The relationship of female entrepreneurs with individual innovation levels and socio-demographic variables: The example of Guinea

In this study, which investigated the relationship between the individual innovativeness levels of women entrepreneurs in Guinea and their socio-demographic variables, the survey method, one of the quantitative research techniques, was used.A questionnaire form was distributed to 550 women entrepreneurs selected by simple random sampling method living in Conakry and Kindia regions of Guinea, and feedback was received from 480 participants.Of these, 130 questionnaires were canceled because they were fılled in incorrectly and incompletely. The number of valid questionnaires included in the analysis is 350. In the study, a questionnaire consisting of two parts was used as a data collection tool.In the fırst part, there are seven questions questioning the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants.In the second part of the questionnaire, Hurt et al. (1977) and adapted into Turkish by Kılıçer and Odabaşı (2010) were used. The individual innovativeness scale consists of twenty questions. As a result of the study, no statistically signifıcant relationship was found between the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants and their individual innovativeness levels.However, it was determined that there was a signifıcant relationship between the sub-dimension of resistance to change and the marital status and age of the participants. The mean resistance to change of married people is higher than the mean of single people, and the mean of resistance to change of the participants aged 36 and over is higher than the participants in the lower age groups. It has been concluded that there is a signifıcant relationship between the education level of the participants and the income levels they define for opinion leadership, one of the sub-dimensions of the individual innovativeness scale. Accordingly, the opınıon leadership sub-dimension averages of women entrepreneurs with postgraduate education are signifıcantly higher than those with other education levels. Another result obtained in the study is the existence ofa statistically signifıcant relationship between the sub-dimension of openness to experience and the marital status, age, place of residence, environment and education level of the participants. This result shows that those who are single have a higher average openness to experience than those who are married, those who are in the 18-25 and 26-35 age groups, and those who live alone have a higher average openness to experience than those who live with their families.On the other hand, the mean of openness to experience sub-dimension of graduate graduates is signifıcantly higher than those who have other education levels, and those who live in cities and metropolises than those who live in sub-provinces, districts, towns and villages. Finally, it was concluded that there is a signifıcant relationship between the risk­taking sub-dimension, which is one of the individual innovativeness level sub­dimensions, and the variables of the existence of ehil dren, age and place of residence of women entrepreneurs.Accordingly, the risk-taking sub-dimension averages of the participants with children are signifıcantly higher than those without children. in addition, it was concluded that the risk-taking sub-dimension averages of women entrepreneurs between the ages of 18-25 and 26-35 and those living alone were higher than those in the higher age groups and those living with their families. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, woman entrepreneur, innovation, individual innovation