The Determinants of Innovation at Female-Owned Small and Medium Enterprises and Relevance in International Trade Dynamics: Evidence from Afghanistan

Hasina Aimaq, Mohammad Mirwais Rasa and InamUl Islam

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore determinants of innovation in female-owned small and medium enterprises in Kabul city, Afghanistan, and in turn contribute to entrepreneurship-related literature mainly in developing countries. The study employed an explanatory research design with agreement of primary data collection via a cross-sectional survey questionnaire, followed by OLS linear regression as a quantitative research approach. The sample of this study was 303 women entrepreneurs and was selected using a random sampling technique. Being mindful of such importance of innovation, this study inferred that knowledge improvement and transfer, technology, and owner-manager qualification behaviour significantly influence the innovation performance and as such regarded as the strong determinants of innovation. The study didn’t account for the determinants like level of education, previous working experience, age, and profitability of the enterprise. Thus, due to frequent changes in such variables, the study may not reflect the dynamics of the data, which would have a convincing influence on the conclusion. In addition, the research has only consisted of 303 samples. Moreover, such a number may not represent the whole population of the entrepreneurs of women-led Afghan SME. The study might help women entrepreneurs in addressing the factors affecting innovation level to take actions towards improving their innovative behaviour and, in turn, contribute to job creation, wealth, and poverty alleviation.

Keywords: SMES; Afghanistan; International Trade; Innovation; Trade Dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F1 F12 F18 F4 F41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-11-14, Revised 2025-03-22
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-ent and nep-sbm
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