Alertness, self-efficacy, social networking and Malay women entrepreneurs' success: the moderating effect of work-family conflict

Entrepreneurship is the driving force and catalyst for the economy of a country, particularly the developing countries. Nowadays, the field of entrepreneurship is not only engulfed by men, but women are also equally contributing to economic growth. The participation of women in entrepreneurship and business is increasing from year to year. Despite the increase in the total number of women entrepreneurs each year, the achievement of women entrepreneurs is still unable to compete in more challenging fields especially in the heavy industrial sectors. In addition, women entrepreneurs also face challenges to survive in long-term business, especially Malay women entrepreneurs who are the majority ethnic group in Malaysia. Malay women entrepreneurs are still comfortable in the low-risk industries with lower incomes and profits. Moreover, studies on Malay women entrepreneurial success are still limited in number, although the issue is seen as important. Therefore, this study focused on the relationship
between alertness, self-efficacy and social networking with the success of Malay women entrepreneurs in Malaysia. Work-family conflict was a moderator variable to test the effect of significant relationships between the independent variables (alertness, self-efficacy and social networking) and the dependent variable (success of Malay women entrepreneurs). A total of 220 responses were collected through an online survey whilst analysis through SPSS 21 and Smart PLS 3.0 was carried out to examine the relationship between all the variables in this study. The results of the empirical study showed that there were significant relationships between alertness, self-efficacy and social networking towards Malay women entrepreneurial success. However, work-family conflict indicated a non-significant relationship as the moderator. The research framework of this study contributes to the existing entrepreneurship fields and literature, importantly on Malay women entrepreneurs. The findings also offer theoretical
and practical implications for women-owned businesses as well as for the development of women entrepreneurship in the country. Finally, some limitations provide room and direction for future research.