Women in small and medium enterprises: Embracing Social media for women entrepreneur’s economic empowerment and well-being: A qualitative analysis on select women entrepreneurs of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal

Abstract

Social media has expanded drastically in recent years, penetrating into almost every facet of people's lives, transforming their lifestyles and adding to their wellness. The purpose of this study is to address how effective is women entrepreneurship using social media? What does social media provide to women entrepreneurs? The intent of this study is to explore how women entrepreneurs in small businesses use social media at work by combining theoretical insights from studies concerning women entrepreneurs in small businesses, whether social media gave them the liberty to balance career and personal life, whether digital skills and knowledge management helped them grow in this digitized world. Qualitative analysis was done with 15 in-depth interviews taken from 15 women entrepreneurs residing in North 24 Parganas having different small businesses. Findings show that social media has provided opportunities to women entrepreneurs to enter into business and has also pulled many others into the field. Small business owners have used this medium to channelize their resources and abilities to reach out to everyone for monetary, intellectual and personal gain. It also shows that effective knowledge management through digital literacy is needed for entrepreneurial success. Social media entrepreneurship is welcomed due to its versatility and adaptability and women entrepreneurs have experienced enrichment, happiness, sense of worth by doing business through this medium.