Entrepreneurial Competencies of Managers in Hamedan's Rural Women Cooperatives (RWC)

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to analyze the entrepreneurial competencies of the managers of rural women cooperative (RWC) in Hamedan province. The study used a survey method with a questionnaire as the main instrument. Data were collected from a sample of 105 managers. The validity of the questionnaire was verified by a panel of experts and its reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α=0.94). Entrepreneurial competencies of managers were classified into eight factors, including “having strategic goals", “ability to monitor and organize subordinates", “risk-taking", “ability to motivate and trust people", “having a positive attitude and criticism", “ability to identify and understand the needs of customers", “public relation ability", and “acquiring and applying skills and energy". Structural equation modeling (SEM) by LISREL_8.8software was used to estimate a model for the entrepreneurial competencies of RWC managers. Results of SEM showed a good fit of the model with eight factors described before. The fit indices were placed in three main groups including goodness of fit index, comparative fit index, and parsimonious goodness of fit index. The results showed an excellent fit of the indices selected to measure the entrepreneurial competencies of RWC managers with observed variables in Hamedan province.