Abstract
The intention of this research is to provide more evidence related to women entrepreneurs by selecting an unexplored sample coming from two different regions: The Middle East and the Western Europe countries. It aims to explore the profile of women entrepreneurs and to further investigate the impact of their socio-demographic profile and their individual subjective perception on their preference for bank loans.
 
 The sample was composed of 47 and 46 women entrepreneurs operating in small and medium (SMEs) business activities, respectively in 10 Middle East and 10 Western Europe countries. Results show that the majority of women entrepreneurs in both regions are between 26 and 31 years old, they have a high education level, they have already received a training support and accumulate an important professional experience. The majority of women entrepreneurs also avoid using bank loans. However, women entrepreneurs in the Middle East have more conflict between their entrepreneurial activity and their family duties. Regressions results show that socio-demographic variables of women entrepreneurs, such as the age, the education level, the training support and the professional experience affect positively and significantly the use of bank loans in both regions. Other variables related to family issues such as the marital status, the family size and the family responsibilities provide a negative and significant impact. The subjective perception variables of women entrepreneurs such as the risk tolerance, the self-confidence and the confidence in banks affect negatively on the use of bank loans.
Highlights
Women and entrepreneurship are considered as fast-growing areas of research in management (Vogel, 2017; Collins & Low, 2010; Schindehutte et al, 2008; Bird & Brush, 2002)
The descriptive analysis presents the socio-demographic profile of women entrepreneurs (4.1.1) and their use of banks loans (4.1.2) in the Middle East and the Western Europe countries
Women entrepreneurs reveal a significant importance for researches in entrepreneurship domain
Summary
Women and entrepreneurship are considered as fast-growing areas of research in management (Vogel, 2017; Collins & Low, 2010; Schindehutte et al, 2008; Bird & Brush, 2002). The literature in this domain has been gaining a large popularity in recent decades (Hughes et al, 2012). It is widely recognized that women entrepreneurs represent an ever-increasing proportion in the world, and that they make a dynamic contribution to the international entrepreneurial process (Welsh et al, 2016). Recent researchers have considered more attention on analyzing the influence of women behavior on the financial decision making. Literature recognize that in general women entrepreneurs tend to have less access to external funding sources, especially bank loans (Huang & Kisgen, 2013).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
