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Copyright © 2024 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences
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13
Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender
Restrictions Affecting Women's Entrepreneurial Identity
(Case Study of Pharmaceutical Companies in Tehran)
Fariba Achak1, Kambiz Talebi*2
1. Tehran University, Kish International Campus, Ph.D. student of entrepreneurship, Tehran, Iran. *
Corresponding Author: kambizt@gmail.com
2. Tehran University, Entrepreneurship Professor
A B S T R A C T
Background: Stereotypical beliefs and gender biases play a limiting and
discouraging role in the development of women's entrepreneurship, which can
have a significant impact on women's willingness to become entrepreneurs.
Methods: This research aims to identify and analyze the gender-based
limitations affecting the entrepreneurial opportunities of female entrepreneurs
using a mixed-methods approach. This research is applied in terms of its
objective. In the qualitative phase, 14 experts were selected using a purposeful
sampling method. Data collection was conducted through library studies and
semi-structured interviews. In this section, the data were analyzed in three
stages: open, axial, and selective coding, which resulted in the identification of
51 indicators and 12 components. The research questionnaire was designed
based on these indicators. In the quantitative section, the statistical population
was all female entrepreneurs in the pharmaceutical companies under study,
which totaled 425 people. Using Cochran's formula and a simple random
sampling method, 170 people were selected as the sample size. Data collection
was carried out using a researcher-made questionnaire, whose reliability was
confirmed with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.89 and validity using expert
opinion. Data analysis was performed using SPSS23 and PLS3 Smart software.
Results: Based on the research findings, 12 components of social, cultural,
economic, educational, legal, behavioral, personality, individual,
commercialization, knowledge enhancement, entrepreneurial awareness, and
market recognition limitations were identified under the title of dimensions and
components of gender-based limitations affecting women's entrepreneurial
opportunities. The results also showed that social limitations (β=-0/578), cultural
limitations (β=-0/429), economic limitations (β=-0/408), educational limitations
(β=-0/346), legal limitations (β=-0/297), behavioral limitations (β=-0/215),
personality limitations (β=-0/189), and individual limitations (β=-0/138) have a
negative and significant impact on entrepreneurial opportunities.
Keywords: Gender-based limitations, entrepreneurial opportunities, women
Journal of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management
Journal homepage: http://jppm.tums.ac.ir
Article info:
Received: 12.06.2024
Revised: 25.06.2024
Accepted: 09.08.2024
License Statement
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the original work is properly
cited
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Citation Achak, F. Talebi, K. Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender
Restrictions Affecting Women's Entrepreneurial Identity. (Case Study of Pharmaceutical Companies
in Tehran). Journal of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management. 2024; 10(2): 13-25.
Running Title Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender Restrictions
Article Type Research Paper
Achak, F. Talebi, K. Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender Restrictions Affecting Women's Entre preneurial
Identity. (Case Study of Pharmaceutical Companies in Tehran). Journal of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management. 2024; 10(2):
13-25. DOI:
Journal of Pharmacoeconomics
& Pharmaceutical Management
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
14
Introduction
Today, the one-sided focus of economic
systems on wealth creation and profound social
changes has led to widespread economic
disparities, such as the gap between the rich and
the poor, which has raised the idea of
entrepreneurship. In the present era,
entrepreneurial thinking is of great importance
(Arend, 2020). Entrepreneurship plays a
significant role in job creation, innovation, and
creativity. In contrast, women's entrepreneurship
is a source of economic growth and sustainable
development, and women have a unique role in
society (Hendratmi et al., 2022).
Women constitute half of the world's population
and play a vital role in economic and social
development. The remarkable increase in
women's entrepreneurship over the past decade
highlights the vital role of women in global
sustainable development (Adom et al., 2018). In
addition, women have creative, solid, and
opportunity-seeking abilities that tend toward
innovative business leadership and social
responsibility, promoting social welfare and
sustainable development (Anandalakshmy &
Ashokkumar, 2018).
According to the Global Entrepreneurship
Monitor (GEM) report titled Women's
Entrepreneurship Report 2019/2020, it was
shown that 231 million women in 2020 started a
new business or were in the process of starting
one (Gashi et al., 2022). Also, according to a
report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
(2021), out of 42 countries studied, only in
countries such as Angola, Indonesia,
Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Togo, the
number of active women entrepreneurs is more
than men entrepreneurs, while in other countries
the number of men entrepreneurs is more
(Huang et al., 2022), such that, women
entrepreneurs participate in the service and
retail sectors disproportionately compared to
men, while women entrepreneurs' businesses
are smaller and have fewer employees, lower
sales growth, and more difficult access to capital
than men (Morris et al., 2006).
Various studies have shown that women
entrepreneurs face numerous challenges, from
starting a business to continuing it (Gashi et al.,
2022). These challenges are influenced by
various factors, including cultural limitations and
household activities (Ogundana et al., 2021),
financial constraints (Bami, 2019), childcare,
lack of time and energy (Sharma & Gaur, 2020),
high social expectations (Fernandes &
Sanfilippo, 2020), inability to balance personal
and professional life, and access to markets,
lack of budget, and market saturation (Gashi et
al., 2022). Limited access to credit, lack of
adequate counseling and guidance related to
entrepreneurship, lack of experience in
adequate planning (Ramadani et al., 2015), idea
theft (Dahl et al., 2020), lack of use of technology
(Sajjad et al., 2020), and especially identity and
behavioral limitations (Gashi et al., 2022) are
among the challenges. Ghorbani Piralidehi
(2020) showed in a study that individual-
personal barriers, economic-financial barriers,
cultural-social barriers, and family and
institutional-legal barriers are the barriers to the
development of home-based businesses.
Kazemi and Moghimi (2018) identified individual,
environmental, infrastructural, organizational,
and occupational barriers as barriers to the
development of women's entrepreneurship in
Iran. They showed that the most critical barriers
to women's entrepreneurship, from the point of
view of men, are infrastructural barriers and,
from the point of view of women, environmental
factors. Also, Shateryan et al. (2017) concluded
that knowledge and skill barriers and legal
barriers have been the most critical barriers to
the entrepreneurship of rural women. Karamian
and Saghaeian (2023) believe that financial
barriers, legal barriers, and individual barriers
can have a limiting or deterrent role in the
development of women's entrepreneurship. The
findings of Gashi et al.'s research (2022) showed
that childcare, elderly care, access to financial
resources, and individual and social problems
are the challenges facing women entrepreneurs
in developing countries, especially in the state of
Kosovo. Kelly & MC Adam (2022) found in a
study that women entrepreneurs face limitations
on the entrepreneurial path that affect social
relationships, work relationships, and individual
and family factors. The results of Panda's
research (2018) showed that the limitations of
women entrepreneurs in developing countries
are due to gender discrimination, work-family
conflict, difficulty in raising capital, lack of
infrastructure, unstable economic and political
business environments, lack of education, and
personality differences. Al-Ghamri (2016)
showed in his research that the main challenges
facing women's employment are discrimination
and infrastructural deprivation, which is at the
forefront of these limitations, identity and family
limitations. The findings of Mauchi et al.'s
research (2016) showed that women
entrepreneurs face limitations related to access
to financial resources, the conflict between work
and family responsibilities, networking
challenges, and lack of education and
management skills. Raw materials supply
markets were mentioned as the least
challenging for women entrepreneurs. Also,
Niethammer (2013) considers the most critical
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15
barriers to women's entrepreneurship in the
following cases: a) Behavioral barriers: Women
have lower self-confidence and a negative self-
image b) Role-playing barriers: Conflict between
different tasks with time constraints c) Social and
cultural barriers: Negative view of women at
work d) Educational barriers: Women have a
lower level of education than men and often have
limited access to vocational educational
opportunities e) Occupational barriers: Women
have fewer opportunities in the formal economy
to advance their skills f) Infrastructural barriers:
Access to credit, technology, support services,
land and information is generally more difficult
for women g) Legal barriers: Independent legal
activities are limited for women.
Women entrepreneurs fight for their
achievements by facing significant challenges
and problems; where these challenges can be
addressed by informing their families about the
opportunities available to these women and
encouraging them to create jobs (Nirmala and
Subranami, 2021). However, despite the
ongoing progress of entrepreneurial activities in
different countries, existing statistics indicate
that Iranian society still needs to be able to utilize
the capabilities related to women entrepreneurs
(Keshavarz and Zivdar, 2021). In Iran, women
and their issues have always been among the
most hidden dimensions of Iranian society and
have never been raised as an issue that should
be addressed. In this way, assessing and
understanding the entrepreneurial behavior of
women is also tricky (Anvari et al., 2020).
What is essential is that inattention to the
livelihood of Iranian families leads to an increase
in the unemployment rate, a decrease in the
quality of life, and an increase in migration to
cities. Therefore, starting a business and
entrepreneurship can be effective in the
sustainability of livelihood because it leads to an
increase in family income and, as a result,
creates suitable employment for them. After all,
employment is one of the practical and essential
categories in livelihood sustainability. However,
despite this, one of the most important issues
that research has arisen from is the problems
and issues that women entrepreneurs face. It is
evident that on the path of developing women's
entrepreneurial activities, by identifying and
removing the existing obstacles and problems,
the grounds for facilitation and development in
women's entrepreneurial activities are created
(Keshavarz and Zivdar, 2021).
This research aims to design a model to estimate
the extent and how women do business and
entrepreneurship to provide an appropriate
reference for decision-making and planning to
increase the efficiency of entrepreneurship
development programs, increase production and
access to suitable product sales markets, and
identify and analyze the gender limitations of
women in entrepreneurial activities through
exploration studies and provide solutions to the
community for the development of
entrepreneurship. Since no specific study has
been conducted in Iran on the gender limitations
that affect women's entrepreneurial
opportunities, to clarify this research, the
researchers intend to answer the following
questions:
- What are the gender limitations that affect
entrepreneurial identity in opportunity
recognition in women entrepreneurs?
- What are the entrepreneurial opportunities for
women entrepreneurs?
Materials and Methods
This research is applied in terms of its objective,
uses a mixed-methods approach of qualitative
and quantitative methods, and uses an
exploratory design. One of the characteristics of
the exploratory method is that data collection
and analysis will take place in two qualitative and
quantitative approaches, non-simultaneously
and sequentially. In this method, the priority is
with the qualitative approach, so first, the
identification of the components of the model of
gender limitations affecting entrepreneurial
opportunities for women entrepreneurs to
improve the business environment and increase
economic productivity was carried out using the
qualitative method and through literature review,
analysis of existing scientific documents and
conducting semi-structured interviews in this
field. Then, to investigate the importance of each
of the indicators and components, a researcher-
made questionnaire was used to validate the
results. Therefore, the present research is an
exploratory mixed-methods research.
The statistical population of this research in the
qualitative section was carefully selected. It
included female entrepreneurship managers in
pharmaceutical companies (Aboureihan, Barij
Essence, Vanadaroo, Afashimi, Farir Asa Tab,
Daroo Darman Paya Teb, Tak Gen Zist, Danesh
Gostaran Borna Salamat, Razan Farmad, Valian
Daroo) located in Tehran province. These
individuals were chosen using a purposeful
Achak, F. Talebi, K. Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender Restrictions Affecting Women's Entre preneurial
Identity. (Case Study of Pharmaceutical Companies in Tehran). Journal of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management. 2024; 10(2):
13-25. DOI:
Journal of Pharmacoeconomics
& Pharmaceutical Management
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
16
sampling method, ensuring the sample was
representative. To the point of theoretical
saturation, 14 people were selected for data
collection. The data collection method in the
qualitative section was a semi-structured
interview and a discussion in focus groups
(focused). The statistical population of the
quantitative section was all female
entrepreneurship experts in the pharmaceutical
companies under consideration, which totaled
425 people. Using the Cochran formula and the
simple random sampling method, 170 people
were selected as the sample size, further
ensuring the representativeness of the sample.
To ensure the validity of the research, a peer
review (interviewees) and a multi-source data
method were used. The reliability of the coding
done was calculated using a test-retest reliability
method and intra-subject agreement reliability
(agreement between two coders). The
qualitative data was analyzed and interpreted
using the three-stage coding method, titled
open, axial, and selective coding. In the second
part of the research, a questionnaire containing
all the indicators and components of the model
of gender limitations affecting entrepreneurial
opportunities for women entrepreneurs was
designed and provided to the quantitative
sample (170 female entrepreneurship experts)
to confirm the data extracted from the qualitative
analysis. The content validity of the
questionnaire was confirmed based on the
experts' approval of the questions. Also,
Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated to
calculate the reliability of the questionnaire, and
the total Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the
questionnaire was 0.89, which was a desirable
reliability. The analysis and interpretation of the
collected data were carried out using two
descriptive and inferential methods: SPSS23
and PLS3 Smart software, ensuring the rigor of
the research.
Results
After reviewing valid scientific sources to
determine the gender limitations affecting the
entrepreneurial opportunities of women
entrepreneurs to improve the business
environment and increase economic
productivity, as well as interviewing experts in
this field, the results were coded and analyzed.
The purpose of coding is to label and organize
qualitative data to identify different topics and the
relationships between them. For instance, in
open coding, the text of each interview was read
several times, and the key sentences were
extracted and recorded as codes. A key
sentence could be, 'I faced difficulties in
accessing capital due to my gender.' then, the
conceptually similar codes were grouped. In the
next step, those concepts were placed in more
significant categories. In axial coding, the initial
codes and categories that were created in open
coding were compared with each other, and
similar items were merged. For example,
'difficulties in accessing capital' and 'gender
discrimination in funding' were merged. In
contrast, the categories that were related to each
other were placed around a common axis.
Finally, as shown in Table 1, the data obtained
after the three-stage analysis of open, axial, and
selective coding were coded and related to one
of the 12 components of educational limitations,
behavioral limitations, personality limitations,
individual limitations, social limitations, cultural
limitations, economic limitations, legal
limitations, commercialization, knowledge
enhancement, entrepreneurial awareness, and
market knowledge.
After collecting the data from the qualitative part
of the research and analyzing and coding it
simultaneously, the results were conceptualized
in the form of a research model. Then, based on
the relevant model, a 51-item questionnaire
based on a five-degree Likert scale was
extracted from the components obtained from
the in-depth interview. After a preliminary test,
the final questionnaire was designed, and the
link to the electronic questionnaire (in
www.porseline.ir) was designed. Then, to
answer the main research question based on
which model is suitable for determining the
gender limitations affecting the entrepreneurial
opportunities of women entrepreneurs, third-
order confirmatory factor analysis was used to
investigate and determine the model indicators
in the direction of entrepreneurship and
improving the business environment and
increasing the productivity of women
entrepreneurs, and the test of the research
pattern was obtained by examining the path
coefficients (factor loadings) and factor analysis.
Third-order factor models are defined as a type
of factor model in which the latent factors that are
measured using components are themselves
under the influence of a more fundamental
variable, or in other words, a latent variable but
at a higher level (Seyyedabbaszadeh et al.,
2012). In the present study, since each of the
indicators can act as a model indicator, third-
order factor analysis was performed, and the test
of the research pattern was obtained by
examining the path coefficients (factor loadings)
and factor analysis.
In the beginning, to confirm the validity of the
measurement tool, three types of validity were
used under the title of content validity,
convergent validity, and discriminant validity.
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Noncommercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.
17
Content validity was created by ensuring the
compatibility between the measurement
indicators and the existing literature, and this
validity was obtained through a survey of
professors. Discriminant validity was also
assessed by comparing the AVE root with the
correlation between the latent variables (Table
2). For each reflective construct, the AVE root
should be greater than the correlation of that
construct with the other constructs in the model
(Choua & Chen, 2009). In this study, two criteria
(Coefficient of Cronbach's Alpha and Coefficient
of Composite Reliability) were used to determine
the reliability of the questionnaire, according to
Fornell and Larcker (1981). The Cronbach's
alpha coefficients of all variables in this study
were above the minimum value (0.7). Tables 2
and 3 show the results of the validity and
reliability of the measurement tool in full.
Based on the titled materials and the results
obtained from the outputs of the PLS3 Smart
software, Tables 2 and 3 show that the
measurement tool has suitable validity (content,
convergent, and discriminant) and reliability
(factor loading, composite reliability coefficient,
and Cronbach's alpha coefficient).
Analysis and results showed that among the
eight components affecting gender limitations in
the identification of opportunities,
entrepreneurship in women has been of the
highest importance. In order, social limitations
with a path coefficient of β=-0.578 have been of
the highest importance, followed by cultural
limitations (β=-0.429), economic limitations (β=-
0.408), educational limitations (β=-0.346), legal
limitations (β=-0.297), behavioral limitations (β=-
0.215), personality limitations (β=-0.189), and
individual limitations (β=-0.138). Also,
educational limitations (X2) (lack of women's
entrepreneurship associations) with a factor
loading (0.869) have been of the highest
importance. In behavioral limitations (X6)
(unequal participation opportunities) with a factor
loading (0.827), in personality limitations (X8)
(low physical strength of women) with a factor
loading (0.837), in individual limitations (X13)
(existence of work stresses) with a factor loading
(0.823), in social limitations (X20) (role conflict
(male-female identity duality)) with a factor
loading (0.832), in cultural limitations (X25)
(disbelief in women's abilities) with a factor
loading (0.866), in economic limitations (X30)
(lack of easy access to financial resources for
women) with a factor loading (0.857), in legal
limitations (X32) (discrimination in obtaining
licenses and priority for men) with a factor
loading (0.860) has been the most effective
components. Also, in commercialization (X37)
(creativity in the demand market) with a factor
loading (of 0.760), in knowledge enhancement
(X42) (field visits to successful and
entrepreneurial rural women) with a factor
loading (of 0.795), in entrepreneurial awareness
(X48) (optimal use of resources) with a factor
loading (0.795), and market knowledge (X50)
(identification of people's needs and desires)
with a factor loading (0.784) have been of the
highest importance (Figure 1).
Figure 1 shows the measurement model in the
standard coefficient estimation mode (PLS-A),
and Figure 2 shows the measurement model in
the standard coefficient estimation mode (PLS-
A) for women entrepreneurs.
The estimation of the standardized path
regression coefficients is shown in Table 4. As
shown, the most significant impact was that of
social limitations with a value of 0.578- on
entrepreneurial opportunities. The impact of
cultural limitations with a value of 0.429- was
also ranked next. Thirdly meaningful was the
impact of economic limitations, with a value of
0.408, on entrepreneurial opportunities. Finally,
the overall fit of the above models was also
examined using the GOF criterion. Wetzels et al.
(2009) introduced three values of 0.01, 0.25, and
0.36 as weak, medium, and strong values for
GOF. In the present study, obtaining a value of
0.794 for GOF indicates an overall solid fit of the
present study model (Table 5).
Conclusion and Suggestions
Women can play a significant role in
entrepreneurial development and be recognized
as a critical factor in the economic development
of countries. Women who participate in
entrepreneurial activities must manage the
conflict between being a woman and being an
entrepreneur, as entrepreneurs have
traditionally been described as men. Therefore,
a woman entrepreneur must be able to manage
the balance between gender and
entrepreneurship and identify herself as a
woman in entrepreneurial activities.
Despite the undeniable role of women and their
participation in the sustainable development
process, unfortunately, they face many
bottlenecks, challenges, problems, and
limitations in the field of entrepreneurship. This
issue has made the use of women's potential in
development programs a complex and intricate
matter that requires knowledge and awareness
Achak, F. Talebi, K. Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender Restrictions Affecting Women's Entre preneurial
Identity. (Case Study of Pharmaceutical Companies in Tehran). Journal of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management. 2024; 10(2):
13-25. DOI:
Journal of Pharmacoeconomics
& Pharmaceutical Management
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
18
to get out of it. Therefore, as a necessity, to
develop the share of women in the national
economy and to combat the crisis of women's
unemployment, it is necessary to provide the
necessary conditions for the development of
women entrepreneurs' businesses so that
women can create businesses and employment
opportunities for themselves and others to end
the current problem of society. Therefore, the
present study helps to identify the gender
limitations that affect the entrepreneurial
opportunities of women entrepreneurs, to reform
the future path, and ultimately to increase their
individual and social efficiency.
The model presented in this study has a
multidimensional approach with a local
perspective. It is unique for application in the
entrepreneurship system and in line with
society's future vision and necessary
capabilities.
From the perspective of the study participants,
social limitations have a negative and significant
impact on entrepreneurial opportunities.
According to the research findings, social factors
play a vital role in women's employment and
entrepreneurship. These factors include
traditional social norms and beliefs that often
appear as obstacles to women's equal
employment. Society's view of women's
employment, psychological and emotional
pressure from society, opposition from parents to
entrepreneurial activities, and the dislike of
women facing men in society, which leads to
tension and a kind of role conflict and the
pressures arising from it, are important social
factors in women's employment. In such a way,
women have fewer job opportunities than men
and are often employed in the informal sector
with lower wages. This result is in line with the
results of the research of Meftahi and colleagues
(1399), Gashi and colleagues (2022), and
Fernandes and Sanfilippo (2020).
From the perspective of the study participants,
cultural limitations have a negative and
significant impact on entrepreneurial
opportunities. According to the research
findings, it can be concluded that the challenges
of women entrepreneurs in Iran are generally in
the area of cultural issues and have roots in the
beliefs and mentalities of society because it is
believed that women should stay at home and do
housework and refrain from interfering in the
work of men. This approach is evident in many
economic activities. These approaches either
appear directly and express negative views
against innovations and innovations, or they are
manifested in the delay in the creation and
development of businesses and the lack of the
necessary facilities and indifferent treatment of
the subject, which can prevent women from
accessing entrepreneurial opportunities. This
result is in line with the results of the research of
Khashayari and colleagues (1400) and
Ogundana and colleagues (2021).
From the perspective of the study participants,
economic limitations have a negative and
significant impact on entrepreneurial
opportunities. According to the research
findings, securing capital for women is one of the
main problems because financial centers refrain
from providing capital due to distrust of women.
A large number of women entrepreneurs need
help to actively participate in the creation of new
markets for their products due to financial
constraints. As a result, they will have limited
sales. This result is in line with the results of the
research of Hemat and colleagues (1400), Gashi
and colleagues (2022), Bami (2019), and
Ramadani and colleagues (2015).
From the perspective of the study participants,
educational limitations have a negative and
significant impact on entrepreneurial
opportunities. According to the research
findings, it can be concluded that although
entrepreneurship education is considered a
necessity for the development of
entrepreneurship, the weakness of women's
knowledge and skills, the lack of women's
entrepreneurship associations, and the lack of
access to information have caused so far not to
see the desired and desirable success in this
field. Although today we are witnessing the
growth and expansion of universities across the
country, this issue is different from the
development of entrepreneurship. In this regard,
entrepreneurship education, as one of the
essential issues, plays a fundamental role in
creating entrepreneurial opportunities for
women. This result is in line with the results of
the research of Panda (2018), Marian and
colleagues (2016), and Machi and colleagues
(2015).
From the perspective of the study participants,
legal limitations have a negative and significant
impact on entrepreneurial opportunities.
According to the research findings, it can be
concluded that some of the legal limitations that
affect entrepreneurial opportunities include
discrimination in obtaining licenses and priority
for men, government disregard for women's
employment in society, the selection of men
instead of women, the law prohibiting women
from working without the consent of their spouse,
and strict and time-consuming licensing laws
and conditions for women. Removing legal
obstacles by creating centers in all ministries to
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
Copyright © 2024 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International license(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Noncommercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.
19
support women's rights, creating working groups
to raise the awareness of officials about the
possible adverse effects of laws and regulations
on women's business and employment, and
drafting laws to defend women's commercial
rights can be effective in creating entrepreneurial
opportunities. This result is in line with the results
of the research of Shaterian and colleagues
(1396) and Panda (2018).
From the perspective of the study participants,
behavioral limitations have a negative and
significant impact on entrepreneurial
opportunities. According to the research
findings, it can be concluded that many women
entrepreneurs do not have the mental security
and peace of mind due to work stresses, verbal
harassment from those around them and
society, unequal opportunities for participation,
and suppression of their interests and desires by
men. They spend much energy to overcome
these mental discomforts, which can prevent
them from accessing entrepreneurial
opportunities. This result is in line with the results
of the research of Gashi and colleagues (2022)
and Panda (2018).
From the perspective of the study participants,
personality limitations have a negative and
significant impact on entrepreneurial
opportunities. According to the research
findings, it can be concluded that in terms of
personality, the low physical strength of women,
lack of continuation of activities or unforeseen
events, lack of sufficient motivation (due to being
the breadwinner of men), lack of self-confidence
and self-confidence in women and physical and
mental consumption are significant obstacles to
achieving entrepreneurial opportunities. Some
women entrepreneurs are not able to take risks
and start or expand their businesses due to their
lack of self-confidence, and the mental taboos
that are derived from family and social education
take away the courage to implement their ideas.
This result is in line with the results of the
research of Khashayari and colleagues (1400),
Gashi and colleagues (2022), Panda (2018), and
Marian and colleagues (2016).
From the perspective of the study participants,
individual limitations have a negative and
significant impact on entrepreneurial
opportunities. According to the research
findings, women entrepreneurs attribute some of
the limitations in starting a business and
entrepreneurship to themselves. They consider
work stresses, susceptibility to failure,
dependence on men in society, lack of self-
confidence, and the existence of mental
pressures from the family to be significant
obstacles to entrepreneurial opportunities, and
these obstacles and limitations severely threaten
entrepreneurship. This result is in line with the
results of the research of Khosravi (1401),
Mirvahedi and colleagues (1398), and Kelli and
MC Adam (2022).
- The research findings underscore the
importance of the following strategies in
improving the research process:
- Reducing gender discrimination and accepting
women as much as possible in the socio-
economic arena, increasing women's access to
resources, identifying job opportunities and
providing support services in this regard, and
reducing the steps of establishing and managing
companies.
- The need for change and transformation in the
existing socio-cultural structures of the country in
order to encourage women and girls to
entrepreneurship
- Promoting the culture of entrepreneurship in
society by introducing prominent entrepreneurs
and awarding awards, recognizing the
importance and value of entrepreneurs in the
society's economy, valuing women's
entrepreneurship, and introducing successful
women entrepreneurs in order to increase self-
confidence, self-confidence, and
entrepreneurship motivation in young girls
- Raising the level of community awareness and
creating a culture of women's presence and
employment in society in order to deal with
working women and reduce social harassment.
- Designing and establishing incubators for
women's entrepreneurial activities to support
creative ideas and support them until they reach
results and generate income
- Providing appropriate financial resources to
women entrepreneurs, including low-interest
loans with long-term repayments, taking into
account the inability of young women
entrepreneurs to provide heavy collateral.
- Holding brainstorming sessions with
experienced entrepreneurs to transfer
experiences, knowledge and information and
motivate startups.
- Eliminating administrative bureaucracies,
clarifying business rules and regulations, and
facilitating the receipt of multiple business
startup licenses.
Achak, F. Talebi, K. Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender Restrictions Affecting Women's Entre preneurial
Identity. (Case Study of Pharmaceutical Companies in Tehran). Journal of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management. 2024; 10(2):
13-25. DOI:
Journal of Pharmacoeconomics
& Pharmaceutical Management
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
20
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant
from funding agencies in the public,
commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors' contributions
All authors contributed to obtaining final approval.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known
competing conflict of interests – be it financial or
personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
Copyright © 2024 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International license(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Noncommercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.
21
Tables
Table 1. The results of coding in the qualitative stage
Small layers (primary codes)
broad layers
(concepts)
category
Poor knowledge and skills of women
Educational Limitations
Gender restrictions
Lack of women's entrepreneurship associations
Lack of access to information
Psychological insecurity
Behavioral restrictions
The burden of the role
Unequal opportunities for participation
Suppressing the interests and wishes of women
entrepreneurs
Low physical strength of women
Limitations of personality
Non-continuance of activity or unforeseeable events.
Lack of sufficient motivation (due to men being
breadwinners)
Lack of self-confidence and self-confidence in
women
Depletion of physical and mental strength
Existence of work stress
Individual limitations
Motivating women in the face of failure
Dependence on men in society
Lack of self-confidence in women
Existence of emotional pressure from the family
Mental and psychological pressure from society
Social constraints
Parents' opposition to entrepreneurial activities
Role conflict (male-female identity duality)
Dislike of women meeting men in society
Men's need for women's presence in the family
Cultural Limitations
Society custom against women's employment
Parents' opposition to women's independence
People's disbelief in women's abilities
Having the task of cooking and not social activity
lack or lack of hardware and software capabilities
Economic constraints
Women's wages are lower than men's
Lack of low interest loans for entrepreneurs
Lack of easy access to financial resources for women
There was no financial support
Discrimination in taking permission and giving
priority to men
Legal restrictions
Achak, F. Talebi, K. Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender Restrictions Affecting Women's Entre preneurial
Identity. (Case Study of Pharmaceutical Companies in Tehran). Journal of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management. 2024; 10(2):
13-25. DOI:
Journal of Pharmacoeconomics
& Pharmaceutical Management
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
22
Small layers (primary codes)
broad layers
(concepts)
category
The government's disregard for the employment of
women in society
Choosing men instead of women
The law prohibiting women from working if the wife
does not agree
Strict laws and conditions for obtaining a license and
time for obtaining a license for women
Creativity in the demand market
Commercialization
Entrepreneurial opportunities
Innovation and production of new and quality goods
Responding to new requests
Identify business opportunities
Strengthening women's special skills in
entrepreneurship
Knowledge Enhancement
Field visits of successful rural women and
entrepreneurs
Setting up national and regional exhibitions
Communication with successful female
entrepreneurs
Being legal
Entrepreneurial
consciousness
Saving in production costs
Correct planning at work
Optimal use of resources
Accurate marketing
Market Recognition
Identifying people's needs and wants
Identification of market preferences
Table 2. Convergent validity and reliability of measurement tools
Cronbach's
alpha
Composite
Reliability (CR)
Average Variance
Extraction (AVE)
dimensions
0/714
0/924
0/649
Educational limitations
Gender
restrictions
0/763
0/922
0/670
Behavioral restrictions
0/753
0/891
0/625
Personal limitations
0/791
0/845
0/621
Individual limitations
0/776
0/849
0/660
Social restrictions
0/864
0/856
0/542
Cultural limitations
0/826
0/961
0/742
Economic limitations
0/895
0/894
0/649
Legal restrictions
0/806
0/880
0/705
Commercialization
Entrepreneurial
opportunities
0/851
0/882
0/633
Additional
knowledge
0/889
0/897
0/679
Entrepreneurial
alertness
0/862
0/853
0/721
Knowledge of the
market
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
Copyright © 2024 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International license(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Noncommercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.
23
Table 1. Correlation matrix and variance validity check
1
2
3
4
5
s
7
8
9
10
11
12
1. Educational limitations
0/814
2. Behavioral limitations
0/801
0/877
3. Personal limitations
0/272
0/s51
0/829
4. Individual limitations
0/s27
0/192
0/32s
0/872
5. Social restrictions
0/139
0/071
0/s24
0/751
0/8s0
.s cultural limitations
0/422
0/548
0/484
0/285
0/15s
0/837
7. Economic limitations
0/0s0
0/172
0/08s
0/53s
0/270
0/538
0/970
8. Legal restrictions
0/424
0/518
0/349
0/504
0/37s
0/ss1
0/52s
0/937
9. Commercialization
0/498
0/400
0/153
0/375
0/20s
0/048
0/10s
0/130
0/924
10. Increasing
knowledge
0/353
0/348
0/514
0/254
0/118
0/074
0/233
0/571
0/415
0/934
11. Entrepreneurial
alertness
0/547
0/s25
0/751
0/541
0/328
0/254
0/297
0/109
0/527
0/s41
0/841
12. Knowledge of the
market
0/254
0/458
0/325
0/297
0/550
0/s49
0/287
0/s49
0/500
0/7s4
0/248
0/884
Table 4. The Linear Effect of the Effects of Research Variables for Testing Research Hypotheses
P Values
T Statistics
(|O/STDEV|)
Standard
Deviation
(STDEV)
Sample
Mean
(M)
Original
Sample (O)
0/000
s/879
0/074
0/209
-0/578
Social limitations <--
Entrepreneurial opportunities
0/000
5/384
0/113
0/477
-0/429
Cultural limitations <--
Entrepreneurial opportunities
0/001
5/190
0/088
0/209
-0/408
Economic limitations <--
Entrepreneurial opportunities
0/000
4/541
0/078
0/155
-0/34s
Educational limitations <--
Entrepreneurial opportunities
0/028
3/1s9
0/077
0/391
-0/297
Legal restrictions <--
Entrepreneurial opportunities
0/031
3/81s
0/095
0/389
-0/215
Behavioral limitations <--
Entrepreneurial opportunities
0/019
3/28s
0/112
0/3s7
-0/189
Personal limitations <--
Entrepreneurial opportunities
0/024
3/105
0/084
0/s91
-0/138
Personal limitations <--
Entrepreneurial opportunities
Achak, F. Talebi, K. Explanation of the Opportunity Identification Model Based on Gender Restrictions Affecting Women's Entre preneurial
Identity. (Case Study of Pharmaceutical Companies in Tehran). Journal of Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management. 2024; 10(2):
13-25. DOI:
Journal of Pharmacoeconomics
& Pharmaceutical Management
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
24
Figures
Figure 1. Measurement model in standard coefficient estimation mode (PLS-A)
Figure 2. Measurement model in the significance mode of significance coefficients (BT)
Spring 2024, Volume 10, Issue 2
Copyright © 2024 Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International license(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Noncommercial uses of the work are permitted, provided the original work is properly cited.
25
Figure 3. The value of GOF from the point of view of the studied people
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