Gender Perspectives of SMEs Networking Activities: Evidence from Slovenia

Abstract

The basic purpose of the current chapter is to examine one of the most well-known organizational concepts from the end of the 1990s – the concept of networking. In so-called networking economy, each network actor (individual, team, or organization) is embedded in a larger economic web that affects each participant and, in return, is influenced by that participant. By analyzing networking activities between enterprises and organizations (business networking) as well as entrepreneurs’ personal networking (entrepreneurial networking), this study seeks to empirically address the following research question: “How does activity in network relationships differ between male and female entrepreneurs and the companies they are directing?” The gender perspective is important because of the limited understanding of the gendered influences of economic development that entrepreneurship activity undoubtedly has on a society. The analysis is based on a data set and questionnaires with 193 entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized companies in Slovenia. The results revealed interesting findings. It appears that male entrepreneurs have less intensive cooperation with supportive institutions as female entrepreneurs who are largely separating their private life from business. The initial findings represent a signal for the entrepreneurial supportive environment; it should be better adapted to meet the needs of the specific SME segment.