A critical review of entrepreneurial marketing strategies and entrepreneurs’ identities – Case insights from women-owned Micro and Small Enterprises in Vietnam

Phuong Minh Tran, Nguyen

Abstract

The link between behaviour and identity has long been an essential query in social psychology but has only recently been applied in the field of entrepreneurship. Yet, despite the increasing interest in this research area, the discussion of the link between entrepreneurs’ identities and entrepreneurial marketing behaviour to understand the experience of women entrepreneurs from emerging economies has remained scant. This study advances the literature on women's entrepreneurship to explore how women entrepreneurs in Vietnam construct their multiple social identities defined by age, gender and a unique spiritual dimension which influences their entrepreneurial marketing orientation. Using the entrepreneur’s social identity theory and entrepreneurial marketing from a gender perspective and intersectional approach, this work makes a significant contribution. Therefore, this thesis has 3 objectives: (1) conceptualise women entrepreneurs’ push and pull motivations in owning/managing an enterprise and explore how their identities drive entrepreneurial marketing orientation; (2) critically analyse key barriers and opportunities within which Vietnamese women entrepreneurs operate, (3) to recommend how a better understanding of the entrepreneurial activities of women through the proposed conceptual framework and empirical findings can inform policies and initiatives supporting enterprises owned/managed by women in Vietnam.
This research adopts an interpretivist epistemic stance for its research design. In-depth interviews with 37 women entrepreneurs who own micro and small enterprises in Danang city in central Vietnam and participant observation of their daily routine were conducted for collecting data. This thesis reviewed women's entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial marketing and identity in entrepreneurship and outlines the key gaps in the literature.
This study contributes to existing research on entrepreneurial identities. The results provide a varied picture of entrepreneurship as a method of identity fulfilment and challenge the stereotype of the economically driven conventional entrepreneur. The findings of this research conceptualise pull and push entrepreneurial motivations reinforcing the gender maternal identity and entrepreneurial masculinity identity. The results show women entrepreneurs are motivated by both self-actualisation and community concerns and consider their venture creation activities as an integral part of their spiritual sense of self. Furthermore, this study stressed the significance of context in understanding how women construct entrepreneurial identity. Uncertainty about one's own identity has been highlighted as the last hurdle to the development of a strong entrepreneur identity. The finding emphasises the tension between social identities and other contextual factors such as age and gender, the role of participant’s prior knowledge and experience, social/cultural norms and religious beliefs have been found to constrain the construction of participants' entrepreneurial identities. Furthermore, participants negotiate gender in entrepreneurial activities by enacting both femininities and masculinities in entrepreneurial identity. Women entrepreneurs in the sample challenge the traditional view of entrepreneurs as constructing entrepreneurial identities aligned with their femininity drawing on prescribed cultural norms.
Moreover, this study contributes to existing research on entrepreneurial marketing. This study provides insight into women entrepreneurs’ role in venture creation activities under resource constraints through seven core dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing orientation (e.g. proactiveness, calculated risk-taking, innovativeness, opportunity focus, resource leveraging, customer intensity, and value creation). This research contributes to knowledge related to the intersection between spiritual, ethical values and feminist values that underpin the entrepreneurial marketing orientation of women owners and managers in Vietnam. In particular, this research highlights how spirituality defines entrepreneurial marketing orientation. This research also identifies the key challenges and opportunities within which Vietnamese women entrepreneurs operate. The research results will help policymakers to advocate, encourage, and motivate women entrepreneurs in micro and small enterprises and implement policy changes.

Citation

Phuong Minh Tran, N. (2023). A critical review of entrepreneurial marketing strategies and entrepreneurs’ identities – Case insights from women-owned Micro and Small Enterprises in Vietnam. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4923181

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Nov 25, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 2, 2026
• Keywords: Marketing
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4923181
• Additional Information: Marketing; Business School; University of Hull
• Award Date: Apr 1, 2023