Networks, Technology, and Entrepreneurship: A Field Quasi-experiment among Women in Rural India

Abstract

Editor’s note: The manuscript for this article was accepted for publication during the term of AMJ ’s previous Editor-in-Chief, Gerard George.We address a grand economic challenge faced by women in rural India. We consider the interplay of women’s social networks (ties to family, to community, and to men in power), information and communication technology (ICT) use, and time in relating to the initiation and success of women’s entrepreneurial ventures. Results from a seven-year field quasi-experiment in 20 rural villages in India support the model. Ties to family and community positively, and to men in power negatively, relate to ICT use, entrepreneurial activity, and entrepreneurial profit. ICT intervention also strongly impacts entrepreneurship, with 160 new businesses in the 10 intervention villages compared to 40 in the controls. Results also demonstrate the dynamic interplay of social networks and ICT use. For ties to family and community, the amplification effect is such that the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity and success are observed among women with high centrality and ICT use—effects that increase over time. For ties to men in power, ICT use is associated with increased entrepreneurial activity only when these ties are low, but these interactive temporary temporal patterns do not emerge for profit. We address implications for the grand challenges of empowering women in less developed countries.