Competencies of women entrepreneurs utilizing information marketing businesses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the entrepreneurial competencies of women entrepreneurs who used information marketing businesses for their business-related education. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based survey of female entrepreneurs who engaged with one information marketing business was conducted. This study utilized Mitchelmore and Rowley’s (2013) survey instrument, Female Entrepreneurial Competencies (FEC), to analyse the four main entrepreneurial competency clusters: personal and relationship, business and management, entrepreneurial, and human relations competencies. Numeric data were collected via survey from women who engaged with a single information marketing company through e-mail and social media. Using descriptive analysis, the participants’ responses were assessed for the purpose of analysing the self-perceptions of their entrepreneurial competency abilities. Findings – The research found women ranked their competencies in the following order, from highest to lowest: personal and relationship, entrepreneurial, business and management, and human relations. The majority of women who engaged in this research’s information marketing business were middle-aged or slightly younger (between ages 26 and 44), highly educated, and owned a relatively new business. Originality/value – This study is the first to offer analysis of the entrepreneurial competencies of women entrepreneurs who utilize information marketing businesses for their business-related education. By identifying the entrepreneurial competencies of this subset of women, information marketing businesses could better focus their educational tools to meet the women’s competency needs.