Analysis of Barriers Facing Rural Women's Entrepreneurship in Kermanshah Province: An Application of the Grounded Theory

The purpose of this research is to use the qualitative paradigm and Strauss Grounded Theory (SGT) method to examine and analyze the barriers facing rural women entrepreneurs in Kermanshah province. To this end, 18 rural women entrepreneurs in Kermanshah province were selected using purposeful and theoretical sampling methods; the sampling continued to reach the data saturation. The techniques used for data collection were in-depth individual interviews and note-taking. According to the findings, causal conditions (lack of sufficient financial capital and savings, inability of risk-taking due to lack of financial resources, lack of access to primary resources, etc.), context conditions (inappropriate educational, managerial, social and communication-information structures), intervening conditions (political-legal barriers and supportive barriers), strategies used by the studied population (self-esteem decrease, abandoning the business, etc.), and consequences (lack of entrepreneurial atmosphere in the village, dependence on the household head) were the results of the following study. Moreover, the results showed that the rural women are facing different barriers in entrepreneurial undertakings and this has decreased their amount of entrepreneurial behaviors and undertakings and ultimately increased their dependency level on the household head in Kermanshah Province. Based on the results, offering proper facilities, holding educational classes, informing rural women’s individual and social rights, and introducing supportive organizations to them are recommended.