Mary NamusongeSalome MusauChok, Joseph Manyang2023-02-012023-02-012022http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/24592A Thesis Submitted in the School of Business, Economics, and Tourism of Kenyatta University In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Science in Entrepreneurship of Kenyatta University, November, 2022In entrepreneurship research studies, there is an assertion that the alignment of contextual and other individual and organisational factors will enhance positive entrepreneurial performance-related outcomes. This assertion needs to be empirically validated in a South Sudan context where research studies on performance of women-owned enterprises have received limited attention among scholars. In view of the above background, this study investigated the effect of environmental factors on performance of women owned enterprises in Juba County, South Sudan. Specifically, the study investigated the effect of socio-cultural, political-legal, and economic factors on performance of women-owned enterprises in Juba County, South Sudan. In addition, the study tested the mediating effect of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between environmental factors and performance of women-owned enterprises in Juba County, South Sudan. The study was anchored on Contingency, Cultural, and resource-Based View theories. The study was guided by Positivist approach and study research design was the combination of descriptive and explanatory designs. The study target population comprised 107 women-owned enterprises duly registered under Chamber of Commerce in Juba County, South Sudan. Census approach was adopted, and stratified and simple random sampling were employed to select the study respondents who were the owners of the registered enterprises. Survey data were collected using a close-ended questionnaire, and Statistical Package for Social Sciences was employed as analytical software tool. Prior the use of multiple regression statistics, relevant diagnostic tests such as linearity, normality, collinearity tests, were conducted and it was found that the assumptions of multiple regression warranting its use in data analysis were not violated. Multiple regression method was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of confidence. The findings show that macro-environmental factor had a significant relationship with performance of women-owned enterprises in Juba, South Sudan. In addition, economic factor was found to have a significant but negative effect on performance of women-owned enterprises, and entrepreneurial orientation was found to have a full and significant mediating effect on performance of women-owned enterprises in Juba County, South Sudan. Political-legal and socio-cultural factors were identified by the respondents as forces within women-owned enterprise; however, they were found with no significant effect on performance of women-owned enterprises in Juba County, South Sudan. The study concludes that macro-environmental factors significantly predicted performance of women-owned enterprises in Juba County, South Sudan. The study therefore recommended that friendly economic policies that will enhance entrepreneurial orientation outcomes leading to the performance of women-owned enterprises should be initiated by Governments at different levels in South Sudan. In addition, Government of the Republic of South Sudan needs to make the political environment attractive as this will encourage women to fully engage in entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore, entrepreneurial education and training should be organised in various social institutions so that people will understand the need to embrace entrepreneurship and encourage more participation of women in ownership of enterprises.enMacro-Environmental FactorsPerformanceWomen-Owned EnterprisesJuba CountySouth SudanThesis