Hierarchical interrelationships among the critical success factors fostering women entrepreneurship: a study of Indian MSMEs

Purpose The significant contribution of women entrepreneurs in the Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has gained attention recently. The Ministry of MSMEs under government of India has taken several strategic measures to promote women entrepreneurs; however, they are still facing some issues and challenges in running their business due to the ongoing technological disruption and social concerns. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate the key enabling factors and develop a framework to provide a strategic roadmap for the women-owned Indian MSMEs. Design/methodology/approach Key enabling factors are identified through a review of literature and validated based on experts' response. The identified enablers are further modelled using total interpretive structural modelling to establish meaningful contextual relationships. This study also employed MICMAC (cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification) analysis for classifying the enablers based on driving and dependence power. Findings This study identified “awareness on government policies”, and “STEP incubation” as the most strategic enablers with the highest driving power, placed at the bottom of the hierarchical model, which needs significant attention. Further, upskilling and reskilling, knowledge management and dynamic capability are the middle-level or linkage enablers that assist in attaining innovation ambidexterity and sustainable business performance. Originality/value This study proposed a hierarchical model with contextual relationships among the identified enablers that may act as a blueprint for the women-owned Indian MSMEs to scale up their business.