Women entrepreneurial adaptation through resilience and innovation in patriarchal contexts

Abstract

This study explores the journeys of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan, focusing on their resilience, social capital, and innovation while navigating gendered expectations. This research focuses on entrepreneurship as a socially embedded process, using a qualitative, phenomenological approach rather than treating it purely as an economic activity. The results demonstrate how women negotiate structural barriers through psychological capital (resilience, self-efficacy, hope, and optimism), social networks, and adaptive pathways, particularly via digital channels. Innovation is not born of excess resources but of constraints that channel creativity, which, in this context, helps women navigate barriers to access and mobility in the field. Implications of the study: This study offers three key theoretical contributions by integrating social role theory, the RBV, and PsyCap into a single framework that explains how agency develops in confined settings. This shows that patriarchal structures are negotiated rather than static, that shifts in PsyCap are shaped by experience, and that social capital operates as both an enabler and constraint. Therefore, as outlined by the UN, these findings have implications for policy and practice because they reinforce a holistic approach to the development of entrepreneurial support systems that are gender-sensitive and reiterate the need for a combination of digital inclusion (digital access), family engagement (supporting relationships around individuals), and network development to achieve more sustainable economic participation through entrepreneurship for women. From a sustainable development perspective, the findings demonstrate the relevance of women’s entrepreneurial adaptation to inclusive and resilient economic participation. By highlighting the importance of psychological capabilities, digital inclusion, supportive networks, and family-sensitive interventions, the study provides context-specific insights relevant to SDG 5 (gender equality) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth). The findings, therefore, position women’s entrepreneurial adaptation not only as an individual or business-level process but also as an important component of more inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems.