Gender and Entrepreneurship

This study of small, lifestyle ventures owned by women focuses on the strategic, firm-level factors related to business performance. A theoretical model drawing on the resource-based theory is developed and tested empirically. The model includes strategic capabilities, management styles, and their relation to performance. It is tested empirically on a sample of 220 Israeli female business owners. Analysis reveals that lifestyle venture performance is highly correlated with certain aspects of the business owner's skills as well as the venture's resources. Paradoxically, the owner/managers in the sample rate their skills and their venture's resources as being weak in precisely those areas that correlate positively with business performance. These findings suggest that performance of lifestyle ventures owned by women depends more on marketing, financial, and managerial skills than on innovation.

This country report on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is part of a regional project focusing on Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. The aim of this research study was to build the capacity of business women's associations and research centers to better serve their members. In addition, this project intended to expand knowledge about women's entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by conducting a survey of female-owned businesses in the five countries.

Uses the neologism "entrepreneur mentality" - paying implicit homage to Foucault's govermentality - to highlight how an entrepreneurial discourse is mobilized as a system of thinking about women entrepreneurs which is able to make some form of that activity thinkable and practicable, namely: who can be an entrepreneur, what entrepreneurship is, what or who is managed by that form of governance of economic relations? Discourses on women entrepreneurs are linguistic practices that create truth effects. Argues that social studies of women entrepreneurs tend to reproduce an androcentric entrepreneur mentality that makes hegemonic masculinity invisible. They portray women's organizations as "the other", and sustain social expectations of their difference, thereby implicitly reproducing male experience as a preferred normative value. Taking a deconstructive gaze on how an entrepreneur-mentality discourse is gendered, reveals the gender sub-text underpinning the practices of the scientific community that study women entrepreneurs and, in so doing, open a space to question them.(Publication abstract)

Abstract While entrepreneurship is touted as an opportunity for women to exploit opportunities that are often not available in the traditional workplace, the rate of participation in entrepreneurship is lower for women than it is for men. What remains relatively unclear are the reasons that make this so.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and critically analyse the relationship between gender and
entrepreneurial motivations theories in an Irish context. The paper examines potential differences in
motivational factors for entering entrepreneurship between men and women, with a particular emphasis on the
distinction between push and pull factors, but also with respect to other social factors such as being a parent,
marital status or age. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws upon data obtained from a national
survey of 832 entrepreneurs undertaken in Ireland in 2003/2004. This survey is based on a sample of 3,498
Irish entrepreneurs, which was predominantly constructed using the Kompass Directory 2001 and the majority
of the city and county enterprise boards throughout Ireland. The analysis relies on ordinal logistic modelling to
examine the impact of gender and other social factors on entrepreneurial motivations. Findings - The paper
shows that there is a strong gender effect on some motivational factors, but that gender itself needs to be
examined along with other social factors in order to understand differences in motivations. In particular, marital
status, being a parent and/or age, as well as their interaction with gender, are useful in explaining differences in
pathways into entrepreneurship for men and women. Originality/value - Motivations and gender have been
widely debated in the international literature on entrepreneurship, but relatively little is known about gender and
entrepreneurship in an Irish context. This paper seeks to address this gap. The results will be useful to other
researchers in the field of gender and entrepreneurship, as well as practitioners and business support agencies

This conceptual paper discusses about the actualization of the entrepreneurial intention among graduates to become entrepreneurs upon graduation that are found, at many instances, to be at the lowest level. This conceptualization is built upon the notion of previous studies that propose a positive relationship between graduates who studied entrepreneurship in tertiary education institutions and entrepreneurial intention and the importance of industry experience. Entrepreneurship activities assist in the country employment concern and it also induces economic growth through employment creation and reduces unemployment rate. Based on the theory of planned behaviour, this paper explains on the development of the conceptual framework to investigate the missing link between the acquired knowledge gained from taught entrepreneurial education taught at tertiary institutions and the experience with interfacing with the industry in explaining the needed forces for the graduates to actually become entrepreneurs upon graduation. The conceptual framework should be able to drive study and investigation for making entrepreneurial intention becomes real. The mix between educationist and industry collaboration provides the missing link between graduates' entrepreneurial intention and its actualization.

Gender entrepreneurship research rarely focuses on women entrepreneurs of traditional medicine.  This thesis analyzes how traditional gender roles influence the motivations and management strategies of jamu entrepreneurs (mostly women) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  Jamu is Javanese traditional medicine, made with local plant ingredients to treat a variety of diseases and to enhance overall wellbeing.  Feminist perspectives of entrepreneurship and institutional theory guide this research in understanding the embedded experiences of jamu sellers within larger social structures.  Using snowball and convenience sampling methods, thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted in Javanese and translated into English.  Transcripts were analyzed with NVivo software.  Findings show that motivations, to start and run jamu businesses, and management strategies are influenced by existing gender roles; jamu sellers seek to access and manage resources (social, human, and financial capital) while fulfilling their roles as mothers, spouses, and caretakers.  Institutional gender inequality limits opportunities to operate and expand businesses successfully.

This research compares female entrepreneurship in two post socialist countries (Ukraine and Poland) after different stages of societal transformation. Poland followed a rapid transition, leading to European Union membership, while Ukraine took a slower development path. Women who are entrepreneurs in both countries share many common features and challenges; however, there are important differences in the experiences of respondents in these emerging markets. Qualitative methodology was applied by the researchers: focus groups with women entrepreneurs were conducted in Kyiv (Ukraine) and Krakow (Poland) in order to discuss key drivers and barriers of starting and operating a local business. Findings demonstrate that there is a difference in the initial drivers for women entrepreneurs in Poland and Ukraine. During the business start up phase Polish women were often driven by the “opportunity”, and Ukrainian women were mostly driven by “necessity.” Financial aspects were also reflected in the research findings: most respondents from Ukraine and Poland started their businesses relying mainly on self-financing, combined in some instances of financial support from family/friends, due to lack of bank loan opportunities. In both countries women relied on personal networks and informal sources of advice for business development. Polish women demonstrate confidence in their competences and ambition, whereas Ukrainian women tended to be more modest and less vocal about business success. The research results show a diversity of business approaches in these two emerging markets, reflecting on the specifics of transitioning economies. They seem to illustrate the very different historical inheritances bestowed by the Soviet past on the two countries.

The growth of the proportion of female-owned businesses has been constant
over the past decades. However, despite the persistence of the phenomenon,
research has shown that female-owned businesses were still smaller and
underperforming in terms of growth as compared to male-owned firms. This
research contributed to updating the state of knowledge on this topic given the
constant evolution of female entrepreneurs’ profile, as well as the characteristics
of their businesses. A sample of 1,211 entrepreneurs from Canada, Mexico, and the
United States, was tested in order to examine these issues

Helene Ahl is a key player in bringing post-structural feminism to the forefront of gender entrepreneurship research and theory. Her work problematizes the way researchers traditionally approached entrepreneurs through the consideration that entrepreneurship is a concept normalized as masculine and the idea that the success of gender enterprises is often measured by such standards.  She also brings to light the problem that most influential research on gender entrepreneurship is conducted within Western contexts and written by Western scholars, therefore, overlooking other cultural viewpoints of entrepreneurship.

In light of the above considerations, the goal of this paper is to explore the shortcomings of normalized concepts surrounding the research of gender entrepreneurship by focusing on informal gender enterprises centered on traditional medicine in Southern Java, Indonesia.  The case study analyzed in this paper confirms the concerns highlighted by post-structural feminist theorists such as Ahl.  This study emphasizes the need to consider local social institutions and gender constructions, as well as local historical and economic settings, as the driving forces which shape the phenomenon of “entrepreneurship” and “entrepreneurs”.

Purpose COVID-19 pandemic triggered unexpected crises, which were beyond the imaginations of a common man. It changed the order of routine life and the business world. In this challenging condition, the survival of the small business was at high risk. Following experiential learning theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore women's entrepreneurial learning obtained during the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges experienced by them and strategies undertaken to transform businesses. Design/methodology/approach To explore Pakistani women entrepreneurs' lived experiences and learning during the COVID-19, researchers used a qualitative interview design. The interviewees reported their experiences about the effects of COVID-19 on their business and entrepreneurial learning from such a crisis. Findings The findings of the study indicate new fractions of knowledge from the novel learning of the female entrepreneurs throughout the experience of the COVID-19. The transformation fr...

Traditional literature and research on entrepreneurship relies on a model of economic rationality alleged to be universal and agendered. This article presents a description of the processes that position people as ‘men’ and ‘women’ within entrepreneurial practices and as ‘entrepreneurs’ within gender practices, relying on an ethnographic study carried out in small enterprises in Italy. Our analysis shows how gender and entrepreneurship are enacted as situated practices and how the codes of a gendered identity are kept, changed and transgressed by constantly sliding between different symbolic spaces. In particular we highlight five processes of the symbolic construction of gender and entrepreneurship: managing the dual presence, doing ceremonial and remedial work, boundary-keeping, footing and gender commodification. We then propose a final metaphor which conveys a summary image of these processes. In concluding, we link our analysis to the original purpose of our investigation, highlighting not only how entrepreneurship is equated with the masculine, but also how alternative and possible forms of entrepreneurship exist, in the same way as different forms of gender.

The Faculty of Business, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania,
        in partnership with
NWU School of Business & Governance, North West University, South Africa;
The Centre for Strategic & International Entrepreneurship, Cracow University of Economics, Poland; and
The Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, Siauliai University, Lithuania

Are pleased to announce:
The International Conference SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD, 8th Edition

September 28th-30th, 2017, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Conference Objectives:

The main objective of the present conference is to encourage researches concerning SMEs in a globalized world through networking and collaboration between academics and practitioners.

The conference also aims to serve as a forum between entrepreneurs, managers, academics and researchers who are invited to exchange information, knowledge and experience in the broad filed of SMEs matters.


Conference Language: English.



Conference Main Topics:

 opportunities and challenges that SMEs face in globalization
 development strategies for SMEs in the context of globalization;
 local, regional and global issues for SMEs;
 microfinance, angel finance, venture capital and the SMEs;
 taxation and accounting matters for SMEs;
 entrepreneurship;
 business opportunities in IT&C;
 knowledge and innovation;
 entrepreneurship and business statistics;
 marketing policies;
 HRM policies.



All the papers not investigating the above listed topics, thus discussing other challenging issues related to the general topic of the conference will be considered as well.

There will be organized a special panel for undergraduate, master and PhD
student papers.

A panel session may be organized by a group of four – five people who give their regular presentations on a given subject (at their choice). After acceptance, the promoter will be responsible for the session and will chair it. In order to organize the Special Session, please send by March 31st 2017 the following information: title of the session; a paragraph describing the content of the session; name, surname and affiliation of the session chair/co-chairs and email address.

For more details, please see: http://tbs.ubbcluj.ro/conference17/

Organizing committee contacts:
Prof.dr. Cornelia Pop: cornelia.pop@tbs.ubbcluj.ro
Assoc.prof.dr. Oana Gica: oana.gica@tbs.ubbcluj.ro
Lecturer dr. Cristina Balint: cristina.balint@tbs.ubbcluj.ro
Lecturer dr. Monica Maria Coros: monica.coros@tb.ubbcluj.ro

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the construction of master narratives related to age, gender and entrepreneurship in the context of entrepreneurship education (EE) in Finnish higher education (HE). This is important as master narratives create and limit our understanding of entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachThe data comprises 30 student interviews generated in one multidisciplinary Finnish university. The data were analyzed using narrative positioning analysis to examine what kinds of master narratives are (re)constructed in relation to age and entrepreneurship by Finnish university students and how gender intertwines with age in the construction of entrepreneurship.FindingsThree aged and gendered master narratives were identified: (1) youthful, masculine, startup/growth entrepreneurship; (2) middle-aged feminine, expert entrepreneurship and (3) modest, feminine, senior entrepreneurship. The paper makes visible aged and gendered master narratives and cultura...

Many think-tanks and advocacy groups have sought to highlight the need to embrace women not only in mainstream employment but more importantly in leadership. The present study, which is a comparative study, looked at the differences between the traditional view of women and the attitude of employees towards female managers in the private and public sectors of Ghana. The study purposively selected 120 respondents from two private and public sector organizations with parity. Independent't' test was employed in analysing the four hypotheses. Employees from public organizations showed more favourable attitude towards female managers than employees from the private sector. Employees who had had satisfying previous interactions with female managers were likely to express positive attitude toward them than those who had had regrettable experiences. Female employees and younger employees demonstrated more favourable attitudes toward female managers than male and older employees. The present findings lend support to the social identity theory that women would be more receptive than male to the appropriateness of having women serve in managerial roles but contradict the position of the role incongruity theory that women performing agentic roles characteristic of men will be resisted because they are performing roles uncharacteristic of their gender. Implication for employers, administrators and policy makers are discussed.

Many think-tanks and advocacy groups have sought to highlight the need to embrace women not only in mainstream employment but more importantly in leadership. The present study, which is a comparative study, looked at the differences between the traditional view of women and the attitude of employees towards female managers in the private and public sectors of Ghana. The study purposively selected 120 respondents from two private and public sector organizations with parity. Independent't' test was employed in analysing the four hypotheses. Employees from public organizations showed more favourable attitude towards female managers than employees from the private sector. Employees who had had satisfying previous interactions with female managers were likely to express positive attitude toward them than those who had had regrettable experiences. Female employees and younger employees demonstrated more favourable attitudes toward female managers than male and older employees. The...

Gender and Entrepreneurship As well as being an economic phenomenon, entrepreneurship can also be read as a cultural one. Entrepreneurial action can be related to gender for a cross-reading of how gender and entrepreneurship are culturally produced and ...

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of governmental support policies and socio-cultural influences on female entrepreneurship in rural Vietnam. As such, the study addresses an important literature gap concerning female entrepreneurship within rural communities in South East Asia. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with six female entrepreneurs and six female non-entrepreneurs in northern Vietnam to examine the influence of various environmental factors on female entrepreneurship in a rural setting. Findings – The results suggest that government pro-entrepreneurship policies, together with private sector interventions, have had an impact on rural Vietnam. Yet females in rural and remote Vietnam are still constrained by societal prejudices, financial limitations, and limited entrepreneurship educational opportunities. Originality/value – The paper's originality lies in its review of the circumstances confronting w...

Traditional literature and research on entrepreneurship relies on a model of economic rationality alleged to be universal and agendered. This article presents a description of the processes that position people as 'men' and 'women' within entrepreneurial practices and as ...

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of governmental support policies and socio-cultural influences on female entrepreneurship in rural Vietnam. As such, the study addresses an important literature gap concerning female entrepreneurship within rural communities in South East Asia. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with six female entrepreneurs and six female non-entrepreneurs in northern Vietnam to examine the influence of various environmental factors on female entrepreneurship in a rural setting. Findings – The results suggest that government pro-entrepreneurship policies, together with private sector interventions, have had an impact on rural Vietnam. Yet females in rural and remote Vietnam are still constrained by societal prejudices, financial limitations, and limited entrepreneurship educational opportunities. Originality/value – The paper's originality lies in its review of the circumstances confronting w...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptually and empirically explore issues that explain why women entrepreneurs access only a small percentage of venture capital (VC) investment in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The focus is on the situations women entrepreneurs face, and the strategies they adopt, to successfully fund their high-growth businesses with venture funding. Rather than looking

Purpose The role of women in Pakistani society – largely embedded in its patriarchal socio–cultural environment – has important implications for women’s entrepreneurial activity in the country. This study aims to investigate and analyse the influence of informal institutional factors on women’s entry into entrepreneurship in Pakistan, and determine how women exercise agency to cope with the constraints posed by such factors. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach is used to explore the normative context and lived experiences of women entrepreneurs in relation to the influence of socio–cultural beliefs and attitudes on their entrepreneurial career choices. Findings The findings suggest that women’s entrepreneurial career choices both revolve around and are shaped by a complex interplay of socio–cultural influences. Pakistani women entrepreneurs exercise their agency as a means of negotiating gender roles within both household and society, using religious descriptions as a...

This paper elucidates how images of women's entrepreneurship presented by the media may be decoded and interpreted. The aim of the contribution is to enhance our understanding of how women interpret their opportunities and possibilities as entrepreneurs using foucs groups to analyze how images of female entrepreneurs are visually constructed and represented in TV-documentaries.

La précarité chez les entrepreneurs reste ainsi un sujet tabou, notamment parmi les individus les plus vulnérables ; ici les femmes entrepreneures de nécessité. À travers ce chapitre, basé sur la méthode des récits de vie, nous avons tenté d'étudier la trajectoire de dix entrepreneures qui se battent tous les jours en tentant de fuir la pauvreté. Loin de l'image héroïque de l'entrepreneur start-uppeur, malgré un contexte difficile, et sans jamais se victimiser, ces femmes passionnées et passionnantes, démontrent un vrai engagement dans un processus d'émancipation entrepreneuriale, évitant par là-même la dépendance vis-à-vis de leur conjoint. Souvent victimes de discrimination (e.g. accès au financement), elles abordent l'entrepreneuriat avec beaucoup de courage. Leur principale motivation est de subvenir aux besoins de leur famille. Les entrepreneures rencontrées font également preuve de solidarité et n'hésitent pas à faire appel à leur réseau proche (amis, parents, famille). L'ensemble des parties prenantes (pouvoirs publics, chefs d'entreprises, entrepreneurs, etc.) devrait réfléchir collectivement sur des modes de financement supplémentaires qui serviraient à renforcer l'accompagnement entrepreneurial des femmes entrepreneures de nécessité. Contrairement aux idées reçues, ces personnes en situation de précarité-devenues entrepreneures-contribuent, elles aussi, à l'activité économique.