Identity work of science-based entrepreneurs in Finland and in Russia

Abstract

This paper investigates the identity work of science-based entrepreneurs in two very different country contexts: Finland and Russia. Building on the literature investigating role identities, we first analyse the identification of individuals with the roles of a scientist and an entrepreneur; and second, how individuals manage the boundary between these two roles. Methodologically, we take a narrative approach, which regards life stories as identity constructions. Our empirical data consist of 23 biographical interviews with science-based entrepreneurs that are inductively analysed. Our findings show that the Russian informants considered being a scientist a salient part of their self-identification, distanced themselves from the role of an entrepreneur, and set discursive boundaries to segment the two roles. For the Finnish informants, identification with the professional roles as a scientist or as an entrepreneur was less salient for the personal identity as they make a clear distinction between ‘what one does’ and ‘who one is’. They also view the two roles as integrated rather than segmented, and have no significant need to justify the border-crossing between them. Our contribution is in demonstrating how science-based entrepreneurs’ identity work is influenced by importance and meanings attached to different work roles, and how these are contextualised.     

Legal Protection From Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation: Findings From Litigation

Since 1964 with the enactment of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the courts have held that although Title VII prohibits discrimination because of sex, sex has been construed to mean gender, but gender and sexual orientation are different. Traditionally sexual discrimination has been interpreted to protect women in male/female encounters. Thus protection for homosexuals based on sexual orientation has not been covered. However, there are some interesting aspects to the concept of discrimination due to sexual orientation, including defining same-sex harassment as being harassment, equal opportunity harassment, and sexual stereotypes. In addition, how homosexuals may be protected under state laws, unions, company policy, and the constitution is discussed as well as protection for public sector employees. An analysis of 98 litigated cases alleging discrimination based on same sex or sexual orientation harassment led to the development of a logit model predicting future case outcomes based on case characteristics. These are type of harassment, physical contact, type of employees, and whether there was equal opportunity harassment. Implications from the study are that the issues of protection from discrimination are complex and one cannot necessarily assume that this type of discrimination is not protected. Recommendations for more effective managerial actions are provided.     

The gender diversity–performance relationship in services and manufacturing organizations

Empirical findings on the link between gender diversity and performance have been inconsistent. This paper presents three competing predictions of the organizational gender diversity–performance relationship: a positive linear prediction derived from the resource-based view of the firm, a negative linear prediction derived from self-categorization and social identity theories, and an inverted U-shaped curvilinear prediction derived from the integration of the resource-based view of the firm with self-categorization and social identity theories. This paper also proposes a moderating effect of industry type (services vs. manufacturing) on the gender diversity–performance relationship. The predictions were tested in publicly listed Australian organizations using archival quantitative data with a longitudinal research design. The results show partial support for the positive linear and inverted U-shaped curvilinear predictions as well as for the proposed moderating effect of industry type. The curvilinear relationship indicates that different proportions of organizational gender diversity have different effects on organizational performance, which may be attributed to different dynamics as suggested by the resource-based view and self-categorization and social identity theories. The results help reconcile the inconsistent findings of past research that focused on the linear gender diversity–performance relationship. The findings also show that industry context can strengthen or weaken the effects of organizational gender diversity on performance.     

Is employee training really gender-neutral? Introducing a sex/gender-sensitive model of training

This integrative literature review reflects on the discourse in training theory and practice that employee training is gender-neutral. In a review of 78 multidisciplinary empirical studies from across the world, 90% of studies show that sex/gender impacts the work environment of training participants, their characteristics, interaction with the training design, and/or training outcome. This suggests that a gender-neutral approach to training may not reflect the reality of sex/gender differences; hence, there is a need for reflectivity on the role of sex/gender in training theory and practice to ensure that employee training is inclusive and equitable. This review introduces a sex/gender-sensitive model of training to guide future research and practice, including the recommendation to move beyond decontextualised, binary sex-category based research towards a situated and intersectional understanding of the multiple aspects of sex and gender in training.     

Identity construction among boundary-crossing individuals

In this article we describe a study of boundary-crossing individuals (individuals who change organisation frequently) and the way they construct identities through interaction and self-reflexion. It is argued from a social constructionist perspective that studies of the way individual identities are constructed are important to our understanding of the complexity of the identity phenomenon. Identities cannot simply be reduced to certain stable institutionalised aspects such as profession or gender. Rather life should be seen as an ongoing process of identity construction, whereby reflexion upon life episodes and the pattern of such episodes shape identities. The results suggest different patterns of articulations through narratives. These narratives are associated with different underlying ontological discourses that describe diverse ways of reasoning among boundary-crossing individuals.     

Metaphor and the Dynamics of Knowledge in Organization Theory: A Case Study of the Organizational Identity Metaphor*

abstract Despite the increased salience of metaphor in organization theory, there is still very little conceptual machinery for capturing and explaining how metaphor creates and/or reorders knowledge within organization theory. Moreover, prior work on metaphor has insufficiently accounted for the context of interpreting a metaphor. Many metaphors in organization theory, including the ‘organizational identity’ metaphor, have often been treated in singular and monolithic terms; seen to offer a similar or largely synonymous interpretation to theorists and researchers working along the entire spectrum of disciplines (e.g. organizational behaviour, organizational psychology) in organization theory. We argue in this paper that contextual variation however exists in the interpretation of metaphors in organization theory. This argument is developed by proposing and elaborating on a so‐called image‐schematic model of metaphor, which suggests that the image‐schemata (abstract imaginative structures) that are triggered by the metaphorical comparison of concepts may vary among individuals. Accordingly, once different schemata are triggered the completion and interpretation of a metaphor may equally vary among different individuals or, indeed, research communities. These points associated with the image‐schematic model of metaphor are illustrated with a case study of the ‘organizational identity’ metaphor. The case study shows that this particular metaphor has spiralled out into different research communities and has been comprehended in very different ways as different communities work from very different conceptions, or image‐schemata, of ‘organization’ and ‘identity’, and use different theoretical frameworks and constructs as a result. The implications of the image‐schematic view of metaphor for knowledge development and theoretical progress in organization theory are discussed.     

What if the supervisor has a different gender? The roles of value fit,identification, and beliefs in gender equality

In the past decades, the number of female employees and managers has strongly increased in most developed countries. This demographic development emphasizes the importance to investigate gender dissimilarity between employees and their supervisor and how it can be managed to elicit beneficial gender dissimilarity effects on employees’ attitudes and interpersonal interactions. Past gender dissimilarity research often assumes women and men to have different values. Due to these value differences, women and men should be less satisfied with a supervisor who has a different gender. However, past research reported inconsistent gender dissimilarity effects on employees’ satisfaction and other work-related satisfaction variables. To clarify gender dissimilarity effects on employees’ satisfaction with their supervisor, we analyze the moderating role of an employee’s beliefs in gender equality. We further draw on social identity theory and investigate value fit with the supervisor and identification with the supervisor as underlying mechanisms of gender dissimilarity effects. To test our research model, we conducted a three-wave survey study with 463 employees. Value fit and identification with the supervisor mediated the relationship between gender dissimilarity and employees’ satisfaction with supervisor. This indirect relationship was only significant for employees with low beliefs in gender equality. This means high beliefs in gender equality can offset dysfunctional gender dissimilarity effects.     

生别调解下高卷入产品品牌体验对品牌忠诚的影响

顾客的品牌体验会影响品牌忠诚,在现有文献中已基本达成其识。本文基于进一步的维度划分,研究了品牌体验五个维度对品牌忠诚两个维度的不同影响,尤其检验了性别差异的调解作用。构建了以品牌体验为自变量,品牌忠诚为因变量,性别为调节变量的结构方程模型,进行实证研究。结果表明：品牌体验各维度对品牌忠诚的影响有不同,并且性别差异的调解效应显著。并提出企业应根据不同的目标顾客群,以不同的体验维度为重点构建品牌忠诚。从一个新的视角为品牌忠诚构建提供了理论指导。     

Demographic Dissimilarity and Workplace Inclusion

This study examined the relationship between individual demographic dissimilarity from co-workers and three indicators of inclusion by an organization: decision-making influence, access to sensitive information, and job security. Data from 345 individuals in eight work units showed that individual dissimilarity in race and gender were negatively associated with inclusion, and the effect of race dissimilarity was more pronounced for whites than for non-whites. In contrast, individual dissimilarity in tenure and education level were positively associated with inclusion, and these effects were more pronounced for those with greater tenure and greater education, respectively. Overall, the results suggest that whether being different hinders or helps organizational inclusion may depend on whether that difference is visible and whether it reflects job expertise. Further, they suggest that, when being different is a hindrance, it may be hardest on those who have traditionally been the majority in organizations.     

The discourse of entrepreneurial masculinities (and femininities)

The overarching concern of this paper is the dominant discourse of entrepreneurship portrayed as a form of masculinity. It argues that this discourse is perpetuated by academic research and by media representations of the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur is represented in the media by a narrow range of male stereotypes, whilst women are under-represented and often that representation is linked to domestic concerns. At the same time, academic studies persistently rely on male experience to theorize entrepreneurship, and women are studied in terms of their difference. This enduring discourse results in entrepreneurial femininities being rendered invisible. This paper argues that studies in entrepreneurship should remain alert to the denial and masking of gender. It calls for entrepreneurship researchers to engage with contemporary debates in gender, culture and media studies and proposes a research agenda to challenge the dominant discourses.     

Networks,homogeneity and gender in Icelandic business elites

This paper examines business elites in the context of social networks, identity and residential homogeneity. Our focus is gender diversity in business elites and how social activities conducive to networking interact with residential homogeneity. We find that the greater the involvement of top managers in local social activities, the greater the residential homogeneity. This relationship is stronger for women than for men, even though the individual measures are similar for both genders. We suggest that local social activities may foster a shared identity that is especially important for women, as they lack a shared gender identity with men in the group. The paper adds to both theoretical and practical knowledge on the lack diversity in business elites.     

Linking top management team age heterogeneity to firm performance: juxtaposing two mid-range theories

Previous research on top management team heterogeneity and firm performance has focused almost exclusively on the non-visible attributes (e.g. functional background, tenure) of cultural diversity as opposed to the visible attributes (e.g. age, race and gender). The few studies there are show inconsistent results. For example, most field work - consistent with social identity theory notions - shows that cultural diversity, in isolation has negative organizational consequences. Only a few laboratory studies, however - consistent with information and decision-making theories - show that diversity in groups relates to favourable organizational outcomes. As social identity theory suggests, we find that top management team (TMT) age heterogeneity, in isolation, relates negatively to return on assets. On sales growth (i.e. organizational growth), the relationship is positive, lending support for information and decision-making theories. However, we find a curvilinear relationship between TMT age heterogeneity and sales growth, supporting both the mid-range theories. More specifically, TMT age heterogeneity is positively related to sales growth at low and medium levels and negatively related to sales growth at high levels. In addition, results reveal that context moderates linear and non-linear relationships. The results provide evidence of the importance of cultural diversity in TMTs for competitive advantage but also suggest the complexities of increasing it to observe these benefits.     

The Impact of Same‐Sex LMX Dyads on Performance Evaluations

Numerous studies have found that supervisors rate women lower than men for similar levels of performance, suggesting that for female employees, performance alone may not be able to guarantee fair ratings. What is not clear is whether this disparity is a function of the gender composition of the supervisor–subordinate dyad or simply a case of male supervisor rating behavior. Based on data from supervisor–subordinate dyads in four organizations, we found that after controlling for performance, both male and female supervisors exhibit a positive bias toward subordinates of the same sex and rate members of the same gender higher. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Managing equal opportunities for women: sorting the friends from the foes

Employees working in Hong Kong were surveyed on their attitudes towards managing equal opportunities for women. Results indicate that gender is a better predictor of attitudes than work identity. Manager/employee work identity has an add‐on moderating effect on some women‐friendly policies but not on others. Out of seven women‐friendly dimensions, women as managers are less receptive of only two: 'training and development' and 'positive equal opportunities'; men as managers, in contrast, are less resistant to 'training and development' and 'flexitime'. The findings suggest that there are three levels of gatekeeping: one, male employees; two, male managers; and three, female managers. We suggest that to help women employees break the glass ceiling, different organisational and societal change programmes are needed to target the different groups of gatekeepers.     

The continuing need for affirmative action

Affirmative action is defined as the steps taken to end the absence in jobs, schools, and honored positions of members of groups that have been subordinated. Its purpose is to reduce discrimination, to reduce income disparities between groups, and to promote diversity by gender and race in every role and activity. The persistence of occupational segregation by sex and race to a degree that cannot be explained by differences in qualifications or voluntary behavior testifies to the need for further action. Alternatives to affirmative action, such as helping people regardless of race or sex from disadvantaged backgrounds, “just enforcing the law against discrimination”, or waiting for educational improvements to bring groups better qualifications would not do the job affirmative action is designed to do.     

Gender,social salience,and social performance: how women pursue and perform in social ventures

Abstract

We investigate how women that start organizations contribute to the creation of social value in communities and society. We draw on theory from gender self-schemas and social identity theory to explain how women with a female gender-self schema have a natural inclination to create organizations with social goals and intentions in mind. We label these social goals and intentions as social salience and draw on goal theory and existing understandings on intentions to explain how the presence of a social salience in an organization is related to the social performance of their organization. Utilizing structural equation modeling, we show that gender positively influences social salience that subsequently has a positive relationship with the social performance of the organization. We also show that social salience fully mediates the relationship between gender and social performance implying that gender alone is not enough to explain the social performance of an organization. We conclude by highlighting the implications, contributions, and future research that result from our findings.     

Fluidity,Identity, and Organizationality: The Communicative Constitution of Anonymous

This paper examines how fluid social collectives, where membership is latent, contested, or unclear, achieve ‘organizationality’, that is, how they achieve organizational identity and actorhood. Drawing on the “communicative constitution of organizations” perspective, we argue that the organizationality of a social collective is accomplished through ‘identity claims’ – i.e., speech acts that concern what the social collective is or does – and negotiations on whether or not these claims have been made on the collective's behalf. We empirically examine the case of the hacker collective Anonymous and analyse relevant identity claims to investigate two critical episodes in which the organizationality of Anonymous was contested. Our study contributes to organization studies by showing that fluid social collectives are able to temporarily reinstate organizational actorhood through the performance of carefully prepared and staged identity claims.     

A cross cultural study of gender-role orientation and entrepreneurial self-efficacy

The study of gender differences in entrepreneurial self-efficacy to date has produced inconclusive results. Cross-cultural studies are virtually non-existent. The present study seeks to understand the complex interplay of biological sex, socialized gender-roles, and culture on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and motivation to become an entrepreneur. Findings indicate that among American business students the traditional view of “entrepreneur as male” is fading. For the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs, a new entrepreneur stereotype is emerging that balances stereotypical feminine and masculine characteristics. These findings were not replicated in Spain where traditional gender-role stereotypes associated with entrepreneurship persist, even among business students. Implications for entrepreneurial education are discussed as they relate to the development of skills associated with venture creation.     

Gendered cognitions: a socio-cognitive model of how gender affects entrepreneurial preferences

ABSTRACT

This research explores the social-cognitive factors which lead both women and men to pursue ventures consistent with their gendered social identity, therefore, reinforcing the gender gap in entrepreneurship. We measured the self-assessments of individuals presented with experimentally manipulated entrepreneurial opportunities that were either consistent or inconsistent with their self-reported gender. A theoretical model derived from Social Role Theory is presented and tested. It posits that a gender match (mismatch) with the entrepreneurial opportunity results in higher (lower) reported self-efficacy, anticipated social resources, and venture desirability and lower (higher) venture risk perceptions. The experimental data are tested in a sequential mediation SEM model. We find evidence that self-efficacy and anticipated social resources mediate the effect of gender congruency on perceived risk and venture desirability. The results provide insight into the insidious barriers that play a role in reproducing a gender gap in entrepreneurial outcomes by ‘nudging’ women into lower-return ventures in less lucrative industries.