An Exploratory Study on The Role of Social Media Influencers in Shaping Digital Women Entrepreneurship in Pakistan

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of social media influencers (SMIs) in shaping digital entrepreneurship for women in Pakistan. It aims to study the entrepreneurial motivations behind women entering the social media space and starting their own businesses. Additionally, it aims to view social media influencers as agents of change and explore their influence on women entrepreneurship. The study adopts a qualitative research design to explore the SMIs influence on digital women entrepreneurship. Twenty-four social media influencers were selected for semi structured interviews to explore and understand their perspective of the digital women entrepreneurship and the role they have and can play in the promotion of an.. entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan. The data obtained was analysed through thematic analysis. The findings reveal among the various factors influencing women’s entrepreneurial motivation, the presence of social media influencers, is the strongest. Further, the social media influencers are seen as change agents playing a huge role in shaping the entrepreneurial ecosystem for women. It also came across unexpected results wherein it found that after being in the business of influencer marketing for a significant period of time, influencers tended to make the switch from influencer to entrepreneur.