the other parts of the world (Teixeira and Forte, 2008),
both male and female students in the UAE showed high and equal intentions to become
entrepreneurs. This has been possible due to the efforts of the UAE Government towards
gender equality and elimination of discrimination against women in all socio-economic
spheres of life.
The GEM 2009 report highlights the UAE government’s support for the women who are
playing an important and prominent role in the development of the economy. The UAE
Government, in conjunction with the Khalifa Fund to Support and Develop SMEs,
Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders, the Mohammed Bin
Rashid Awards for Young Leaders and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation
and the Mohamed Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development, has been working
towards promoting female entrepreneurship in the country. In addition, Dubai Government
provides support for Emirati entrepreneurs through the Government Procurement Program,
which mandates that all government departments dedicate at least 5 percent of their annual
procurement activities through companies registered with Mohammed Bin Rashid
Establishment for Young Business Leaders.
The 2010 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Summit adopted a resolution calling for
action to ensure gender parity in education, health, economic opportunities, and
decision-making. MDG 3 sought to ‘‘actively foster the participation of women in the
productive sectors, with a strong focus on entrepreneurship, in an effort to enable women to
generate a sustained income’’. According to the World Development 2012 report on Gender
Equality and Development, ‘‘gender equality’’ has been described as ‘‘smart economics’’: it
can enhance economic efficiency in three ways – first, ensuring that women have the same
access as men to education and economic opportunities, so as to generate broad
productivity gains; second, improving women’s absolute and relative status could translate
into betterment of their children; third, leveling the playing field is likely to lead to more
representative and more inclusive policy choices and thus to a better development path. It is

j j
PAGE 288 foresight VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013
noteworthy that the policies and the decisions of the UAE government have been in
accordance with the Millennium Development Goals as well as the recommendations of the
World Development Report.
UAE is now characterized by a generation of young, educated women who are engaged in
diverse economic activities using advanced information and communication techniques.
H.H. El Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak declared in the 2011 that UAE has the highest number
of female entrepreneurs among all the countries in the Middle East. UAE is the only Arab
nation that gave equal opportunities to males and females to positively interact in the
changing social structure; made it an open society without any gender bias and
discrimination. Our results in this study clearly show that the benefits of such policies have
begun to manifest itself, especially in terms of career goals and future aspirations of males
and females in the UAE.

6. Limitations of the study and future research

The sample of students used in our study has been the first year students at the
under-graduate Business studies in the UAE. The objective of the study was to explore the
sample that were not yet exposed to the entrepreneurial courses in their university, but still
showed a positive intention of becoming entrepreneurs in the future. However, the selective
sample weakens the explanatory power of the study. A longitudinal or cross-sectional or a
time-series design following the students’ career choices over time would make the results
more robust. Further, it would be interesting to explore the actual professional choices of the
same cohort of students after they complete their studies and embark on their career paths.
This study provides compelling evidence that both male and female have very positive
entrepreneurial intentions, it would be inappropriate to generalize these results to actual
entrepreneurial behaviors like starting a new business until such a relationship is confirmed
by empirical research. While research on the aims and intentions are an important step in the
process of becoming an entrepreneur, it is vital that future research moves beyond the initial
stages and to focus on specific entrepreneurial behavior.
Our results are based solely on the self-evaluation of students, regarding their capability and
awareness about starting a new business venture. This could have a strong impact on their
perceptions and intentions. Further research could investigate whether the students have
over-estimated or under-estimated their proficiency and the extent to which the
self-evaluations are reflective of their actual skills and the consequent impact on
entrepreneurial propensity.
Further studies might employ other definitions of entrepreneurial intentions. The empirical
research can be extended across the different majors and different levels at the University –
one interesting extension could be to measure possible differences in attitudes and
intentions of Business students against those from other majors. Since the Government of
the UAE has been strongly supporting the entrepreneurial efforts of the Emirati youth, future
studies could investigate the type and the extent of support that is available across the
country and more importantly, the awareness of such support systems among the students
who aspire to become prospective entrepreneurs.

References
Amabile, T.M. (1996), Creativity in Context, West View Press, Boulder, CO.
Anna, A.L., Chandler, G.N., Jansen, E. and Mero, N.P. (2000), ‘‘Women business owners in traditional
and non-traditional industries’’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 279-303.
Baumol, W.J. (1993), Entrepreneurship, Management, and the Structure of Payoffs, MIT
Press/Macmillan, Cambridge, MA.
Becker-Blease, J.R. and Sohl, J.E. (2007), ‘‘Do women-owned businesses have equal access to angel
capital?’’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 503-521.

j j
VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013 foresight PAGE 289
 Bernasek, A. and Shwiff, S. (2001), ‘‘Gender, risk, and retirement’’, Journal of Economic Issues, Vol. 35
No. 2, pp. 345-356.

Bird, B. and Brush, C. (2002), ‘‘A gendered perspective on organizational creation’’, Entrepreneurship:
Theory and Practice, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 41-65.

Blau, D.M. (1987), ‘‘A time-series analysis of self-employment in the United States’’, Journal of Political
Economy, Vol. 95 No. 3, pp. 445-467.

Boden, R.J.J. and Nucci, A.R. (2000), ‘‘On the survival prospects of men’s ad women’s new business
ventures’’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 347-372.

Brandstätter, H. (1997), ‘‘Becoming an entrepreneur – a question of personality structure?’’, Journal of

Economic Psychology, Vol. 18 Nos 2/3, pp. 157-177.

Brush, C. (1992), ‘‘Research on women business owners: past trends, a new perspective and future
directions’’, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 5-30.

Brush, C.G., Carter, N., Gatewood, E. and Hart, M. (2006), Women Entrepreneurs: Classics and New
Directions, Edward F. Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham.

Caliendo, M., Fossen, F. and Kritikos, A. (2009), ‘‘Risk attitudes of nascent entrepreneurs – new evidence
from an experimentally validated survey’’, Small Business Economics, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 153-167.

Carter, S. and Cannon, T. (1991), Women as Entrepreneurs: A Study of Female Business Owners, Their
Motivations, Experience and Strategies for Success, Academic Press, London.

Cliff, J.E. (1998), ‘‘Does one size fit all? Exploring the relationship between attitudes towards growth,
gender, and business size’’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 13 No. 6, pp. 523-542.

Collins, C., Locke, E. and Hanges, P. (2000), The Relationship of Need for Achievement to
Entrepreneurial Behavior: A Meta-analysis, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

Cooper, A. and Artz, K. (1995), ‘‘Determinants of satisfaction for entrepreneurs’’, Journal of Business
Venturing, Vol. 10, pp. 439-457.

Deakins, D. and Whittam, G. (2000), ‘‘Business Start-up: Theory, Practice and Policy’’, in Carter, S. and
Jones-Evans, D. (Eds), Enterprise and Small Business, Pearson, Harlow.

DeMartino, R. and Barbato, R. (2002), ‘‘An analysis of the motivational factors of intending
entrepreneurs’’, Journal of Small Business Strategy, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 26-36.

Ede, F.O., Panigrahi, B. and Calcich, S.E. (1998), ‘‘African American students’ attitudes toward
entrepreneurship’’, Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 73 No. 5, pp. 291-296.

Fagenson, E. (1993), ‘‘Personal value systems of men and women entrepreneurs versus managers’’,
Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 8 No. 5, pp. 409-430.

Fay, M. and Williams, L. (1993), ‘‘Gender bias and the availability of business loans’’, Journal of Business
Venturing, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 363-376.

Franke, N. and Lüthje, C. (2004), ‘‘Entrepreneurial intentions of business students: a benchmarking

study’’, International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 269-288.

Freedom House (2010), Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa, Freedom House,
Washington, DC.

Gallant, M., Majumdar, S. and Varadarajan, D. (2010), ‘‘Outlook of female students towards
entrepreneurship: an analysis of a selection of business students in Dubai’’, Education, Business and
Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 218-230.

Gatewood, E.J., Carter, N.M., Brush, C.G., Greene, P.G. and Hart, M.M. (2003), Women Entrepreneurs,
their Ventures, and the Venture Capital Industry: An Annotated Bibliography, Entrepreneurship and
Small Business Research Institute, Stockholm.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2009), Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report.

Graham, J.L. and Lam, N.M. (2003), ‘‘The Chinese negotiation’’, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 81
No. 10, pp. 82-91.

Greenberger, D.B. and Sexton, D.L. (1988), ‘‘An interactive model of new venture creation’’, Journal of
Small Business Management, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 1-7.

j j
PAGE 290 foresight VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013
Gupta, V.K., Turban, D.B. and Bhawe, N.M. (2008), ‘‘The effect of gender stereotype activation on
entrepreneurial intentions’’, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 93 No. 5, pp. 1053-1061.
Gurol, D. and Atsan, N. (2006), ‘‘Entrepreneurial characteristics amongst university students: some
insights for enterprise education and training in Turkey’’, Education and Training, Vol. 48 No. 1, pp. 25-39.
Haan, H.C. (2004), Small Enterprises: Women Entrepreneurs in the UAE, Centre for Labor Market
Research and Information, Dubai.
Hatten, T.S. and Ruhland, S.K. (1995), ‘‘Student attitude toward entrepreneurship as affected by
participation in an SBI program’’, Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 70 No. 4, pp. 224-227.
Heard-Bey, F. (2005), ‘‘The United Arab Emirates: statehood and nation building in a traditional society’’,
Middle East Journal, Vol. 59 No. 3, pp. 357-375.
Hisrich, R. and Brush, C. (1987), ‘‘Women business owners: a longitudinal study’’, in Churchill, N. et al.
(Eds), Frontiers of Business Ownership Research, Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Babson College,
Wellesley, MA, pp. 21-39.
Holtz-Eakin, D., Joulfaian, D. and Rosen, H. (1994), ‘‘Sticking it out: entrepreneurial survival and liquidity
constraints’’, Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 102 No. 1, pp. 53-75.
Johnson, B. (1990), ‘‘Towards a multidimensional model of entrepreneurship: the case of achievement
motivation and the entrepreneur’’, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 39-54.
Kan, K. and Tsai, W.D. (2006), ‘‘Entrepreneurship and risk aversion’’, Small Business Economics, Vol. 26
No. 5, pp. 465-474.
Kirton, M.J. (1987), Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory Manual, Occupational Research Centre,
Hatfield.
Kolvereid, L. (1996), ‘‘Prediction of employment status choice intentions’’, Entrepreneurship Theory and
Practice, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 47-56.
Kolvereid, L. and Moen, Ø. (1997), ‘‘Entrepreneurship among business graduates: does a major in
entrepreneurship make a difference?’’, Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 21 No. 4,
pp. 154-160.
Lee, J. (1997), ‘‘The motivation of women entrepreneurs in Singapore’’, International Journal of
Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 93-110.
Lewis, P. (2006), ‘‘The quest for invisibility: female entrepreneurs and the masculine norm of
entrepreneurship’’, Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 453-469.
Lüthje, C. and Franke, N. (2003), ‘‘The ‘making’ of an entrepreneur: testing a model of entrepreneurial
intent among engineering students at MIT’’, R & D Management, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 135-147.
McClelland, D.C. (1961), The Achieving Society, Van Nostrand, Princeton, NJ.

Madichie, N. and Gallant, M. (2012), ‘‘Broken silence: a commentary on women’s entrepreneurship in

the United Arab Emirates’’, International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Vol. 13 No. 2,
pp. 81-92.
Martinez, D., Mora, J.G. and Vila, L. (2007), ‘‘Entrepreneurs, the self-employed and employees amongst
young European and higher education graduates’’, European Journal of Education, Vol. 42 No. 1,
pp. 99-117.
Miller, K.D. (2007), ‘‘Risk and rationality in entrepreneurial processes’’, Strategic Entrepreneurship
Journal, Vol. 1 Nos 1/2, pp. 57-74.
Minniti, M., Arenius, P. and Langowitz, N. (2005), Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2004 Report on
Women and Entrepreneurship, Babson College, Babson Park, MA.
Miskin, V. and Rose, J. (1990), ‘‘New venture initiation: factors influencing success’’, Journal of Small
Business Strategy, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 1-8.
Morris, M.H., Miyasaki, N.N., Watters, C.E. and Coombes, S.M. (2006), ‘‘The dilemma of growth:
understanding venture size choices of women entrepreneurs’’, Journal of Small Business Management,
Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 221-244.
Naffziger, D.W., Hornsby, J.S. and Kurtako, D.F. (1994), ‘‘A proposed research model of entrepreneurial
motivation’’, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 29-42.

j j
VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013 foresight PAGE 291
 Nyström, H. (1979), Creativity and Innovation, Wiley, New York, NY.

Peterman, N.E. and Kennedy, J. (2003), ‘‘Enterprise education: influencing students perceptions of
entrepreneurship’’, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 129-144.

Peters, M., Cressy, R.C. and Storey, D.J. (1999), The Economic Impact of Ageing on Entrepreneurship
and SMEs, Warwick Business School/EIM, Warwick/Zoetermeer.

Reynolds, P.D., Bygrave, W.D. and Autio, E. (2004), Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: 2003 Executive
Report, Babson College, London Business School and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Babson
Park, London and Kansas City, MO.

Rice, G. (2003), ‘‘The challenge of creativity and culture: a framework for analysis with application to
Arabian Gulf firms’’, International Business Review, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 461-477.

Roebuck, D.B. and Brawley, D.E. (1996), ‘‘Forging links between the academic and business
communities’’, Journal of Education for Business, Vol. 71 No. 3, pp. 125-128.

Roomi, M.A. and Parrot, G. (2008), ‘‘Barriers to development and progression of women entrepreneurs
in Pakistan’’, International Journal of Entrepreneurship, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 59-72.

Rosa, P., Hamilton, D., Carter, S. and Burns, H. (1994), ‘‘The impact of gender on small business
management: preliminary findings of a British study’’, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 12 No. 3,
pp. 25-33.

Ryan, J., Tipu, S. and Zeffane, R. (2011), ‘‘Need for achievement and entrepreneurial potential: a study
of young adults in the UAE’’, Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues,
Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 153-166.

Samina, K. (1997), Women Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation in South Asia: The Dual benefits of
Microcredit, South Asia Poverty Alleviation Program, UNDP.

Scott, M.G. and Twomey, D.F. (1988), ‘‘The long-term supply of entrepreneurs: students’ career
aspirations in relation to entrepreneurship’’, Journal of Small Business Management, Vol. 26 No. 4,
pp. 5-13.

Sexton, D.L. and Bowman-Upton, N. (1990), ‘‘Female and male entrepreneurs: psychological
characteristics and their role in gender-related discrimination’’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 5
No. 1, pp. 29-36.

Simon, M., Houghton, S.M. and Aquino, K. (2000), ‘‘Cognitive biases, risk perception, and venture
formation: how individuals decide to start companies’’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 15 No. 2,
pp. 113-134.

Sookhtanlo, M., Rezvanfar, A. and Hashemi, S.M. (2009), ‘‘Psychological capabilities affecting
agricultural students’ entrepreneurship level: a comparative study’’, Research Journal of Agriculture and
Biological Sciences, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 175-184.

Stephan, P.E. and El-Ganainy, A. (2007), ‘‘The entrepreneurial puzzle: explaining the gender gap’’,
Journal Technology Transfer, Vol. 32 No. 5, pp. 475-487.

Sternberg, R.J. (1998), ‘‘The nature of creativity’’, Creativity Research Journal, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 87-98.

Teixeira, A.C. (2007), ‘‘Beyond economics and engineering: the hidden entrepreneurial potential’’,
mimeo, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia.

Teixeira, A. and Davey, T. (2010), ‘‘Attitudes of higher education students to new venture creation: a
preliminary approach to the Portuguese case’’, Industrial and Higher Education, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 1-19.

Teixeira, A.C. and Forte, R. (2008), Entrepreneurial Intentions of Final Year University Students: A
Multi-Course Investigation (Mimeo), Universidade do Porto: Faculdade de Economia.

Tipu, S., Zeffane, R. and Ryan, J. (2011), ‘‘Students’ entrepreneurial readiness in the United Arab
Emirates: an empirical inquiry of related factors’’, International Journal of Business and Globalisation,
Vol. 6 Nos 3/4, pp. 383-398.

Varadarajan, D., Majumdar, S. and Gallant, M. (2010), ‘‘Relevance of education for potential
entrepreneurs: an international investigation’’, Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Development, Vol. 17 No. 4, pp. 626-640.

j j
PAGE 292 foresight VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013
Verheul, I. (2005), Is There a (Fe)male Approach? Understanding Gender Differences in
Entrepreneurship, Erasmus University Rotterdam: Erasmus Research Institute of Management,
Rotterdam.

Walton, A.P. (2003), ‘‘The impact of interpersonal factors on creativity’’, International Journal of
Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 146-162.
Ward, T.B. (2004), ‘‘Cognition, creativity and entrepreneurship’’, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 19
No. 2, pp. 173-188.

Welter, F., Smallbone, D. and Isakova, N. (2006), Enterprising Women in Transition Economies, Ashgate,
Aldershot.
World Bank (2011), World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development, World Bank,
Washington, DC, ISBN 978-0-8213-8810-5.

About the authors

Dr Sudipa Majumdar holds a PhD in Economics and has served as Economist for apex
organizations like the Confederation of Indian Industries and Moody’s Investors Services.
She has been Faculty of Economics and Statistics at high ranked institutions like Symbiosis
Institute, India; University of Wales; Solbridge International School of Business, South Korea
and since 2008, she has been Faculty of Business at Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai.
Dr Majumdar has been the recipient of the Wharton Entrepreneurship and Family Business
Research since 2010. She has also been the winner of the 2011 ACBSP Region 8 ‘‘Best of
Region Presentation’’ Award in the ‘‘Sustaining Excellence through Quality Business
Education’’ conference. She has several publications in peer-reviewed international journals
and her research interests are in the areas of gender issues, applied finance, economic
development issues and entrepreneurial studies. Sudipa Majumdar is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: Sudipa.majumdar@hct.ac.ae
Dr Damodharan Varadarajan holds a PhD in Entrepreneurial Finance. He is a 2011 graduate
of the Wharton Global Faculty Development program, and has had multiple research grants
from Wharton since 2010. Dr Damodharan Varadarajan won the 2011 ACBSP Region 8 ‘‘Best
of Region Presentation’’ Award in the ‘‘Sustaining Excellence through Quality Business
Education’’ conference. He is a Member of Associated Chartered Certified Accountants of
UK; Member of Institute of Management Accountants, USA; and Associate Member of The
Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. He is currently a faculty member of the
business department at the Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE. He has published on
banking, insurance, entrepreneurship and higher education, in a wide range of international
academic journals.

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

j j
VOL. 15 NO. 4 2013 foresight PAGE 293