Soft skills, communication skills and hard skills influencing the motivation and satisfaction of women entrepreneurs

Abstract

Despite the increase in women entrepreneurs pursuing careers in the service industry, entrepreneurship is inherently challenging and women still face various difficulties. This article examines the characteristics of women entrepreneurs related to the soft skills, communication skills, and hard skills that influence their pull and push motivators and, ultimately, satisfaction, and sheds light on women entrepreneurship in Croatia. A quantitative study was conducted on a sample of women entrepreneurs. A structured questionnaire collected primary data to obtain the profile of a women entrepreneur in Croatia. The questionnaire was developed from the literature review and adapted for this research, including the six key areas derived from the hypotheses developed in the research model. The research methodology consists of quantitative analysis using PLS-SEM. Findings indicate that soft skills, communication skills, and hard skills affect both push and pull motivators. However, only pull motivators positively influence the satisfaction of women entrepreneurs in the service sector. The paper’s theoretical contribution is the critical synthesis of the relevant academic literature on women entrepreneurs, in particular its examination of key success factors underlined by communication skills, soft skills and hard skills. The empirical contribution of the paper is based on its examination of the relationships between the skills of women entrepreneurs such as soft skills, communication skills and hard skills, which are statistically significant for pull and push motivators and hence satisfaction. It also provides a research basis for future business development support and for harnessing the potential of women entrepreneurial skills based on soft, communication and hard skills development.