The Influence of Financial Management Practices on Women-Owned Boutique Business Performance in Dodoma City

Salome D. Sumbali & Lilian Mlay
Department of Business Administration, College of Business Education- Dodoma, Tanzania
E-mail: sumbalisalome7@gmail.com

Abstract: Although women’s participation in boutique enterprises across the world has continued to increase, many still face challenges in maintaining stable business performance. Weak financial management practices have been observed to constrain their operational efficiency, profitability, and overall growth. This study investigates how financial management practices, keeping, access to credit, and compliance affect the performance of women-owned boutique businesses in Dodoma City, Tanzania. A mixed-methods approach and descriptive research design were employed, involving 96 boutique owners selected through simple random sampling. Quantitative data from structured questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics analysis to obtain a summary of findings in mean and standard deviations, while qualitative data obtained from 12 women-owned boutique businesses through semi-structured interviews and thematically analyzed using constant comparison analysis. Results from descriptive statistics showed financial management practices influence women-owned boutique business performance particularly the two financial management sub variables, indicated that record keeping had the highest (Mean=4.021, S.D=0.438) and compliance having the second (Mean = 3.061, S.D=0.586) positively increased and influenced the likelihood of high performance, while access to credit had the lowest (Mean=2.053, S.D=0.306) showing that most of women-owned boutique faced significant challenges in obtaining external financing to support their business operations. Qualitative insights revealed that effective record keeping promotes financial planning and investor trust, and compliance ensures operational stability, but credit access remains a major growth constraint. The study recommends enhancing financial literacy, promoting regulatory adherence, and improving access to affordable credit to strengthen women-owned boutique performance.