Characteristics of E-entrepreneurship and E-entrepreneurs in Oman

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has received great attention worldwide due to the role it plays in the changes and development of the social and economic fields. Entrepreneurship works as a tool for strategic development and renewal and is considered as one of the decision-making inputs. Therefore, in light of the technological progress that the world is witnessing now, the exploitation of social media in the fields of entrepreneurship is imperative. Locally, Omani entrepreneurs are taking advantage of mobile technology to create e-entrepreneurship. This study aimed to study the e-entrepreneurship in Sultanate of Oman, and its two main objectives were to identify the most important characteristics of e-entrepreneurship in Oman and to identify the features of Omani e-entrepreneurs. The study followed the descriptive research design. The study sample consisted of 48 participants who responded to a questionnaire. The findings of the study indicated e- entrepreneurship in Oman varied between newly created and repeated products and services. They were traded by using social media applications (64.6%), distributed among the Omani governorates and the income of e- entrepreneurship was between 200 O.R and 800 O.R. The features of the sampled e-entrepreneurs included commitment, ambition, creativity, competitiveness, risk-taking and self-confidence which showed an average awareness level (M= 4.12) of e- entrepreneurship. The study recommended redirecting Omani e-entrepreneurs, especially job seekers, towards working in new e-entrepreneurship fields that add innovative products and services that maintain a commitment to the requirements of society.