Antecedent factors, improvisation behavior, government support and women entrepreneurs’ business success in Malaysia

In the 21st century, the increasing number of women venturing into Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) is undeniable and plays an important role in fostering economic growth in an emerging country such as Malaysia. The success of women entrepreneurship in SMEs is significant and attracts the attention of many researchers worldwide due to emerging global competition and life support needed. Numerous previous researches examined the factors influencing women entrepreneurs and business success. Yet, these studies are limited, especially on the link between the antecedent factors, improvisation behaviour, government support, and women's success. Therefore, the purpose of this study is, firstly, to investigate the relationship between the antecedent factors of women entrepreneurs‘ business success, namely entrepreneurs‘ self-efficacy (ESE), motivation, social networking, and access to finance. The second objective is to examine the mediating role of improvisation behaviour on the relationship of antecedent factors and business success; and lastly, to examine the moderating effect of government support on improvisation behaviour and business success relationship. This study uses the quantitative method to produce empirical outcomes and validations to answer the research questions. The Resource-Based View Theory and Contingency Theory are the theoretical foundations that fill the gaps of the study. One thousand women entrepreneurs in Malaysia, who are actively listed in the SME Corp, have been chosen as a sample population through emailed administered questionnaires. However, only 320 surveys were valid for further analysis. This study also utilized the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS- SEM) to establish the validity and reliability of the measurements model and to test each hypothesis. Based on the analysis, the study reveals that ESE, motivation, and social networking have a significant positive influence on women entrepreneurs‘ business success. Surprisingly, access to finance has a non-significant relationship with business success. This study also shows that improvisation behaviour mediates the relationships between antecedent factors (ESE, social networking, and access to finance) and business success, except for the motivation factor. Furthermore, government support moderates the relationship between an entrepreneur‘s improvisation behaviour and business success. The findings of the study contribute to the theories as well as practices on the importance of antecedent factors, improvisation behaviour, and government support in fostering women-owned SMEs‘ business success in Malaysia. Finally, the study discusses some limitations and proposes recommendations for future research.