Abstract:
Abstract: This study aims at analyzing critical factors for institutionalization of
Islamic women entrepreneurship. It focuses on women entrepreneurship from two
perspectives: firstly Islamic, and secondly from institutional theory. It develops two
types of links: one is women entrepreneurship with Islam and another is Islamic
women entrepreneurship with neo-institutional theory. It is evident that women were
never forbidden from the involvement of entrepreneurial activities in Islam. But
there are certain conditions exclusively for women that are to be strictly followed.
The study shows those conditions under three mechanisms of neo-institutional
theory: coercive, normative and mimetic mechanisms. In view of coercive
mechanism, women entrepreneurs are to comply with the rules and regulations
based on Islamic Shariah. Under the normative mechanism, Islamic values and
norms are to be followed by the women entrepreneurs. As of mimetic mechanism,
Muslim women entrepreneurs can be built following other Muslim women
entrepreneurs. It is posited that these three mechanisms can institutionalize Islamic
women entrepreneurship at a desired level.
