Towards a New Theory of Entrepreneurship in Culture and Gender: A Grounded Study of Thailand’s Most Successful Female Entrepreneurs

Abstract

This paper explores the phenomenon of Thailand's female entrepreneurs and account for some of the cultural drivers in the way in which Thai women operate to be the leading country in the world for female entrepreneurship in terms of entrepreneurial activity. Based on interviews, media reporting, event attendance, and presentations collected during the annual conference for Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World (LWEW) in Bangkok, Thailand. We report the ways in which the leading Thai female entrepreneurs and male senior government officials explain the role of culture in legitimatising entrepreneurial activity. We develop a picture of the female entrepreneurship is harmonious with Thai cultural and religious models of appropriate female behaviour and so provides some insights into the cultural reasons for prevalence of female entrepreneurial activity.