Malay Women Entrepreneurs: Do Resilience and Emotional Quotient Contribute towards Business Sustainability During the Economic Crisis?

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify critical factors that contributed towards business sustainability among Malay women entrepreneurs in Malaysia. The independent variables were resilience and emotional quotient, and the dependent variable was business sustainability. The study focused on Malay women entrepreneurs involved in service sectors such as food service business, tailoring, and others. About 200 questionnaires were distributed randomly to Malay women entrepreneurs in Setapak, Wangsa Maju, Sentul, Keramat, and Kampung Baru. However, only 110 questionnaires were received and 100 were usable for the study. The data was analyzed using the SPSS software to test for reliability of items and relationships between the independent and dependent variables. The findings revealed that there was no relationship between Malay women entrepreneurs’ Emotional Quotient and business sustainability during the economic crisis. Interestingly, there was a positive and significant relationship between EQ and resilience among Malay women entrepreneurs.  This implies that Malay women entrepreneurs in Malaysia were highly resilient to ensure that their business was sustained during the economic crisis.  Hence, both EQ and resilience of women entrepreneurs need to be enhanced to promote business sustainability during the economic crisis.