An AHP analysis of scientometrically derived factors of entrepreneurial intentions of women and constructing a conceptual research framework

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of women to better understand the cognition process of women which will help to identify the reason for their inadequate participation in the field of entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach This study follows the method of a traditional literature survey followed by scientometric analysis to identify the primary factors to the EI of women. The factors obtained from the literature review were provided to the nominal group, and the process of nominal group technique (NGT) was carried out to frame a research framework. The factors were then ranked based on their significance using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), taking into consideration the review of experts. Findings Among the primary factors, personal factors were found to be the most influential factors and weighted 54%. Self-efficacy was found to be the most prominent secondary variable and had a global weight of 22.14%. Research limitations/implications The research outcome has implications for policymaking bodies, investors, academicians and potential women entrepreneurs. Future researchers can apply exploratory research methods and confirmatory research methods to test the research framework. Originality/value Very few researchers have used the technique of scientometric analysis for the review of literature on EI of women, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no earlier researcher has attempted to use the technique of NGT or AHP after scientometric analysis.