Measuring Conflict between Social Role Expectations and Entrepreneurial Role Demands among Women Entrepreneurs: A Study from Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper presents a validated scale for measuring conflict between Social Role Expectations (SREs) and Entrepreneurial Role Demands (ERDs). The scale items were constructed from the outcomes of a literature review on social... [ view full abstract ]

This paper presents a validated scale for measuring conflict between Social Role Expectations (SREs) and Entrepreneurial Role Demands (ERDs). The scale items were constructed from the outcomes of a literature review on social role expectations in SSA countries and general entrepreneurial role demands and a case study among 20 women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia. The results show that the scales adequately captured two dimensions of SRE and ERD conflict: SRE-to-ERD conflict and ERD-to-SRE conflict. The SRE-to-ERD-conflict scale demonstrated criterion validity in explaining entrepreneurial performance. By measuring and validating the conflict between SREs and ERDs, we have signaled that the standard scales for measuring work and family conflict in paid employment, which tend to focus solely on the work and family context, cannot adequately account for the experiences of role conflict among women entrepreneurs in SSA countries.