A Multi-level Study of Social Institutions and National culture on Gender Aspects of Firm Growth

Abstract

Does country level context matter? By examining both the main effect, and the interaction (social institutions and Hofstede’s cultural values) between national factors to the firm on employment growth, this multilevel study contributes to firm growth literatures from the aspect of gender. The multilevel model was used to analyze sample of 37,940 firms from 26 countries using World Bank’s Enterprise survey data. The results of cross-level analysis showed a variation in firm growth due to different gender demography in firm ownership. This finding is consistent with previous studies suggesting gender differences in firm growth. Supporting social feminist theory, and the theoretical perspective suggesting fit between national culture and management practice, the results also contribute additional evidence that gender linked firm growth at the organizational level is moderated by the preeminence of certain cultural values. The results, however, find insignificant moderating effect of social institutions (political governance and gender inequality) based on liberal feminist perspective. Nonetheless, this study offers a number of noteworthy theoretical insights and managerial implications for gender demography literature on firm growth. The limitations of this study and implications for future research are also discussed.