Abstract:
The paper aims to explore personal networks of Pakistani female entrepreneurs for venture growth. They are a distinctive sub-segment of ethnic minority entrepreneurs as they represent an interesting blend of religious, socio-cultural and socio-economic traits. This research study underscores the interactional dimension of personal networks and its subsequent influence on the venture growth. It is mainly the contents and interactions within a network that determines the quality of a network and its influence on relevant aspects of network members. To explore the perceptual aspects of the network of relationships and their use for entrepreneurial ventures’ growth, an egocentric network analysis is applied to narratives of Pakistani female entrepreneurs (the ego). Narratives were collected through in-depth interviews with ‘name generator’ questions. Egocentric network analysis was carried out using sociograms to details the formation and utilization of network ties. By generating the understanding of the structure and use of personal networks for venture growth by ethnic female entrepreneurs, the paper adds to the literature on ethnic minority female entrepreneurship and provides fresh insights for practice.