Gender Entrepreneurship Research Articles

Gender and entrepreneurship in the formation of family farms during the postsocialist transformation in Hungary

ABSTRACT This paper explores how women and men in commodity producer family farms that emerged during the post-socialist transition in Hungary negotiated gendered and entrepreneurial identities within the emergent gender regime balancing between three entangled and conflicting processes related to globalization, retraditionalisation and state socialist legacies. During this period, the agricultural production structure polarized between units with rapid land concentration and intensified commodity production and small-scale subsistence farmers. Gender dynamics showed to have had great importance for how farms could position themselves on the capital accumulation trajectory. The study is based on a selection from fifty life-history interviews carried out with farm families on the commodification trajectory during the post-socialist transition in rural Hungary between 2000 and 2004 (the years prior to Hungary joining the EU), among which a number of farm families were revisited after three years of the first occasion. Four major types of family farms were identified based on how they (un)done the gender entrepreneurship nexus while reconciling production and care: traditional family farm, semi-equal partnerships in joint farms, feminized one-woman farm, masculinized one-man farm. Semi-equal partnerships in joint farms moved towards different directions over time: farms with separate spheres adjusting to care, masculinization, woman-led joint farm with care mission out-sourced, and farms with dual crises of care and enterprise. The demands for reproducing family farms under globalized market pressure assumed the mobilization of family labour. Women’s inputs were of great importance, while their responsibility to organise care prevailed, putting extra pressure on their health and work burden.

Digital platform usage amongst female sport technology entrepreneurs

There is a tendency to imply most sport technology entrepreneurs are male, which is not always the case. Gender equality is becoming increasingly important in the sport and technology industry due to societal expectations and policy guidelines. Yet, most studies of sport technology entrepreneurs do not consider gender equality nor the role of femininity in sport technology entrepreneurship. This study adds to the existing literature by suggesting that femininity plays a key role in the success of female sport technology entrepreneurs particularly when they are using digital platforms for their business ventures. It is based on the individual differences theory of gender and information technology (IDTGIT) and gender entrepreneurship theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty global female sport technology entrepreneurs that demonstrate that when faced with performance expectations regarding digital innovativeness, women tend to use their intuition, focus on opportunities and transform existing conditions. The findings indicate that women’s intuition and sensitivity navigates the gender inequality they face in the sport technology industry that can be used as a competitive advantage. The article discusses implications for digital platforms and sport entrepreneurship theory in terms of promoting more gender equality amongst sport technology entrepreneurs. This includes the recommendation that more consideration about gender characteristics be given when women sport technology entrepreneurs are developing digital platforms.

Is Innovativeness Gender-Neutral? A Configurational Analysis of the Owners of High-tech New Ventures

Apart from the recognized under-representation of female entrepreneurs, whether the gender of entrepreneur matters and how does it matter to new venture’s innovativeness remain an under-research area. This study challenges the gender bias on low innovativeness of female-owned enterprises especially in the high-tech sector by applying a Qualitative Comparative Analysis approach to a sample of 62 new venture high-tech firms in China. Built upon the resource dependence theory (RDT) and the gender differences in innovation literature, this research holistically articulates alternative mechanisms from multiple antecedents including the gender of entrepreneur, managerial resources, and environment leading to high innovativeness. Our findings unveil that an extremely turbulent environment can suppress the influence of gender, whereas, in other circumstances, female-owned firms even engage more intensively in innovation. In doing so, this paper develops a mid-range theory by the means of three archetypes of high innovativeness to explain when and when not gender matters to innovation. It also extends the explanatory power of the RDT to explain the gender disparities by suggesting how male and female entrepreneurs differ in leveraging their resources in response to the external environment and ultimately influence innovativeness. The findings provide some practical implications for entrepreneurial firms to be highly innovative under different environmental and resource conditions.

Gender Bias in Entrepreneurship: The Role of the Founders’ Entrepreneurial Background

We examine the issue of entrepreneurial gender bias by focusing on the underlying mechanisms that impact the likelihood of receiving external venture capital financing. We claim that gender bias negatively affects socially attributed dimensions (such as the stigma ascribed to entrepreneurs who have previously suffered a failure), while it has no effect on objective dimensions (such as the experience gained by entrepreneurs). Our results, based on 2,088 US firms, show that female entrepreneurs are less likely to attract external funds if they have previously encountered failure. This negative effect becomes mostly nonsignificant when novel or serial successful entrepreneurs are considered.

The Impact of Entrepreneur Gender and National Culture on Access to Capital

Drawing on gendered institutions and implicit gender role theory, we examine the interactive effect of entrepreneurs’ gender and national culture on people’s willingness to finance ventures. In an experimental setting, MBA students in the U.S. and South Korea evaluated a venture owned by either a male or female entrepreneur, and indicated their willingness to invest in the venture. Findings suggest that national context moderates the effect of implicit gender role theories on investment willingness. The relationship between implicit gender role theories and investment willingness is more negative in South Korea than in the U.S. The more individuals endorsed the belief that gender roles are fixed rather than malleable, the less they were willing to fund women entrepreneurs. Implicit gender role theories had no effect on the funding of male entrepreneurs in either the U.S. or South Korea. Results demonstrate gender bias in access to capital.

Investor – Entrepreneur Gender Effects in New Venture Screening

We examine the influence of the interaction between the gender of the investor and the gender of the entrepreneur on the focus of the screening criteria used by venture capital investors. To do so, we use a proprietary dataset from TechCrunch Disrupt, a startup fundraising competition. We ?nd that female investors appear to focus more on entrepreneur / team criteria when evaluating female entrepreneurs. They also focus more on the upsides of both product and entrepreneur / team dimensions when screening female entrepreneurs, suggesting that female investors may view female entrepreneurs and their products more favorably. We do not find similar evidence with respect to male investors and / or male entrepreneurs. These effects correlate with winning only the 1st stage the competition suggesting that female investors may rely on gender when uncertainty about the quality of the startup is high.

Gender inequality and the entrepreneurial gender gap: Evidence from 97 countries (2006–2017)

Although it seems almost a stylized fact that females are less likely than males to start new ventures, closing this gender gap is essential to foster sustainable economic growth. In this study, we analyze whether gender inequality, as measured at the country level by the World Economic Forum since 2006, is associated with the gender gap in entrepreneurship. By analyzing country-level information about gender inequality (97 countries) in combination with individual-level data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (1,905,665 individuals) from the years 2006 to 2017, we find that in more gender equal countries involvement in total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA) is higher. Gender inequality moderates the effect of gender on TEA, by almost closing the gender gap in entrepreneurship in the most gender equal countries. We show that gender inequalities in economic participation and opportunity as well as in political empowerment are the main drivers of this interaction effect. We find similar patterns when distinguishing between opportunity-driven and necessity-driven TEA. With opportunity-driven entrepreneurship as a potential vehicle for the economic empowerment of females, our study highlights the role of policies stimulating gender equality.

Birthpangs of Thivra: surmounting the hurdles to launch “Dwani”

Study level/applicability The case focuses on Thivra Info Solutions Pvt Ltd, an entrepreneurial organization incubated by Prasannan (she/her) in 2017. The organization started with a mission to provide technology-based learning solutions for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thivra Info Solutions Pvt Ltd had developed multiple offerings, including gamified learning, targeted to ASD and general ed-tech users. The firm also launched “Dwani,” the communicative-based learning app for ASD children. The initial feedback by users, parents and teachers had been encouraging. Prasannan was exploring avenues to scale the business when the Covid-19 pandemic affected all the operations.The case presents the multiple dilemmas entrepreneurial firms face in managing resources, finances, growth and product and customer focus. Students are encouraged to debate the organization strategy, product and consumer target segments and solutions to scale the business while managing frugal resources. Subject area This case study can be used in entrepreneurship, leadership, crisis management, business development, organizational behavior and technology. Case overview The case study describes the navigation of Thivra from a Generic Gamified App to its niche of catering for ASD students. The case presents the challenges presented to leadership to manage the crisis and try to grow their entrepreneurial venture. This case has been designed for use in business-to-consumer marketing or entrepreneurship, gender entrepreneurship, ed-tech-based startups, in MBA, executive MBA or executive education programs in the field. The case is suitable for those doing business in Asia, for post-graduate and under-graduate students studying business innovation, entrepreneurship, strategy and marketing. It is also appropriate for courses on gender entrepreneurship; women and crisis management; and product management. The case aims at facilitating classroom discussion on the extension of Indian-based ed-tech startups to ASD children. Expected learning outcomes Students will also be able to explore the following issues: to study the role played by a business model that withstands the competition over a long period and adopting sustainability; to describe the concept and implications of paradoxical leadership, thereby drawing its impact on business decisions; to analyze how a leader acts in terms of crisis from a startup point of view; to draw the phases and constraints of the enterprise development and compare and contrast it based on gender; to demonstrate the value to different constituents (ASD students, parents, teachers and ASD counselors) by understanding their differentiated needs and developing powerful value propositions for each. Articulating and demonstrating this value is key to gaining the buy-in of the various decision-making units; to understand how, having gained traction in one market segment (in this case, tractions with parents of ASD children), a company can develop new market segments; to study the issues and problems faced by startups in developing economies, especially the tech-based ones; and to understand the application of gamification on education and communication for ASD children. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship

GENDER MECHANISMS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP METHODS

GENDER MECHANISMS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP METHODS Kholoud Alghada Postgraduate, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Russia, Moscow   ГЕНДЕРНЫЕ МЕХАНИЗМЫ И МЕТОДЫ ПРЕДПРИНИМАТЕЛЬСТВА

The right touch of pitch assertiveness: Examining entrepreneurs' gender and project category fit in crowdfunding

Scholars have devoted significant attention to the role of entrepreneurs' communication, and gender in crowdfunding. Yet, how female and male entrepreneurs can effectively configure their assertive communication style and the role gender norms within project categories play in shaping crowdfunders' evaluations of entrepreneurs' communication style remains unanswered. To address this, we conduct an exploratory qualitative comparative case analysis (QCA) of 1600 entrepreneurs who pitched their ventures on Kickstarter. From prior research, we identified four distinct kinds of assertive language (certain, power, social, tentative) and explore how female and male entrepreneurs' configurations of assertive language relate to crowdfunding success and failure in male-dominated and female-dominated contexts. We found six pitch assertiveness themes, two associated with success, two associated with failure, and two where success versus failure depends on nuanced considerations of the entrepreneur's gender and the gendering of the context. Our study extends our understanding of communication and gender in crowdfunding.

Gender Entrepreneurship in Latin America: Does the Institutional System Matter?

This study attempts to uncover the institutional determinants of female entrepreneurship in a set of eight Latin American countries. Following the institutional system classification in the literature, we grouped the set of countries into three categories: State-Led, Emerging Liberal Market, and Family Led. We then split the data panel into two different groups: Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, which are mostly State-Led; the other group includes Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and P

Perceived warmth and competence in crowdfunding: Which matters more and for whom?

Despite the importance of warmth and competence for social evaluation processes, we do not have a clear understanding of their relevance in entrepreneurial resource acquisition contexts. We examine the effects of cursory impressions of 350 Kickstarter crowdfunding entrepreneurs’ warmth and competence on the performance of their campaigns. Drawing from the stereotype content model and expectancy violation theory, we propose and find support for a model in which different forms of trust mediate the relationships between warmth and competence and crowdfunding performance, with the strength of these pathways differing as a function of entrepreneur gender. Specifically, we show that the crowdfunding performance of women entrepreneurs is uniquely benefited by perceptions of competence and the cognition-based trust that ensues, relative to the performance of men entrepreneurs.

Rural entrepreneurship and the context: navigating contextual barriers through women's groups

PurposeThis study aims to examine how women's groups help women to navigate context-related barriers to their engagement in rural entrepreneurship. The paper combines the contextualisation of entrepreneurship framework and the feminist separatist theory to describe how women's groups in patriarchal rural communities enable women to circumvent context-related barriers and actively engage in rural entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachBased on a case study of 12 women's groups engaged in paddy farming, rice processing and marketing in rural Tanzania, this study draws on semi-structured interviews with 46 women, four focus group discussions, four in-depth key informant interviews and non-participant observation.FindingsRural women face unique context-related challenges that hinder them from effectively participating in rural entrepreneurship. Specifically, limited access to farmlands and profitable markets, lack of business networks, limited time, poverty and insufficient financial resources constrain women's engagement in entrepreneurship. To overcome these contextual barriers, rural women have organised themselves into groups to gain access to business services, business-related training, grants and business networks.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the existing literature on contextualising entrepreneurship by focussing on how rural contexts may constrain women's entrepreneurial engagement while showing how women respond to contextual barriers that enable them to participate in rural entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsThis study shows that women with low education can pursue rural entrepreneurship if they are supported through training and access to networks. This will support the performance of these groups of women.Originality/valueThis study offers new insights into the role of women's groups in navigating gender-related constraints that hinder women from participating in rural entrepreneurship within the patriarchal context of low-income countries. Thus, new perceptions for the gender and rural entrepreneurship theory and the policy implications thereof are proffered.

Impact of entrepreneur's gender on innovation activities. The perspective of small businesses.

This paper analyses the female gender as a one of the factors that may influence product and process innovativeness of small enterprises. The data discussed come from an empirical study of 1017 small enterprises from the Kujawsko-pomorskie region in central-northern Poland. The theoretical framework suggests three areas of factors that may influence small enterprises innovativeness: the entrepreneur’s gender, innovation management capability, and firm characteristics. The results of the study suggest that the female gender of the entrepreneur has a positive impact on the product and process innovativeness of small enterprises. In the group of small enterprises managed by female entrepreneurs the chances of introducing product innovation are higher by 83.7%, process innovation by 56%, and product and process innovation together by 82.1%.

The Liability of Gender: Examining Investment Gaps in Male- and Female-led nascent social ventures

While most empirical evidence suggests that male-led ventures raise more financing than female-led ventures due to investor biases, these studies primarily focus on commercially-oriented ventures seeking traditional forms of investment (debt/equity). In response, we draw on stereotype content theory and signaling theory to determine whether and how entrepreneur gender impacts nascent social ventures’ access to traditional and non-traditional (philanthropy) financing. Our results show that while female-led ventures do raise less traditional investment, they also raise more non-traditional investment than male-led ventures. However, a third-party endorsement signal increases female-led ventures’ disadvantage in traditional investment and eliminates their advantage in non-traditional investment

The Effect of Perceived Warmth and Competence on Crowdfunding Success: The Moderating Role of Gender

Perceptions of warmth and competence account for a large proportion of the variance in impression formation. However, these constructs and their underlying mechanisms have received little attention in the entrepreneurship literature, particularly in the context of entrepreneurial resource acquisition. We examine the impact of perceptions of warmth and competence on the outcomes of 350 crowdfunding campaigns sampled from a popular crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, wherein only cursory determinations of entrepreneurs and their new ventures occur prior to funding decisions. Drawing from the stereotype content model and expectancy violation theory, we propose and find support for a model in which each of affect- and cognition-based trust mediate the relationships between crowdfunding performance and perceived warmth and competence, respectively, with the strength of these pathways differing as a function of entrepreneur gender. Specifically, women are benefited more than men by their displays of competence, and the cognition-based trust that ensues.

The importance of capital in closing the entrepreneurial gender gap: A longitudinal study of lottery wins

Would improving women's access to capital reduce the gender entrepreneurial gap? We study this issue by exploiting longitudinal data on lottery winners. Comparing between large to small winners, we find that an increase in lottery win in period t − 1 significantly increases the likelihood of becoming self-employed in period t. This windfall effect is statistically the same in magnitude for men and women; the top 25% winners (an average win = £831.16) in year t − 1 report a significant increase in the probability of self-employment in year t by approximately 2 percentage points, which is approximately 20–30% of the gender entrepreneurial gap. These results suggest that we can causally reduce the gender entrepreneurial gap by improving women's access to capital that might not be as readily available to the aspiring female entrepreneurs as it is to male entrepreneurs.

The Impact of Gender Difference on Entrepreneurship Effectiveness “An Empirical study on Small and Medium Enterprises in Egypt”

Over the past few years, entrepreneurship in Egypt has received more attention, and through this interest the number of Egyptians seeking entrepreneurial opportunities has increased, and since individuals are the ones responsible for entrepreneurial activities. It was important to investigate and find out if a gender difference could have an impact on the effectiveness of entrepreneurship. This study aimed to provide information and explore whether gender differences can have an impact on the effectiveness of entrepreneurship in small and medium sized enterprises. By focusing on various factors such as age, education, previous experience, in addition to interpersonal skills, goal attainment and business growth. Since females are less likely than males to participate in entrepreneurship activities - which negatively affects the greater integration of females into the labor market and the start of their own businesses - results showed that the gender of entrepreneur had no effect on profit growth, increase in employment, technology skills or goal attainment. While the gender of entrepreneur had an effect on growth in sales, interpersonal skills and business skills.

Analysis of the gap in enterprise access to renewable energy between rural and urban areas in Cameroon

Permanent access to energy is an essential pillar of economic development. However, there is a growing evidence that contemporary energy systems are not able to provide energy to the entire population on a sustainable basis and at affordable prices. In the face of these challenges, renewable energy can play an important role, especially in rural areas where access to centralized electricity grids is difficult. This paper aims to examine the access gaps of enterprises to renewable energy between rural and urban areas in Cameroon. The analysis is based on a sample of 209,482 enterprises, taken from the Second General Census of Enterprises in Cameroon (RGE-2) carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS). The econometric estimations, obtained using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, reveal that access rate to renewable energy for firms in rural areas is lower than that of firms located in urban areas. An increase in the level of education of the promoter of an enterprise, obtaining credit from banks, microfinance and savings, and the formalization of enterprises in rural areas can also contribute to reducing the gap in rural areas in terms of accessing to renewable energy. The discrimination suffered by rural enterprises related to the gender of entrepreneurs, the sector of activity, the business environment and professional experience tend to increase this gap. To reduce this gap, there is a need to promote access to finance for rural enterprises and their migration from the informal to the formal sector.

Семейное предпринимательство как ресурс повышения качества жизни семьи и ее трудовой занятости .

Family entrepreneurship as a resource to improve the quality of life of the family and its employment was the subject of discussions of the II Russian Gender Forum, which was held in Moscow on October 29—30, 2020 at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. Moderator and initiator of the Forum, chairman of its Program Committee — Professor G. G. Sillaste, scientific head of the Department of Sociology and Science School “Gender and Economic Sociology” of the Financial University under the Russian Government, a member of the scientific and expert council under the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly, defined the purpose of the Forum clearly — analysis of the realities and potential of the development of family entrepreneurship as a long-term social resource of the Russian economy and the quality of life. According to the scientist, family entrepreneurship is a promising technology for the development of a world of neuter gender entrepreneurship, an effective social practice that allows to combine the efforts and experience of family members in a single business useful for it and society, bringing to the family income, confidence in the future and better the quality of life. However, the expansion of family entrepreneurship requires not only the family initiative, but also consistent support from the state at all levels of its management activities. Discussions in numerous sections of the Gender Forum concerned the problems connected with the ways of improving the effectiveness of family and business activities, strengthening the economic solidarity of its members. organizing the exchange of experience, implementing family projects in promoting progressive economic ideas.