AN INVESTIGATION OF WOMEN’S ADOPTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN QATAR

Abstract

Social media has catalyzed women entrepreneurship, providing them with accessible and inclusive business opportunities. These platforms could particularly benefit women entrepreneurs in the sociocultural context of Qatar. Yet research on social media entrepreneurship and women remains limited in this region. Existing studies of social media entrepreneurship adoption have overlooked women’s perspectives within the Middle Eastern sociocultural context. This dissertation bridges relevant knowledge gaps by exploring the factors that affect social media entrepreneurship adoption among women in Qatar. An interdisciplinary model was developed to investigate this phenomenon: empowerment and sociocultural theories were integrated in a technology adoption framework to provide a more nuanced understanding of women in Middle Eastern society. This research adopted a quantitative online survey and collected data from 290 women entrepreneurs in Qatar. Data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method. The findings reveal that social media could promote entrepreneurial activities among women in Qatar. The technology enhances business opportunities among women, resonates with their aspirations for empowerment and align with their cultural and societal values. Factors such as perceived usefulness, autonomy, family influence, kinship roles, and reputation preservation significantly influence these women’s social media entrepreneurship adoption. This dissertation contributes to the technology adoption literature by integrating empowerment and national culture theories. Measurement tools were also constructed to account for the Middle East’s sociocultural setting, thereby capturing women’s experiences with social media entrepreneurship in this region. The results yield practical insights with which policymakers can facilitate women’s entrepreneurship, economic participation, and empowerment in Qatar.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science