Gender Ownership Research Articles

The (Un)Hidden Effects of Digitalization on Enterprise Performance During Covid-19 Pandemic

This paper focuses on the analysis of digitalization of enterprises and its performance impact in Albania. Using the World Bank Enterprise Survey of 2019 merged with the ES follow-up on Covid-19 for Albania, we investigate the overall performance of enterprises during Covid-19 pandemic and the role of digitalization. The objective of the survey is to better understand the firm’s experience in the private sector. The collected data are based on firms’ experiences and perception of the environment in which they operate. The paper uses these specific questions to study digitalization prior to and during Covid-19 pandemic. ES questionnaires focus on the following questions: (a) Does the establishment have its own website? (b) Started or increased business activity online? (c) Started or increased remote work arrangement for its workforce? The dependent variable is performance of the enterprises measured in terms of sales growth, employment growth, closure, and production adjustment. While the vector of independent variables is composed by enterprise characteristics such as firm size, ownership structure, legal status, region, etc. Moreover, dummy variables are used to capture access to formal banking service, and gender ownership. JEL Classification: L25, L26, L86,

Does gender of firm ownership matter? Female entrepreneurs and the gender pay gap

We examine how the gender of business owners is related to the wages paid to female relative to male employees working in their firms. Using Finnish register data and employing firm fixed effects, we find that the gender pay gap is—starting from a gender pay gap of 11 to 12%—two to three percentage points lower for hourly wages in female-owned firms than in male-owned firms. Results are robust to how the wage is measured, as well as to various further robustness checks. More importantly, we find substantial differences between industries. While, for instance, in the manufacturing sector, the gender of the owner plays no role in the gender pay gap, in several service sector industries, like ICT or business services, no or a negligible gender pay gap can be found, but only when firms are led by female business owners. Businesses with male ownership maintain a gender pay gap of around 10% also in the latter industries. With increasing firm size, the influence of the gender of the owner, however, fades. In large firms, it seems that others—firm managers—determine wages and no differences in the pay gap are observed between male- and female-owned firms.

Participation and returns from informal service-oriented non-farm enterprises: Evidence from a survey of Nigerian households.

We investigate the factors that influence the selection and productivity of informal service-oriented family enterprises in Nigeria. Using nationally representative micro-data from the Nigerian General Household Survey (2010-2015), we employed random-effect probit and selectivity-adjusted regression models to estimate and analyze the results. The findings reveal that the location of informal Non-Farm Household Enterprises (NFHEs)-whether home-based or non-home-based-significantly impacts the wholesale, retail, personal, and consultancy service sectors operated by informal NFHEs. This impact remains significant even after accounting for variations in individuals, households, or locational characteristics. Furthermore, when considering selectivity in the earnings equation, we found that home-based informal enterprises exhibit lower productivity compared to non-home-based enterprises, a difference that varies across sectors. Overall, factors such as the gender of business owners, educational levels, geopolitical zones, infrastructure, and business characteristics play a crucial role in determining the locational and productivity disparities among service-oriented enterprises in Nigeria. Key recommendations stemming from this study include addressing gender-based segregation and economic disparities, prioritising financial inclusion for small business development, bridging infrastructure gaps, and implementing policies that acknowledge and bolster the informal sector.

Influence of Species Preference and Owner Gender on Attachment to Animals: French-Translated Validated Questionnaires

Abstract Companion animal ownership has been reported to be beneficial for human health. Attachment is an important mechanism involved in interpersonal relationships and potentially in health concerns. In this study, we investigated the influence of companion animal species and owners’ gender on owners’ attachment to their animals. To do this, we validated the French translation of the Pet Attachment Questionnaire (Zilcha-Mano et al., 2011), the Attachment Figure Questionnaire, and the Closeness and Care scales (Kurdek, 2008). Our translations have the requisite psychometric properties, high internal consistency, structure, and temporal stability. Women had significantly higher scores than men in several attachment dimensions and closeness. Owners preferring a cat had higher avoidance and lower attachment figure scores than owners preferring a dog. It is not yet clear what causes these differences; we recommend more investigations into specific aspects of attachment to companion animals.

Financial Literacy and MSME Performance: Mediation and Moderation Analysis

This research examines the mediating role of access to finance, financial risk management, and competitive advantage in the relationship between financial literacy and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) performance. This research also tests demographic factors such as the owner's gender, company size, company age, and number of employees in moderating the influence of the variables studied. The sample for this research is MSMEs in Jakarta Province, Indonesia. Five hundred and fifty MSMEs participated in the study using a web-based self-administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The research results show that financial literacy positively affects access to finance, financial risk management, competitive advantage, and MSME performance. Access to finance, financial risk management, and competitive advantage positively affect MSME performance and can mediate the relationship between financial literacy and MSME performance. The research also uncovers the moderating role of demographic factors, suggesting that the strength of the connections between financial literacy, access to finance, financial risk attitude, competitive advantage, and MSME performance may vary based on these factors. These findings carry significant implications for owners, managers, and governmental stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of enhancing financial literacy among MSMEs to enhance their performance.

Gender, external financing and firm performance: evidence from Chinese private firms

PurposeThe operational framework of external financing in the correlation between the gender of entrepreneurs and firm performance remains to be resolved. This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of external financing on gender-based disparities in private firm performance and to explore its heterogeneity within the Chinese context.Design/methodology/approachBased on national data from the 10th to 13th Chinese Private Enterprise Survey, this study used a bootstrap-based mediation effect model to analyze the role of external financing as a mediator in the relationship between entrepreneur gender and firm performance.FindingsThis study found that external financing is a constructive mediator between entrepreneur gender and firm performance. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that external financing plays a complementary mediation role in the impact of entrepreneur gender on performance in West China. In the tertiary industry, external financing acts as the sole mediator for the impact of gender on firm performance. Notably, this mediating effect is present in non-startups but not in startups.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that external financing can improve the firm performance of female entrepreneurs. Governments and policymakers should strengthen financial support for female entrepreneurs in West China, tertiary industry and non-startup enterprises.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature on gender and corporate governance by shedding light on the mediating role of external financing in the relationship between the gender of business owners and firm performance.

Gender, firm performance, and FDI supply–purchase spillovers in emerging markets

The paper measures the gender premium (or penalty) in productivity and innovation of firms in 32 emerging economies. We estimate whether the gender status of firms’ ownership in FDI recipient countries matters for the size of knowledge spillovers from linkages between local firms and Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). Furthermore, we explore whether the gender ownership structure of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) is also vital for spillovers between MNEs and local firms. Our results show that female-owned firms (both local and MNEs) are on average less productive and innovative. Although domestic firms benefit from supplying inputs to MNEs in terms of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and innovation, a gender handicap cancels out these gains potentially. Female gendered MNEs also impose a similar penalty on knowledge spillovers. As a policy implication, the paper highlights the importance of mitigating gender discrimination for improving productivity and absorptive capacity of local firms in the emerging world.

Degree of application of social responsibility by gender and age and educational level of the owners of the Mypes in Chihuahua City

The present research has the objective to determine the degree of application of social responsibility in Micro and Small Enterprises (Mypes) in the city of Chihuahua, considering the variables of gender, age and academic level of the owners. For this investigation a quantitative method with a descriptive scope is employed, as this research seeks to specify the profiles (by gender and age) of Mypes owners in the city of Chihuahua and the degree of application of social responsibility in their companies. The design is cross-sectional. A random sample of 450 micro and small companies in the city is examined. The results allow gender and age to determine the degree of application of social responsibility in local businesses. This research has allowed us to determine the degree of social responsibility implemented in the companies of this city in relation to age, gender, and educational level. Among the findings, it was found that companies led by men and with a higher educational level are the ones where more social responsibility actions are implemented.

A comparative analysis on the nexus between corruption and firm performance for a selection of Western Balkan countries

Purpose This paper aims to focus on analyzing the level of corruption of small- and medium-sized enterprises and their economic performance impact in Western Balkan countries. This study uses survey data from Enterprise Surveys (ES) from 2019, a shared project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank Group. The selected countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. The questions included in the data set contribute to understanding what firms experience in the private sector. Collected data are based on firms’ experiences and enterprises’ perceptions of the environment in which they operate. Design/methodology/approach This paper measures enterprise performance in terms of sales, employees and fixed assets growth. The vector of independent variables comprises enterprise characteristics such as enterprise age, size, ownership structure, legal status, access to formal banking services, gender ownership and other composed variables. Moreover, to capture the level of perceived corruption by firms, we will focus on the following ES questions: “Is it common to have to pay some irregular additional payment or gifts to get things done with regard to customs, taxes, licenses, regulations, services,” and the “corruption payment” is defined in the form of a dummy equal to one if the enterprise replies “frequently,” “usually” or “always.” Findings Preliminary empirical research results shed light on the level and effects of corruption on enterprises’ performance. However, the magnitude and statistical significance are different among the countries included in the sample. Originality/value Instead of firm-level characteristics, research on corruption frequently focuses on effects dependent on national and institutional characteristics. To better identify the kinds of businesses that are most at risk of corruption, we have selected to focus on differences among firm characteristics in this research. Understanding factors at the firm level is preferred from a policy perspective because these findings assist policymakers to make recommendations.

Effects of Subcontracting on Firms in India's Informal Manufacturing Sector: An Empirical Investigation

ABSTRACT: Subcontracting occurs when a producer outsources a part of its production. We study the effect of subcontracting from a firm with buyer power on the profits of subcontracted upstream firms, and how profits vary on the basis of location of firm and owner's gender. Subcontracting is the treatment in our study and the dependent variable is the ratio of Gross Value Added to Sales adjusted or unadjusted for wages. The decision of a firm to subcontract or not is endogenous, so we cannot use OLS regression. Since we cannot have information on a firm being treated and non-treated at the same time, we use the Average Treatment Effect on Treated (ATET) model with Nearest Neighborhood Matching (NNM) approach, in which each treated firm is matched to an untreated firm which is its nearest neighbor on other parameters, to see the effect of treatment on outcome variable on the treated group had they been not treated. We find the existence of a subcontracting premium where being in a subcontracting relationship is beneficial for the informal sector firm, though the magnitude of this premium is small, and female-headed firms gain less from subcontracting. Subcontracted male-owned firms earn a higher premium but also pay more wages out of their total revenue to labor as compared to female-owned firms, perhaps because the latter are more likely to be Own Account Manufacturing Enterprises (OAME) which do not employ hired workers. Our results show that buyer power of the subcontracting firms is offset by the benefits they provide to the subcontracted firms, possibly in the form of assured demand and payments. Thus, policies favoring the informal sector firms need to incorporate the benefits of subcontracting by exploring alternative modes of distribution with lower distribution margins, such as cooperative societies or online platforms for example Amul, MEESHO. Policies should also focus on reducing the profit margin differential between male and female owned firms by formulating a proper channel using mass media to communicate credit information and updates.

Deconstructing involuntary financial exclusion: a focus on African SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle to obtain credit when credit ratings and collateral are used as criteria to assess their credit applications. In the context of Africa, the financial markets have gaping institutional voids, and contextual insights into SMEs’ experiences remain underdeveloped. Drawing on the stakeholder-agency theory of debt financing, this paper advances the scholarly conversation by theorising about how collateral security, collateral security value and the gender of SME owners lead to the involuntary financial exclusion of many manufacturing businesses in Africa. Analysis of the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) dataset reveals that collateral security and collateral security value, together with gender biases in Africa’s financial markets, reduce credit access potential. Consequently, SMEs’ perceptions of the likelihood of obtaining credit for business purposes are reduced. Empirical results for 13,783 SMEs across 41 African countries indicate that the motivations to apply for credit also diminish. These observations contribute to entrepreneurial financing and SME research.

Gender diversity in European firms and the R&D-innovation-productivity nexus.

In this paper, we empirically explore whether gender diversity in European firms, measured at different organisational levels, contributes to enhancing their performance in terms of innovation and productivity. Particularly we propose a structural econometric framework that allows us to simultaneously account for gender diversity at the workforce and ownership level throughout different phases of the innovation process, from the decision to engage in R&D to productivity. Our results reveal that gender diversity is strongly related to firms' performance, besides the traditional factors envisaged by the literature. However, some differences emerge according to the firms' organisational levels. Indeed, workforce gender diversity seems to be relevant to all phases of the innovation process. By contrast, the positive influence of ownership gender diversity seems more narrowed as limited to the innovation development/implementation phase; moreover, increasing women's participation beyond a certain threshold is negatively associated with firms' productivity.

Multi-Level Pooling Model for Fingerprint-Based Gender Classification

It has been widely reported that CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) has shown satisfactory results in classifying images. The strength of CNN lies in the type and the number of layers that construct it. However, the most apparent drawbacks of CNN are the requirement for a large labeled dataset and its lengthy training time. Although datasets are available, labeling that data is a significant problem. This work mimics the CNN model but only utilizes its pooling layers. The novelty of this model is removing convolution layers and directly processing fingerprint images using pooling layers. Three pooling layer models, namely maximum pooling, average pooling, and minimum pooling, are used to generate fingerprint features to classify their owner gender. These pooling layers are arranged consecutively up to eight levels. Removing convolution layers makes the process straightforward, and the computation is much faster. This study utilized 200 fingerprint datasets from the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), with male and female fingerprints of 100 samples each. The extracted features were then classified using K-NN (K-Nearest Neighbors) algorithm. The proposed method resulted in an accuracy of 61% to 71.5% or an average of 66.25%.

Analysis on Factors Affecting the Growth of Micro and Small Enterprises: The Case of Gulele Sub-City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Micro and small enterprises are the integral parts of industrial development and considered as the cornerstones of a vibrant entrepreneurial economy and social transformation especially in developing countries. The government of Ethiopia has given sizable recognition and credit for the expansion of these enterprises. However, due to various socioeconomic and political factors including cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, they have been subjected to undergrowth, stagnation, and disappearance. This study, thus, aims to examine factors affecting the growth of micro and small enterprise in Addis Ababa city particularly in Gulele Sub-city, Woreda 03. The study used mixed research approach. The data for this study were collected using survey questionnaire from 120 enterprise leaders/owners/ who were selected via random stratified sampling method. Descriptive statistics, growth rate method, and multiple linear regression model were applied for quantitative data analysis. The analysis reveals that enterprises grew with the rate of 0.20, but growth rate had no similar trends among different sectors: service, trade, manufacturing, urban agriculture, and construction. Moreover, the regression analysis shows that out of eleven explanatory variables, age, gender, and work experience of leaders or owners jointly with age of enterprise, number of total employees, suitability of working place, marketing problem, and government’s policies had significant contribution on the growth of micro and small enterprises in the study site. In conclusion, the growth of the enterprises was affected by various socioeconomic, demographic, environmental, and policy related factors. Therefore, all stakeholders should work jointly to overcome the existing problems, create workable environment, and develop practicable strategies to increase the performance and harness the tremendous contributions of the sector for job opportunity and economic transformation.
 Keywords: Micro and Small Enterprise; determinant; Growth, Addis Ababa

Access of micro, small and medium-sized firms to bank credit: A logistic regression on a sample of Moroccan companies

The present study aims to analyze the determinants of the supply and demand of micro, small and medium-sized firms MSMEs credit by making reference to the theories of financial structure. From a sample of 356 Moroccan MSMEs surveyed in 2013 (WBSE, 2013), we used a binary logit model to discuss both demand and supply. According to our results, size, industry, gender of ownership, financial inclusion, level of education and experience of the Manager and the financing needs of the company, are the main factors that influence demand, while the warranty has no impact. On the supply side, with the exception of experience, the manager's characteristics have no effect, while the size, type of ownership and the duration of the loan have a major impact.

The Nexus Between Taxation and Gender-Based Informality: Evidence from Nigerian Enterprise Survey Data

Using the Nigerian enterprise survey data, this paper examines whether there is a gender dimension in the capacity of informal firms to contribute to tax revenues, a more specific question asked is whether tax rates and female gender ownership effects informality. Gender categorization of the firm’s ownership shows an overwhelming dominance of men holding over women, with a favorable ratio of 6:1 of the total sample. The results of the investigation on firms owned by females revealed that they are more likely to remain in the informal sector. By using the cross-sectional logit regression approach, we found no statistical significance between tax rates and a firm’s propensity to join the informal sector. It explains a typical scenario where the tax rates mechanism has failed to transmit effectively. Finally, we attained a divergent policy indication that suggests tax compliance enforcement and incentivizing female firms’ owners, among other measures. 

On the path to sustainable development: The nexus among owner gender diversity, energy management, and firms' innovation radicalness

AbstractThis research focuses on the part of sustainable development related to energy management and thus aims to find the missing piece in research on the role of owner gender diversity (OGD) in processes of energy management (EM) introduction and the creation of radical and incremental innovation. Employing the World Bank's Enterprise Survey 2019 data covering 4646 firms from 11 European countries, we confirm the hypothesis that OGD increases firms' chance to reach radical and incremental innovation. Contrary to the majority of prior studies, we reject the hypothesis that OGD increases firms' chance to introduce EM; rather, we empirically prove the positive effects of firms' value drivers and market pressure on EM. We also confirm the link between firms' introduction of EM and the creation of radical and incremental innovations. This study expands research into the gender diversity of the upper echelons, addressing recent calls to expand open innovation research into new research categories and identify the determinants of firms' introduction of EM.

Social entrepreneurship and future employment in Nigeria

AbstractBackgroundTo cater for the growing global population, the future of employment has been policy discourse. This is mainly because, as the population increases, the demand for employment increases. The danger of a looming crisis may be inevitable if considerable employment opportunities are not created to match population growth. In order to curtail uncertainty in the labour market and secure future employment, increased emphasise is laid on entrepreneurship – the skills to match new ideas to market and societal needs.Aim and DataThis study examines the extent of social entrepreneurship and its impact on future employment in Nigeria by testing the hypothesis stated in a null from as “social entrepreneurship has no significant impact on future employment in Nigeria”. The study utilises data sourced from youth entrepreneurship with innovation (YouWiN) (2019) conducted by the World Bank in conjunction with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of Nigeria.MethodThe study engaged descriptive statistics to estimate logit regression and propensity score matching (PSM) to achieve its objective.ResultThe descriptive statistics show that only 3.15 per cent of entrepreneurship in Nigeria is a social enterprise. In addition, the mean age of business owners is about 31 years, with 83.14 per cent being male. The result from the logit regression shows that ICT utilisation, access to loans, level of education, and gender of business owners are other significant and positive determinants of future employment. The result from the PSM shows that social entrepreneurship is a significant and positive driver of future employment. It shows that social entrepreneurship will contribute not less than 21 per cent to employment in Nigeria in the next five years.ConclusionFrom the analysis, it was revealed that only 3.15 per cent of Nigerian enterprises are social enterprises, which is a possible reason for their little current contribution to present and future employment. More involvement in this sector is capable of improving future employment. In addition, to attain a boost in future employment creation in Nigeria, there has to be a significant contribution in this sector by the youth. In addition, access to ICT by business owners should be enhanced to improve business performance towards contributing to future employment. The government should adopt measures to aid business owners in securing loans to finance business activities and improve their performance.

Family businesses navigating the COVID-19 pandemic through a gender perspective: the role of external and internal factors in stimulating dynamic capability development

PurposeThe paper aims to decipher, through intertwined external and internal perspectives, how female and male owners of family businesses (FB) that have been affected by the pandemic develop new capabilities to respond to the market's crisis-related needs. Specifically, this study seeks to decipher the role of external support, mediated by the owner's psychological capital (i.e. internal perspective) and moderated by gender, on the development of capabilities related to the market's changing needs, drawing on the dynamic capabilities conceptualization.Design/methodology/approachA sample of responses from 261 Canadian FB owners was generated during the pandemic, and online questionnaires were distributed.FindingsRegression analyses and Hayes' PROCESS tool revealed that while external support directly invigorates capability development, external support is also mediated by psychological capital and moderated by gender, so that female owners were found less likely to use external support for capability development than men. These findings are explained by women's traditional responsibility in FB of protecting the family from external circumstances. Nevertheless, both women and men orchestrated external support, due to the higher psychological capital of FB, to develop capabilities that respond to pandemic-related market needs.Originality/valueThis study explores and demonstrates the unique navigation of FB owners during crises, and the role of the owner's gender in pursuing capability development. The study's value is in interconnecting external and internal perspectives while probing FB during crises. Implications for the ecosystem's conduct toward FB are discussed.

How Digital Are Albanian Esnterprises: A Microeconomic Analyses

This paper focuses on the analyses of the digitalization of enterprises and its performance impact in Albania. Using data from 2019 Enterprise Surveys (ES) we try to give answer questions related to digitalization that characterize Albanian enterprises. The survey was a shared project of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the World Bank Group (WBG). The data are collected in Albania between January and May 2019. The objective of the survey is to better understand firms` experience in the private sector. Collected data are based on firms’ experiences and perceptions of the environment in which they operate. The paper uses these specific questions to study Internet adoption. ES questionnaires focus on the following questions: (1) Does the firm have a high-speed Internet connection on its premises? (2) Does the establishment have its website? The dependent variable is the performance of the firms measured in terms of sales growth and labor productivity, while the vector of independent variables is composed of enterprise characteristics such as firm size, ownership structure, legal status, region, etc. Moreover, dummy variables are used to capture access to formal banking services and gender ownership.