Determinants of the Development of Rural Women\'s Entrepreneurial Activities in Fars Province

Extended Abstract Background: Entrepreneurship is the main driving force in economic development. The role of an entrepreneur is to innovate and create new combinations of materials or how to form processes. The development of women's entrepreneurship has been one of the main topics of the contemporary development agenda in many developing countries. Many rural development experts believe that recognizing the capabilities and skills of women, especially rural women, and guiding their creative talents can influence using the capacities of this large social stratum. Entrepreneurship is a process that takes place in a network of social relations, and these social relations can limit or facilitate the entrepreneur's relationship with resources and opportunities. Therefore, social capital as a social phenomenon causes creativity, ideation, facilitation of innovative behaviors, and risk-taking. Entrepreneurs need a strong consulting and support system at every stage of their entrepreneurial activities. These networks play an effective role, especially in the first stages of activity, to obtain information and advice. Based on this point of view, the presence or absence of support networks is very influential in the development of women's entrepreneurship. Thus, this study mainly aimed to identify and analyze the individual and structural factors (especially social capital) influencing the entrepreneurial activity of rural women in Fars province to improve their status. Methods: This study was carried out using a survey technique, and a questionnaire was used for data collection. Based on the random sampling method, a random sample of 380 women was selected from the members of agricultural development specialized holding companies of Marvdasht, Shiraz, and Estahban in Fars province. A pilot study was conducted among 30 women members of the fund with similar conditions in Kavar County, and alpha coefficients were obtained between 0.77 and 0.95. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: A significant difference was found between the development of entrepreneurial activity of the members in the three Shiraz, Marvdasht, and Estahban cities, with a higher average level of entrepreneurial development among the women of Marvdasht. The higher components of entrepreneurial activity (innovation, environmental protection, customer satisfaction, fund members' satisfaction, flexibility, regional prosperity, job creation, profitability, business sustainability, competitiveness, and taking advantage of opportunities and idea commercialization) among women entrepreneurs of Marvdasht led to better development of their entrepreneurial activities. In the second place, women entrepreneurs of Shiraz City had a higher average score than Estahban City regarding the entrepreneurial activity development variable. On the other hand, the average social cohesion of women in Morvdasht city was significantly different from Shiraz and Estahban cities, and this rate was higher in Marvdasht City than in the other two cities. Also, there was a significant difference between the women studied in Shiraz and Estahban cities, with the latter women having a higher average than the former in social cohesion. The result of the regression test showed that social capital, success-seeking ability, decision-making ability, independence-seeking level, consulting policies, business atmosphere, skill in formulating a business plan, and support policies were the variables that explained the utmost amount (56%) of entrepreneurial activity changes. Conclusion: Considering the set of factors influencing the development of rural women's entrepreneurial activities, especially the role of social capital, the network of relationships, and activities in various social networks, it is suggested to improve the like-mindedness and synergy of the women entrepreneurs' activities through periodic and continuous meetings with other companies. Moreover, coherent and purposeful educational classes should be held for rural women members of the funds to strengthen their activities in social networks and help them acquire various entrepreneurial skills.