Female entrepreneurs and path-dependency in rural tourism

Abstract

This article discusses the characteristic and constraints of female entrepreneurs in rural tourism. The paper draws on a longitudinal case study following and comparing 26 microbusinesses and entrepreneurs in rural tourism in Norway (Global North) and Chile (Global South) from 2003 until 2020 (Nordbø, 2009, 2018, 2022). It responds to a call for more research on female entrepreneurship from different geographical locations, and from within an industry of great importance for the economic development and vitality of rural areas. The female entrepreneurs in the study stand out with reference to their motivation for running a business, their goals and economic aspirations, priorities, challenges and survival rates, among other things. The findings from the research show that although some of the differences and challenges are clearly related to the female entrepreneurs' embeddedness in national, regional and local contexts and historical path dependency, others are more global in scale and related to the spread and diffusion of Western ideas of entrepreneurship and rural economic development. Female entrepreneurs in rural tourism, more than men, and independent of Global North – Global South location, can become locked into path-dependent trajectories related to rural tourism as an economic sector, tourism entrepreneurship as a rural economic development strategy, and the history of place. The article suggests it is vital to understand and differentiate between such factors in order to be able to provide more accurate initiatives for the empowerment and business survival of female entrepreneurs in rural areas, in both the Global North as well as the Global South.