A experiência da aplicação de um grupo focal com mulheres empreendedoras negras em Governador Valadares-MG

Abstract

Understanding that the versatility of the focus group method can be explored beyond the horizons of its proponents and organizers (typically for the purpose of understanding consumer behavior), this study has a unique objective. It analyzes the latent benefits of Black women's participation in a focus group session, with implications for their entrepreneurial spirit. In other words, it seeks to understand the effects on the interviews themselves, selected as the object of study and/or units of analysis when given the opportunity to participate in a focus group session. To this end, we reviewed the literature on the nuances of focus groups as a qualitative research method and technique, highly appropriate in marketing, sociology, health, and other fields of knowledge. Obviously, the configuration and structural aspects of this procedure and method were central to the methodology adopted here. Thus, the results revealed some advantages for a select group of Black women entrepreneurs who were asked to participate in a scheduled focus group session in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais. In this case, a resurgence of their entrepreneurial spirit was detected due to the networking opportunities promoted, the organizational self-awareness and strengthened entrepreneurial se f-efficacy, the occupational therapy provided, and the presentation and promotion of their respective businesses, with realistic prospects for partnerships and the opening of new potential clients. Thus, the final considerations highlight the multiple virtues of the focus group method, which ultimately stands out for its threefold purpose: it benefits those who hire and prospect the method for the purposes of qualitative research with accurate market analysis; it enhances the profile and managerial competence of those who coordinate, organize, and promote the sessions; and it benefits the social actors who are truly enthusiastic when they participate as units of analysis in the very dynamics of the sessions themselves.