IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joamsc/v53y2025i1d10.1007_s11747-024-01053-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rural women microentrepreneurs, consumer acquisition, and value delivery: Evidence from a quasi-experiment in rural India

Author

Listed:
  • Aindrila Chatterjee

    (Institute of Management Technology)

  • Amit J. Chauradia

    (University of South Florida)

  • Kiran Pedada

    (University of Manitoba)

Abstract

Gender equality and social impact are gaining significant research attention in marketing. This paper investigates the impact of recruiting rural women microentrepreneurs on acquiring consumers and delivering value to them. We study the outcomes from a quasi-experiment in which a social enterprise recruited a group of women to become microentrepreneurs in 91 out of 164 locations (panchayats) across rural districts in India. We show that the rural locations with more women than men microentrepreneurs experienced a 40.8% increase in consumer acquisition and delivered 64.1% greater value to their consumers. Moreover, these locations with more women than men microentrepreneurs delivered $5,445 more value for women consumers. Men microentrepreneurs who work in inclusive settings with other women microentrepreneurs delivered $25,100 more value to their consumers than men microentrepreneurs working in predominantly male-work environments. This research contributes to the intersection of marketing, social entrepreneurship, and gender dynamics, underscoring the importance of empowering women for better marketing and societal outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Aindrila Chatterjee & Amit J. Chauradia & Kiran Pedada, 2025. "Rural women microentrepreneurs, consumer acquisition, and value delivery: Evidence from a quasi-experiment in rural India," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 53(1), pages 213-231, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joamsc:v:53:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11747-024-01053-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11747-024-01053-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11747-024-01053-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11747-024-01053-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ron Berman & Ayelet Israeli, 2022. "The Value of Descriptive Analytics: Evidence from Online Retailers," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(6), pages 1074-1096, November.
    2. Matthew Lee & Laura Huang, 2018. "Gender Bias, Social Impact Framing, and Evaluation of Entrepreneurial Ventures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Unnati Narang & Venkatesh Shankar, 2019. "Mobile App Introduction and Online and Offline Purchases and Product Returns," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 38(5), pages 756-772, September.
    4. Magda Hassan & Jaideep Prabhu & Rajesh Chandy & Om Narasimhan, 2023. "When Bulldozers Loom: Informal Property Rights and Marketing Practice Innovation Among Emerging Market Microentrepreneurs," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(1), pages 137-165, January.
    5. Stephen J. Anderson & Rajesh Chandy & Bilal Zia, 2018. "Pathways to Profits: The Impact of Marketing vs. Finance Skills on Business Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5559-5583, December.
    6. Weidner, Kelly L. & Rosa, José Antonio & Viswanathan, Madhu, 2010. "Marketing to subsistence consumers: Lessons from practice," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(6), pages 559-569, June.
    7. Hassan, Magda & Prabhu, Jaideep & Chandy, Rajesh & Narasimhan, Om, 2023. "When bulldozers loom: informal property rights and marketing practice innovation among emerging market microentrepreneurs," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114293, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Ko Ruyter & Debbie Isobel Keeling & Kirk Plangger & Matteo Montecchi & Maura L. Scott & Darren W. Dahl, 2022. "Reimagining marketing strategy: driving the debate on grand challenges," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 13-21, January.
    9. Sam Asher & Paul Novosad, 2020. "Rural Roads and Local Economic Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(3), pages 797-823, March.
    10. Babita Bhatt & Israr Qureshi & Suhaib Riaz, 2019. "Social Entrepreneurship in Non-munificent Institutional Environments and Implications for Institutional Work: Insights from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 605-630, February.
    11. Francesco Castellaneta & Raffaele Conti & Aleksandra Kacperczyk, 2020. "The (Un) intended consequences of institutions lowering barriers to entrepreneurship: The impact on female workers," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(7), pages 1274-1304, July.
    12. Jennifer Gippel & Tom Smith & Yushu Zhu, 2015. "Endogeneity in Accounting and Finance Research: Natural Experiments as a State-of-the-Art Solution," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 51(2), pages 143-168, June.
    13. Hmieleski, Keith M. & Sheppard, Leah D., 2019. "The Yin and Yang of entrepreneurship: Gender differences in the importance of communal and agentic characteristics for entrepreneurs' subjective well-being and performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 709-730.
    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. McSweeney, Jordan J. & McSweeney, Kevin T. & Webb, Justin W. & Devers, Cynthia E., 2022. "The right touch of pitch assertiveness: Examining entrepreneurs' gender and project category fit in crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    2. Jiayi Bao, 2022. "Social safety nets and new venture performance: The role of employee access to paid family leave benefits," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 2545-2576, December.
    3. Oo, Pyayt P. & Creek, Steven A. & Sheppard, Leah D., 2022. "Perceived warmth and competence in crowdfunding: Which matters more and for whom?," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).
    4. Gonzalez-Uribe, Juanita & Hmaddi, Ouafaa, 2022. "The multi-dimensional impacts of business accelerators: what does the research tell us?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115461, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Aaron H. Anglin & Christopher Courtney & Thomas H. Allison, 2022. "Venturing for Others, Subject to Role Expectations? A Role Congruity Theory Approach to Social Venture Crowd Funding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(2), pages 421-448, March.
    6. Ingrid C. Chadwick & Alexandra Dawson, 2024. "From imposter fears to authenticity: a typology of women entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 1025-1050, March.
    7. S. Arunachalam & S. Cem Bahadir & Sundar G. Bharadwaj & Rodrigo Guesalaga, 2020. "New product introductions for low-income consumers in emerging markets," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(5), pages 914-940, September.
    8. Jianhong Chen & Jeffrey E. Sohl & Wan-Chien Lien, 2023. "Angel Investors’ Political Ideology and Investments in Women-Owned Ventures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(2), pages 379-396, November.
    9. März, Armin & Lachner, Michael & Heumann, Christian G. & Schumann, Jan H. & von Wangenheim, Florian, 2021. "How You Remind Me! The Influence of Mobile Push Notifications on Success Rates in Last-Minute Bidding," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 11-24.
    10. Jörg Prokop & Dandan Wang, 2022. "Is there a gender gap in equity-based crowdfunding?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 1219-1244, October.
    11. Ehsan Salih & Emdad Khaleel Mahmood & Zhian Bwrhan Mustafa & Samian Karim Ado & Rebar Maghdid Ahmad, 2024. "The impact of socio-cultural factors on entrepreneurial failure in Soran city," Review of Islamic Social Finance and Entrepreneurship, Center for Islamic Economics and Development Studies [P3EI], vol. 3(2), pages 105-120.
    12. Neslin, Scott A., 2022. "The omnichannel continuum: Integrating online and offline channels along the customer journey," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 111-132.
    13. Seebacher, Moritz, 2023. "Pathways to progress: The complementarity of bicycles and road infrastructure for girls’ education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    14. Jaiswal, Sreeja & Balietti, Anca & Schäffer, Daniel, 2023. "Environmental Protection and Labor Market Composition," Working Papers 0736, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    15. Jules Gazeaud & Victor Stephane, 2023. "Productive Workfare? Evidence from Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(1), pages 265-290, January.
    16. Abu-Qarn, Aamer & Lichtman-Sadot, Shirlee, 2019. "Connecting Disadvantaged Communities to Work and Higher Education Opportunities: Evidence from Public Transportation Penetration to Arab Towns in Israel," IZA Discussion Papers 12824, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Mario Pansera & Fabien Martinez, 2017. "Innovation for development and poverty reduction: an integrative literature review," Post-Print hal-02887777, HAL.
    18. Inessa Love & Boris Nikolaev & Chandra Dhakal, 2024. "The well-being of women entrepreneurs: the role of gender inequality and gender roles," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 325-352, January.
    19. Danny Zhao‐Xiang Huang, 2022. "An integrated theory of the firm approach to environmental, social and governance performance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(S1), pages 1567-1598, April.
    20. Gambardella, Alfonso & Camuffo, Arnaldo & Spina, Chiara, 2020. "Small Changes with Big Impact: Experimental Evidence of a Scientific Approach to the Decision-Making of Entrepreneurial Firms," CEPR Discussion Papers 14909, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    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:spr:joamsc:v:53:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s11747-024-01053-6. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.