Am I an entrepreneur? How imposter fears hinder women entrepreneurs’ business growth

Abstract

Although participation of women in entrepreneurship continues to grow, a gender-performance gap persists. While the differential inputs and values perspectives have investigated both external and internal forces that help explain this gap, neither perspective has considered an important cognitive mechanism that captures gender differences: identity. The purpose of this article is to examine the role of imposter fears in shaping entrepreneurial identity and the desire for business growth. Entrepreneurship has long been associated with masculine notions of success, which may lead women to discount themselves as ‘real’ entrepreneurs or successful in the context of these masculine norms. Our goal is to draw attention to women entrepreneurs’ imposter fears in order to understand how women think about and construct their identity as entrepreneurs and subsequently contemplate the success and growth of their ventures. We also propose mitigating factors that can disrupt gendered norms and facilitate self-efficacy for women entrepreneurs in the pursuit of business growth.