IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jadmsc/v15y2025i3p89-d1605043.html

Gender, Culture, and Social Media: Exploring Women’s Adoption of Social Media Entrepreneurship in Qatari Society

Author

Listed:
  • Hamda Al-Boinin

    (College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hamda bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha 5825, Qatar)

  • Savanid Vatanasakdakul

    (Information System Program, Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 24866, Qatar)

  • Wajdi Zaghouani

    (Communication Program, Northwestern University in Qatar, Doha P.O. Box 34102, Qatar)

Abstract

Purpose: Social media has become a significant catalyst for entrepreneurship in the Middle East, particularly for women. Considering the limited research conducted to understand the factors influencing social media adoption in conservative societies such as Qatar, this study aims to examine the factors affecting the adoption of social media among women entrepreneurs in Qatar and extend the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by including sociocultural variables. Method: The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional survey approach comprising 290 women entrepreneurs through an online survey. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), particularly Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis, was used to investigate relationships between constructs. Findings: The results highlight two dimensions that significantly affect women’s adoption of social media for entrepreneurship in Qatar: technological (perceived usefulness) and sociocultural (family influence, kinship roles, and reputation preservation). Through these factors, we found that women in Qatar are especially drawn to social media entrepreneurship because it enhances their business operations while being in line with their cultural and social values. Conclusion and Originality: This research is one of the pioneering studies on women entrepreneurship and social media in Qatar. It extends the technology adoption theory with novel sociocultural constructs specific for women entrepreneurship in the Middle East. This research offers insights that are significant for advancing the field of digital entrepreneurship and fostering women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment within Qatar and the other communities of the Middle East.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamda Al-Boinin & Savanid Vatanasakdakul & Wajdi Zaghouani, 2025. "Gender, Culture, and Social Media: Exploring Women’s Adoption of Social Media Entrepreneurship in Qatari Society," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:89-:d:1605043
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/3/89/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/15/3/89/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Muneera Al-Qahtani & Mariem Fekih Zguir & Luluwah Al-Fagih & Muammer Koç, 2022. "Women Entrepreneurship for Sustainability: Investigations on Status, Challenges, Drivers, and Potentials in Qatar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-27, March.
    2. Xaver Neumeyer & Susana C. Santos & António Caetano & Pamela Kalbfleisch, 2019. "Entrepreneurship ecosystems and women entrepreneurs: a social capital and network approach," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 475-489, August.
    3. So Young Bae & Ju Hyoung Han, 2020. "Considering Cultural Consonance in Trustworthiness of Online Hotel Reviews among Generation Y for Sustainable Tourism: An Extended TAM Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-17, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Saurabh A. Lall & Li-Wei Chen & Dyana P. Mason, 2023. "Digital platforms and entrepreneurial support: a field experiment in online mentoring," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 631-654, August.
    2. Aparicio, Sebastian & Audretsch, David & Noguera, Maria & Urbano, David, 2022. "Can female entrepreneurs boost social mobility in developing countries? An institutional analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    3. Lars Jonsson, 2025. "Is the Position of Power More Relevant than Gender for Commercialization of Research? An Explorative Longitudinal Study over 21 Years," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(3), pages 12048-12077, September.
    4. Stjepan Srhoj & Bruno Škrinjarić & Sonja Radas & Janette Walde, 2022. "Small matching grants for women entrepreneurs: lessons from the past recession," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 117-142, June.
    5. Sameen Khan & Sarika Tomar, 2026. "Veils and ventures: examining Muslim women’s entrepreneurial intentions in higher education," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 16(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Rocha, Augusto & Brown, Ross & Mawson, Suzanne, 2021. "Capturing conversations in entrepreneurial ecosystems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    7. Astrid Kunze & Bram Timmermans, 2024. "Gender diversity in founding teams and hiring," GRAPE Working Papers 99, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    8. Aracil-Jordá, Jorge & Clemente-Almendros, Jose-Antonio & Jiménez-Zarco, Ana-Isabel & González-González, Inés, 2023. "Improving the social performance of women-led microenterprises: The role of social media marketing actions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    9. EDJENTE AMOUGOU, Franck Michel & NGUENDA ANYA, Saturnin Bertrand & ATANGANA, Siméon Serge & Nzepang, Fabrice, 2025. "Effets De Seuil De La Liberté Economique Sur Les Inégalités De Genre En Afrique Subsaharienne [Threshold Effects of Economic Freedom on Gender Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa]," MPRA Paper 126779, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Zahra, Shaker A. & Liu, Wan & Si, Steven, 2023. "How digital technology promotes entrepreneurship in ecosystems," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Rashed Al Karim & Farid Ahammad Sobhani & Md Karim Rabiul & Nusrat Jahan Lepee & Mohammad Rokibul Kabir & Mohammad Abdul Matin Chowdhury, 2022. "Linking Fintech Payment Services and Customer Loyalty Intention in the Hospitality Industry: The Mediating Role of Customer Experience and Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    12. Younis, Heba & Karmowska, Joanna, 2025. "‘We need to play safe’: SME internationalization in a munificent environment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    13. Aisling Bonner & George Onofrei & Paul Humphreys & Michael Margey & Trevor Cadden, 2021. "Entrepreneurial versus cooperative social capital: The impact on operational performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3854-3865, December.
    14. Lindelöf, Peter & Hellberg, Roland, 2023. "Incubation - An evolutionary process," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    15. Franczak, Jennifer & Lanivich, Stephen E. & Adomako, Samuel, 2023. "Filling institutional voids: Combinative effects of institutional shortcomings and gender on the alertness – Opportunity recognition relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 155(PB).
    16. Matthias Fink & Daniela Maresch & Ludovit Garzik & Rainer Harms, 2025. "We are in this together: leading resource exchange between entrepreneurial ecosystems to strategically steer their development," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 1447-1464, October.
    17. Francisco Liñán & Inmaculada Jaén & Domingo Martín, 2022. "Does entrepreneurship fit her? Women entrepreneurs, gender-role orientation, and entrepreneurial culture," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 1051-1071, February.
    18. Yu, Xiaoyu & Meng, Xiaotong & Stockdall, Kyle & Lanivich, Stephen E. & Cao, Gang, 2025. "A meta-analysis of the antecedents of entrepreneurial well-being," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    19. Christopher J. Boudreaux & Steven W. Bradley & Anand Jha & Joao F. Mazzoni, 2025. "You are only as strong as your weakest link: Founder and community social capital and start-up survival," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(4), pages 2133-2152, April.
    20. Uma Shankar Yadav & Ravindra Tripathi & Mano Ashish Tripathi & Ashish Kumar & Mitu Mandal, 2023. "Evaluation of factors affecting entrepreneurship: a case of Indian women in the handicraft industry," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-17, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:89-:d:1605043. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.