Purpose: This paper examines the challenges associated with rural women entrepreneurs in Oman. The study is based on women living in rural and highland areas who aim to move beyond their traditional roles in the family seeking avenues for growth and development. It identifies several problems encountered by rural women entrepreneurs and the impact on their future business opportunities.Design/methodology/approach: A mixed research approach involving quantitative and qualitative elements was adopted for the study. The research is based on 183 survey responses and personal interviews with 8 rural women entrepreneurs. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted to analyse the quantitative responses and depict a model featuring the intensity of the problems affecting business opportunities. Seven short cases based upon the interviews with rural women entrepreneurs are also detailed.Findings: Several problems experienced by rural women entrepreneurs were identified hampering their business ventures, linked to personality, family, educational, socio-cultural, facilities, legal, financial and economic, organizational and geographical, out of which household, organizational and geographical linked problems were most significant. Entrepreneurial opportunities for rural women entrepreneurs are discussed.Practical implications: The research suggests that the policymakers should holistically consider how the rural women engaged in informal business for various means can be better supported and sustained by overcoming associated problems, can achieve business opportunities and contribute to regional socio-economic development.Originality/value: There is a limited literature available on rural women entrepreneurship in an Arab context. The study provides an overview of the challenges and problems experienced by these women and the support areas required to overcome them for their sustainability in this region.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the barriers confronted by rural women entrepreneurs in Oman. The study focusses on women living in rural and mountain areas who aspire to move beyond their traditional family roles. It identifies several problems including accessing funding for new ventures and innovative activities, a lack of skills-based training and limited family support. Design/methodology/approach: Based on 57 responses to a semi-structured questionnaire, and face to face qualitative interviews with ten women entrepreneurs. Quantitative responses are evaluated and ranked in terms of their mean score, standard deviation and the intensity of each factor shaping rural women entrepreneurship. Five qualitative cases are presented. Findings: Although Oman is arguably one of the more progressive Arab countries regarding gender equality and women empowerment, the findings exhibit socio-cultural concerns which hamper women entrepreneurial venture creations and their subsequent success. The findings of the research are discussed using the three dimensions of entrepreneurship identified by Wenneker and Thurik (1999). The three dimensions are: conditions leading to entrepreneurship, characteristics of entrepreneurship and outcomes of entrepreneurship. Practical implications: Suggests that Omani policymakers should consider how women entrepreneurs can be better supported so that they can diversify household income by starting new ventures while simultaneously contributing to the socio-economic development of the region. A number of suggestions on how this can be achieved are presented. Originality/value: Research on rural women entrepreneurship in the context of an Arab country is scarce and the study can provide an overview of the obstacles and the support required for the development of the rural women entrepreneurship in this region.

Organizational cynicism has been a topic of discussion and debate among employees and top management. The purpose of this study is to find out the relationship between organizational cynicism and organizational pride. Precisely, the objectives are to identify and measure organizational cynicism among employees in industrial organizations; to determine and measure the degree of organizational pride among employees in industrial organizations and to study the effect of organizational cynicism on the organizational pride of employees in industrial organizations. In this empirical research, the study population was employees of industrial organizations of Oman. Using a purposive sampling technique, nine industrial organizations from Oman were picked. With the help of structured questionnaire, data from 350 respondents was obtained. Structural equation modeling was used through Amos version 25.0 for data analysis. The results reveal that the two dimensions of organizational cynicism (affective cynicism and behavioral cynicism) have a significant and negative impact on emotional pride, while cognitive cynicism does not significantly effect emotional pride. The study results indicate that the one dimension of organizational cynicism (affective cynicism) has a significant impact on attitudinal pride, while the rest of the other dimensions (cognitive cynicism, behavioral cynicism) do not have a significant effect on attitudinal pride. The limitations and implications of the research are also discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate various problems experienced by cottage-based women entrepreneurs to launch and develop their ventures in Oman and to focus on women going beyond their traditional family roles for various reasons to establish themselves in Omani society. Design/methodology/approach: The study applies a mixed research approach using a quantitative survey of 142 cottage-based Omani women entrepreneurs and qualitative face-to-face interviews with ten women entrepreneurs, presented as six short case studies. The intensity of the business-related problems is determined through the exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis is used to confirm the model by determining the goodness of fit between hypothesized model and sample data. Findings: Access to government for current business needs, access to specialized suppliers for staying ahead of the competition and high cost of raw materials were the problems mentioned as being important, while marketing-oriented problems were of least concern. Research limitations/implications: This study was undertaken in one region of Oman only and thus poses problems when extrapolating the findings to other areas. Practical implications: The study suggests how policymakers can support women entrepreneurs to diversify and start new ventures while simultaneously contributing to the socio-economic development of Oman. Originality/value: Research on cottage entrepreneurship in the context of an Arab country is scarce and the study provides an overview of the obstacles and support required for the development of women entrepreneurship in Oman.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of cloud accounting (CA) in Oman’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The research model is developed based on relationships between technology, organisational and environmental contexts. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a questionnaire to collect data from a sample of SMEs in Oman’s information and communication sector. In total, 300 enterprises were selected, and the questionnaire was distributed to the executives. The questionnaires valid for analysis were 159. The collected data were analysed using structural equation modelling through analysis of a moment structures software. Findings: This study tested seven factors, namely, support from top management, firm size, infrastructure (technology readiness), security and privacy, compatibility, competitive pressure and relative advantage. The results revealed that compatibility has a significant impact on the adoption of CA. Practical implications: This study suggests the mangers in SMEs should play a more decisive role in identification of technological, organisational and environmental factors that affect the success of implementing CA in a comprehensive model. Originality/value: This study constitutes a management strategy that helps the enterprises in light of limited economic resources and concerns about the use of cloud services to make the appropriate decision in adopting CA.