Abstract
This article advances knowledge on the diversity and heterogeneity of women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom by analysing how gender intersects with ethnicity and place to influence their engagement in innovation. We adopt an intersectional perspective, and base our analyses on the Longitudinal Small Business Survey (LSBS) data of 29,257 SMEs over the period 2015–2018. Our findings suggest that despite their limited number, as well as firm size and industry sector constraints, women-led SMEs are actively engaged in innovation activities. In addition, our results on the effects of intersecting categories of gender, ethnicity and place on innovation, further emphasise the heterogeneity of women-led SMEs, both with regard to their likelihood to engage in innovation, as well as the place where innovation is most likely to occur. Implications for policy and practice are highlighted.
Highlights
During the last two decades, innovation has gained importance with regard to its role in economic recovery and sustainable growth (Pettersson and Lindberg, 2013)
While the number of WLED small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is significantly low (17% of all SMEs), the gap between the proportions of male-led and WLED SMEs engaged in innovation activities is relatively small, that is, 19% compared to 17%, respectively
In terms of spatial distribution, we find that even though regional variations of WLED SMEs engaged in innovation are minimal, a relatively higher proportion of these firms are located in NUTS 2 areas within London, North West, East Midlands, South East and Wales
Summary
During the last two decades, innovation has gained importance with regard to its role in economic recovery and sustainable growth (Pettersson and Lindberg, 2013). The role of women-led (WLED) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as mechanisms for societal well-being and economic development is not widely recognised within innovation research (Filculescu, 2016; Orser et al, 2012). While studies increasingly highlight the importance of recognising the heterogeneity (i.e. within-group differences) of social groups as a result of these diverse traits, most research on minority groups tends to focus on specific dimensions of disadvantage such as age, gender, race and ability status; assuming within-group homogeneity while underestimating the impact of intersecting socio-demographic categories (Knight, 2016; Martinez Dy, 2020)
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