Effect of Psychological Empowerment Dimensions on Entrepreneurial Behavior among Rural Women: A Model for Promoting the Role of Women in Economic Development

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of psychological empowerment dimensions on entrepreneurial behavior among rural women in Marvdasht County. Statistical population consisted of all active women (15 to 65 years) in rural area of Marvdasht County, that using Bartlett et al.’s sampling table, 227 of them were selected as the sample using the multistage cluster sampling method (n=227). The main instrument in this study was standard questionnaire which its validity were confirmed by the panel of experts and its reliability was established by Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. Data were analyzed by SPSSwin26 and SmartPLSwin3 softwares in two parts of descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that the status of entrepreneurial behavior among rural women in Marvdasht County was at the moderate (3) Level. The results of structural equation modeling showed that the sense of competence, Meaning and impact had a positive and significant effect on the entrepreneurial behavior among rural women in Marvdasht County, while the effect of sense of self-determination on entrepreneurial behavior among rural women in Marvdasht County was not confirmed. In addition, the results showed that the psychological empowerment dimensions were able to explain about 46% of the variance changes in entrepreneurial behavior among rural women in Marvdasht County. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of this study were discussed to help researchers and policy makers.