MICROENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY: UNDERSTANDING MOTIVATIONS, CHALLENGES, RISKS, BENEFITS, AND CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

The entrepreneurship ecosystem in Egypt is inadequate and recorded as the highest rate of business discontinuation. Despite this, limited studies have investigated this issue. This study seeks to investigate the concept of microentrepreneurship in the hospitality industry by exploring its motivations, challenges, risks, benefits, and critical success factors. The current study adopted a qualitative approach and used the semistructured interview as an instrument for collecting primary data. A total of 38 semistructured interviews were conducted with owners of hospitality microbusinesses as well as with academic and official experts in the entrepreneurship field. Collected data were transcribed, translated, and then analyzed using the thematic analysis technique. The results showed that entrepreneurs were mainly driven by economic motivations to engage in hospitality microbusiness, while limited financial resources represented a serious challenge for many microventures. Appropriate income was also perceived to be a significant advantage of hospitality microentrepreneurship. The findings revealed some key success factors for hospitality microbusinesses such as innovative or novel business ventures and competence and commitment of entrepreneurs to manage the business. The study provides valuable practical implications that would help supporting hospitality microenterprises.