Riding the wave: Understanding the context of female. Entrepreneurship in Pakistan

To date, most of the literature on female entrepreneurship reveals a paucity of research on developing market contexts. The authors build on this to establish the constraining challenges and barriers faced by Pakistani women entrepreneurs. In this chapter, they adopt the perspective of institutional logics as a particular reference point due to its influence in shaping entrepreneurial action. The choice of adopting a contextual approach also aims to highlight differences to Western models where institutional frameworks are perceived to be more benign. The case study of Pakistani women entrepreneurs therefore presents an interesting evidence for examining the complexities of women entrepreneurship. Within the remit of this chapter, the goal is to elucidate the uniqueness of Pakistani women entrepreneurs as influenced by its institutional context. It is expected that the findings from this study will contribute to new knowledge and have practical and policy implications for enhancing women entrepreneurship.