From Gendered Entrepreneurial Cognition to Sustainable Performance: The Power of Women’s Entrepreneurial Capital in Emerging Economies

Thamrin Tahir, Muhammad Hasan (), Muhammad Ilyas Thamrin Tahir, Andi Tenri Ampa, Andi Caezar To Tadampali, Ratnah Suharto and Muhammad Ihsan Said Ahmad
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Thamrin Tahir: Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar 90222, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Muhammad Hasan: Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar 90222, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Muhammad Ilyas Thamrin Tahir: Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar 90222, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Andi Tenri Ampa: Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar 90222, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Andi Caezar To Tadampali: Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar 90222, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Ratnah Suharto: Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar 90222, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Muhammad Ihsan Said Ahmad: Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar 90222, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Administrative Sciences, 2025, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-35

Abstract: Gender equality and sustainability remain critical global agendas emphasized in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015. Women entrepreneurs in emerging economies, despite facing structural constraints, hold strategic potential to advance inclusive and sustainable growth. Building on this context, the present study develops and empirically tests an integrative framework that explains how gendered entrepreneurial cognition (GEC) influences sustainable performance (SP) through the mediating roles of women’s intellectual capital (WIC) and women’s social capital (WSC). A sequential explanatory mixed-method design was employed, combining survey data from 653 women entrepreneurs with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Quantitative results demonstrate that GEC significantly enhances WIC and WSC, which in turn strengthen SP, while the direct effect of GEC on SP is weaker. Qualitative insights reinforce these findings by revealing how women mobilize adaptive knowledge, experiential learning, and trust-based networks to achieve economic, social, and environmental objectives. Theoretically, this study advances an innovative multitheoretical integration of the resource-based view, knowledge-based view, and social capital theory, positioning GEC as a gendered cognitive microfoundation for the creation of intangible resources. Practically, the findings highlight that strengthening women’s entrepreneurial capital—represented by the synergy of WIC and WSC—is crucial for enhancing resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability among women-led SMEs in emerging economies. Overall, this study contributes novel evidence from Indonesia by demonstrating that women’s cognition, knowledge, and social networks operate as interconnected pathways toward sustainable entrepreneurial performance.

Keywords: gendered entrepreneurial cognition; women entrepreneurial capital; sustainable performance; women entrepreneurs; emerging economies; mixed methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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