Abstract
PurposeThis paper aims to further the understanding of women entrepreneurs' multiple identities by exploring how they interact throughout women's life cycles.Design/methodology/approachThis article combines a case study and a narrative analysis to investigate the experience of a woman who founded a business and retired after passing it on to her son. Data were collected by combining two different methods: biographical interview and follow-up interviews or conversations.FindingsFindings show that interactions between a woman entrepreneur's multiple identities may evolve through two main processes of change: transformation and fading. In the transformation process, adverse interactions between identities turn into synergistic and fruitful relationships. In the fading process, conflicts between identities gradually disappear, giving way to peaceful coexistence. Women's agency proves paramount in making these processes possible and helping her achieve personal and professional fulfillment.Originality/valueIn prior studies, women entrepreneurs have mostly been observed at a specific time or stage in their life and entrepreneurial experience. This paper responds to the call for the adoption of a dynamic perspective in the analysis of interactions among a woman entrepreneur's multiple identities so as to show how they may evolve during her entrepreneurial experience.
Highlights
Studies on women entrepreneurship have recently received new impetus from identity theory
Vittoria’s narrative shows that she enacted three main identities that interacted throughout her life: entrepreneur, woman, mother. This is not a surprising result as many other scholars have identified these three identities as those that mainly challenge the identity work of women entrepreneurs (Chasserio et al, 2014; Stirzaker and Sitko, 2019). Interactions among these identities have been mainly observed in specific phases of women entrepreneurial careers and how such interactions may change throughout women entrepreneurs’ lives and careers is not well known
In line with the purpose of this study, Vittoria’s narrative is analyzed to understand (1) how her multiple identities interacted in the various phases of her entrepreneurial experience and (2) how such interactions changed throughout her life and career
Summary
Studies on women entrepreneurship have recently received new impetus from identity theory. By drawing on this theory, the concept of identity work has been fruitful to highlight a woman’s need to actively overcome major obstacles to build on a credible identity as an entrepreneur and claim legitimacy in a masculinized context (Alsos et al, 2016; Sveningsson and Alvesson, 2003; Watson, 2008). The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ legalcode
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