The impact of social media on the development of women's entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia

Zastupljenost žena u poduzetništvu ishod je transformacije društva u drugoj polovici 20. stoljeća, premda je ženska poduzetnička aktivnost prisutna i mnogo ranije. Iako sve više žena pokreće poslovne pothvate i njima upravlja, rodna pripadnost još je duboko ukorijenjena u sam pojam poduzetništva, stoga se žensko poduzetništvo razvilo kao zasebni društveni i ekonomski fenomen, posebno nakon pojave društvenih medija. Cilj rada bio je ispitati stavove poduzetnica u Hrvatskoj o utjecaju društvenih medija na njihov poslovni uspjeh. Također, nastojalo se procijeniti imaju li društveni mediji ulogu u prilagodbi na promjene izazvane društvenom krizom zbog pandemije Covida-19. Istraživanje je provedeno metodom prikupljanja podataka mjernim instrumentom internetskim anketnim upitnikom na uzorku od 50 poduzetnica u Hrvatskoj. Analiza je ukazala na značajan utjecaj društvenih medija na žensko poduzetništvo, kao i na pozitivnu ulogu u transformaciji društvenih zbivanja uslijed globalne krize.The representation of women in entrepreneurship is the outcome of social transformation in the second half of the 20th century, even though women's business activity was present much earlier. Although more and more women are starting and managing business ventures, gender is still deeply rooted in the very concept of entrepreneurship. Thererefore, female entrepreneurship has developed as a separate social and economic phenomenon, especially after the appearance of social media. The aim of this thesis was to examine the attitude of women entrepreneurs in Croatia regarding the influence of social media on their business success. Furthermore, it sought to assess whether social media had a role in adapting to the changes caused by the social crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The research was conducted using the method of data collecting via a web-based questionnaire on the sample of 50 female entrepreneurs in Croatia. The analysis has shown significant influence of social media on women’s entrepreneurship, as well as a positive role in adapting to social events in the midst of a global crisis