Effects of Inequality on the Relationship Between Gender, Self- Efficacy, and Entrepreneurial Success

Abstract

There is meta-analytic evidence that higher self-efficacy is associated with greater entrepreneurial success; however, there is unexplained variance in this relationship. We predict that higher levels of self- efficacy might not tend to translate as readily into entrepreneurial success for women as they do for men. To test this proposition, we performed a meta-analytic regression on studies (k=101) that assessed the relation of self-efficacy with entrepreneurial success. In line with social role theory, we find that the relation between self- efficacy and success in entrepreneurship tends to be lower for women in societies with high gender inequality.