Social ties and small-scale businesses in Malaysia - Innovative behaviour amongst online women entrepreneurs

Internet usage is essential and a basic necessity for women entrepreneurs to embark and sustain their entrepreneurial activity. The success or failure of women entrprenuer’s participation in the entrepreneurship field depends on their innovative behaviour in forging social ties with family, friends, workers, customers and suppliers who bring benefitsto them in both material and non-material manner. Social ties can be characterized as conventional and nonconventional ties. Conventional ties entail ties established through face-to-face interaction, while non-conventional ties are forged on-line and thus does not require physical encounter. Given that online entrepreneurship is becoming widely common amongst women entrepreneurs in Malaysia, especially in small-scale businesses, this article examines the innovative behaviour shown by the Klang Valley women entrepreneurs who were involved in smallscale businesses in forging and establishing the two types of social ties. A qualitative study using semi-structured interview method was used to collect the data which were then analysed by thematic analysis. In general, the findings revealed that the social ties established were complex in that both conventional and non-conventional ties or business purposes. Social ties were forged and consolidated with family members, friends, customers, agents, suppliers and their competitors. The range of network ties had contributed to the growth and consolidation of the women’s businesses since inception until its current operation.