Profiling self-employed women in the wellness tourism industry: Through the lens of entrepreneurial orientation and psychological empowerment

Self-employed women are vital to the tourism industry, yet they often face the difficult task of navigating a complex socio-economic landscape where supportive factors are intertwined with discouraging social and cultural barriers. To understand such dynamics, drawing on entrepreneurial orientation and psychological empowerment, this study profiles self-employed women working in the wellness tourism sector. Data were collected from 379 self-employed massage therapists in Thailand. Multiple discriminant analysis identifies three distinct combinations of entrepreneurial orientation and psychological empowerment, categorising self-employed women as Challengers, Explorers, and Visionaries. Reflecting on the socio-economic context they operate, our findings offer a nuanced characterization of self-employed women shared identities. The profiles are manifested in a similar work but with differing entrepreneurial and psychological dispositions, offering theoretical and practical insights at the intersection of employment and tourism research that can be extended to other disciplines.