Understanding the ""Woman Entrepreneur"" Identity Construction in Different Socio-cultural Contexts

Abstract

The concept of identity has been widely researched within the social sciences with increasing attention being given to the understanding of entrepreneurial identities. However, while existing studies have analyzed the concept from both a normative and interpretative perspective, many have viewed identity itself as an unproblematic concept, and few studies have examined the importance of the socio-cultural context for the identity construction process. Using an inductive multiple case study approach, and drawing from identity and identity work theories, we analyze the construction of the “woman entrepreneur” identity in two different socio-cultural contexts, namely Sweden and Tanzania. Our study contributes to the entrepreneurial identity literature by identifying five typologies of women entrepreneurial identities, namely: born, know how, missionary, transition and solution seeker entrepreneurs. Second, we find that women construct their entrepreneurial identities as either central or salient to their self-identity, which influences their perceptions of entrepreneurship and subsequent behavior. Third, while the socio-cultural context influences their identity construction, we also find that the level of influence by contextual factors varies depending on the typology of women entrepreneurs. Implications for policy and practice as well as suggestions for future research are highlighted.