Feminist Theory and its Influence on Female Entrepreneur’s Growth Intentions

Abstract

Existing results suggest that entrepreneurs vary considerably in their intentions to grow their businesses; that men have more success in pursuing growth than women. Prior investigations on entrepreneurship also suggest female business owners might deliberately choose to keep their business from growing. However, these studies have been conducted in developed countries. Diversity in context and theories could vary by gender, business sectors, and regions of the world. Scholars maintain that feminist perspectives theories are necessary to provide some insights into understanding the phenomena. The goal of this paper is to analyze research findings on the growth aspirations of the female entrepreneurs and offer alternative views of understanding, by employing feminist theories, in explaining why women behave differently in their adaptation of reduced growth intentions. In an attempt to understand the tendencies that might lead to reduced growth intentions in female entrepreneurship, literature was extensively reviewed on female entrepreneurship and growth intentions. The study uses a desk research approach to data collection. An overview of the main issues concerning female entrepreneurs’ growth intentions is presented. The conclusions drawn from the literature provide foundations for policy measures assisting women to overcome their low growth aspirations and measures required to encourage women to grow their businesses. The paper identifies research gaps that continue to exist in female entrepreneurs’ growth intentions research with the aim of encouraging further research in this field.