Annexure I (Questionnaire for Entrepreneurs)

Dear Respondent,

I am a PhD research scholar, of DAVV, Indore. I am conducting a research on “A

Study of Gender Gap in Small and Micro Enterprises in India” under the guidance
of Dr. Yamini Karmarkar. Kindly fill the questionnaire and be rest assured that the
information provided by you will be used only for academic purpose.

SECTION - A (Personal Information)

Name ( optional )
Gender Male Female
Age
Educational Qualification
Average daily working hours

Work mainly from Home Office

Both
Years of association with present business

Relationship status:
• Married
• Unmarried
• Divorced
• Widowed/widower

If married, working status of the spouse:

• Job
• Separate Business
• Is a part of your business
• Not working
• Was working, now retired/quit

Do you have a degree/diploma in formal business education related to your business:

• Yes
• No
• If yes, details __________________________________________________

What was the mode of starting your business?

• Joined family business
• Family business, yet started your own venture
• No business background and started your own venture

How will you define your style of management:

• I take all the business decisions expecting my employees to follow
• I incorporate the opinion of my employees in the decision making process

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 • I follow a pattern of decision making which is a combination of the above two methods

Today wherever stand in my personal and professional life for that:

• I believe that I am completely responsible
• I believe that external factors have always influenced
• I believe that it has been a combination of both

Family system
• Joint family system
• Nuclear family system
• Single parent
No. of family members involved in your business _______

SECTION - B ( BUSINESS RELATED INFORMATION

Year of establishment ______________

Type of business:
• Service
• Manufacturing
• Retail/wholesale

Your business belongs to which of the following sector:

Beauty Garments Jewellery Education
Health
Manufacturing IT Real Estate Transportation
Construction
Any other, please specify _______________________________

Which of the following marketing tools you use: (Rank in the order of preference)
• Family & friends network
• Internet
• Direct marketing
• Magazines and newspapers

What were the reasons for choosing your present business sector: (Rank in the order of preference)
• You decided to carry the family trend/business forward.
• You had sufficient resources to start the business in that sector.
• You had sufficient knowledge/training of that sector.
• You perceived future growth opportunities in that sector.

Is your present business your first business:

• Yes
• No

If no, what happened to the businesses you owned previously:

• It/they went out of business.
• It/they are still successful.
• It/they have been sold.

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Which of the following best describes your current business position:
• I have created my present business myself
• It is a family business I have “inherited”
• It is a business I have bought

For the main reasons for starting your business which of the following statements hold true: (Rank in the
order of preference)
• I wanted to earn profit/ make money
• I did not want to work for others
• I wanted complete control and freedom
• I wanted to enhance my social status
• I wanted to achieve something for myself
• I had confidence in the products/services offered
• I faced a potential threat of loosing my job
• I wanted to make use of leisure hours
• I faced family pressure to start/join the business

When you started your business for the main obstacles/problems you faced which of the following
statements hold true? (Rank in the order of strength of occurrence)
• I did not face any obstacles
• For me it was a question of self confidence (believing in your abilities)
• I had difficulty in raising start-up finance
• I faced lack of information/advice on how to start an enterprise
• It was difficult for me to find the right contacts for my business venture
• I did not have awareness/access to business support
• I lacked management skills
• I lacked entrepreneurial skills
• I lacked intercultural and language skills for foreign markets
• It was difficult for me to combine family and work life
• I faced gender discrimination

As an entrepreneur I owe my success to the following factors: ( Rank in the order of preference)
• Good family support
• Appropriate qualification
• My determination and will power
• My inner drive
• Vast social network
• Got right opportunity at the right time
• Satisfactory government support
• Satisfactory government regulations
• Availability of finance
• Availability of land
• Access to technology
• My long term vision to grow the business
• My effective work life balance
• Good health

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For the main obstacles/problems you are facing in the running of your business which of the following
statements hold true? (Rank in the order of strength of occurrence)
• I am not facing any obstacles
• I am finding it difficult to combine work and family life
• I am unable to access training/upgrade skills
• I am facing stagnation owing to lack of skills
• I am facing stagnation owing to lack of funds
• I am unable to develop business network

Initial investment made while starting the business:

Manufacturing Enterprises – Service Enterprises – Investment in

Investment in Plant & Machinery Equipments

upto Rs. 25Lakhs upto Rs. 10Lakhs

above Rs. 25 Lakhs & upto Rs. 5 Crores above Rs. 10 Lakhs & upto Rs. 2 Crores

above Rs. 5 Crores & upto Rs. 10 Crores above Rs. 2 Crores & upto Rs. 5 Crores

Current number of employees: ________

Gender specific employment generation:

Male ___ % Female ___ %

Gender specific promoters:

Male ___ % Female ___ %

% of internal (self) financing sources and external (borrowings) financing sources :

• Initial
Self ___ % External ___ %
• Current
Self ___ % External ___ %

Present turnover
• <35 lakhs
• 35 - 50 lakhs
• 50 lakhs

Net profit:
• < 10 lakhs
• 10 - 50 lakhs
• 50 lakhs

Can your consumers/customers order your product/service online?

• Yes
• No

Do you export your product/service?

• Yes
• No
• If yes what is the % of exports in total turnover ___________

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 SECTION - C
On the basis of your experience of doing business respond to the following questions:
Strongly Agree = 5, Agree = 4, Neither Agree nor disagree = 3, Disagree = 2, Strongly Disagree
=1
1 2 3 4 5
1. I believe that in our country there are no irrational regulations on
entrepreneurs.
2. I have a complete awareness of the business market around me.
3. I feel that men and women are treated equally in all areas of
business.
4. I never faced any discrimination in business on the basis of my
gender.
5. I feel Indian culture is a gender inclusive culture.
6. If an Indian woman plans her business she would best prefer a
safe risk free job than setting up a business venture of their own.
7. Women’s family obligations also bar them from initiating &
becoming successful entrepreneurs.
8. Women would prefer to be active partner entrepreneurs with their
spouses & provide necessary support rather than initiating &
running a business enterprise entirely on their own.
9. The overall male domination in the entire business &
entrepreneurship area works as a hurdle for women entrepreneurs
in India.
10. Men and women have equal access to business training in any
organization.
11. Men and women have equal access to business critical roles in any
organization.
12. In my organization there is a highly effective approach ensuring
equality between men and women.
13. I am very inclined towards social entrepreneurship.
14. I believe in innovation at personal as well as professional level.
15. I have equal priorities for work, family, recreation and self.
16. I have succeeded in balancing work and family.
17. My family plays an important role in my enterprise formation and
development.
18. My family influences my growth intentions and expansion plans.
19. I am able to access adhoc flexibility when my needs change on
short notice.
20. I started/joined a business owing to a family/financial crisis.

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21. I have the absolute responsibility of supporting my family
financially.
22. I was ready to take risk and face challenge.
23. I am very ambitious to grow and surge.
24. I believe in taking balanced risks.
25. I perceive good growth opportunities in my business sector.
26. My long term goal as an entrepreneur is to expand and earn more
profits.
27. My long term goal as an entrepreneur is to serve the society.
28. During my entrepreneurial career I faced situations where there
was a tradeoff between “honesty” and “profits”. (ethical
dilemmas)
29. I believe that entrepreneurs are born.
30. I believe that leadership traits cannot be developed and are unique
to only select number of individuals.
31. I believe that entrepreneurship can be taught, or at least
encouraged, by entrepreneurship education.
32. I believe that the kind of entrepreneurial education one receives
defines his entrepreneurial personality.
33. I believe that my entrepreneurial life style has not affected my
health adversely.
34. As an entrepreneur I face challenges and risks everyday.
35. Such challenges and risks do not give me stress.
36. I am very effective in time management.
37. I have a complete belief in my sense of hard – work, commitment
and dedication.
38. I wanted people around me to understand and appreciate my
abilities.
39. I have the capability to learn from my failure and make use of
feedback.
40. I have a high spirit of innovation.
41. I did not face any hurdle in accessing training to upgrade my
skills.
42. I have no hesitation in resorting to external funding as I do not
want to limit my growth.
43. I did not face any problems in borrowing from banks and financial
institutions.
44. I did not face difficulties in raising finance.
45. I had a satisfactory experience of banking relationship.

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46. My present business lets me use my skills and abilities.
47. My business is an extension of my hobbies.
48. My access to networks of advice and assistance was there.
49. I used varied sources of advise in running my business.
50. I have a good social network which gives me a good support.
51. I am satisfied with the treatment and support received from
government and non- government institutions.

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