Guest editorial: Female and ethnic minority entrepreneurship

There has been an increasing level of interest in diversity in small business enterprises. This diversity has been largely focused on female and ethnic minority entrepreneurs. Although there is evidence that female entrepreneurship can have a positive impact on economic prosperity, levels of earnings remain low. The articles in this special issue further our understanding of female and minority entrepreneurs. They examine important topics such as the differences between male and female entrepreneurs in terms of confidence, growth expectations, entrepreneurial orientation and social capital, developing management skills in female entrepreneurs, their management competencies and refugee entrepreneurship.     

What are the antecedents of women’s entrepreneurial orientation?

This study seeks to identify the antecedents of women’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and exploring what possible relationships that may exist between them. The research focuses on women entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in a quantitative perspective whose methodology consisted of the collection of primary data through a survey distributed to women in Portugal. After structural equation modelling was applied, the results suggested that recognition of opportunities influences EO. This influence is expressed both directly and indirectly through training in management and entrepreneurial skills. These findings led to the conclusion that policies promoting training for community members, in general, need to be rethought and policies need to emphasise training in management that enhances entrepreneurial skills, thereby increasing the proliferation of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education and training should be promoted from basic education onwards in order to develop entrepreneurial skills from an early age. Prior to this study, the relationships between opportunity recognition, management training and entrepreneurial skills have never been studied in relation to women.     

Full circle support: unpacking the relationship between women entrepreneurs’ family-to-work support and work interference with family

With an anchoring in conservation of resources theory, this study examines the mediating role of women entrepreneurs’ work-related emotional exhaustion in the relationship between their family-to-business support and work interference with family, as well as the moderating role of the entrepreneurial character of their company’s strategy in this process. Survey data collected from women entrepreneurs in Argentina indicate that a notable reason that business support received from the family diminishes work interference with that same family is that it abates the sense of being overburdened by work. This benefit of reduced exhaustion is especially prominent to the extent that women entrepreneurs pursue an energy-consuming, entrepreneurial strategy for their business. For entrepreneurship scholars and practitioners, this research accordingly reveals a critical channel through which supportive family relationships can decrease the probability that women entrepreneurs bring work challenges home (i.e., diminished depletion of work energy), and it shows how this explanatory factor varies with the strategic profile they adopt for their business.

     

Women in the migrant economy. A positional approach to contextualize gendered transnational trajectories

ABSTRACT

Drawing on the life histories of migrant women entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and Spain, this article explores the influence of transnational trajectories on their social positions and business strategies. A translocational positional approach enables us to research the transnational strategies of women entrepreneurs more effectively in addition to examining the changes in social positions and gendered identities between the country of origin and the country of destination. This approach contributes to scholarship on ‘context’ by offering a transnational gendered dimension in relation to the effects of social, spatial and institutional factors. Our findings demonstrate how female migrant entrepreneurs redefine their social status in different contexts by establishing a business and challenge, contest or comply with gender relations in their transnational entrepreneurial journeys.     

The impact of a necessity-based start-up on subsequent entrepreneurial satisfaction

Necessity entrepreneurship has been much debated in research and policy. This paper examines the impact of necessity as a start-up motive on subsequent entrepreneurial satisfaction. Empirically, the paper is based on a sample of 777 recently established Finnish micro enterprises. The results show that necessity entrepreneurs are somewhat more likely to want to switch back to paid employment later in their entrepreneurial careers. However, if the individual earns a satisfactory livelihood through self-employment, the negative effect of a necessity-based start-up on subsequent entrepreneurial satisfaction diminishes. Training in business skills that helps necessity entrepreneurs to run an economically viable business might thus increase their satisfaction with being self-employed.     

The influence of perceived management skills and perceived gender discrimination in launch decisions by women entrepreneurs

Our study answers the call for a better understanding of female entrepreneurs in Morocco and the role families play in launch decisions. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of perceived management skills and perceived gender discrimination in obtaining funds on women entrepreneurs’ propensity to start their businesses with or without family members. Drawing upon the family embeddedness and institutional economics theoretical frameworks, perceived high management capabilities are found to increase the likelihood that a female entrepreneur will set up her business with family members. However, when the entrepreneur perceives gender discrimination in obtaining funds, this will negatively moderate this relationship and will make it more likely that a woman will start her business alone or with nonrelatives. This research contributes to the literature by advancing knowledge of the socio-cultural factors, embedded in the family-oriented contextual framework, that affect women entrepreneurs’ ways of starting their businesses. Implications affecting the success of women-owned start-up businesses and public policy implications are discussed.     

The role of mentoring in the learning development of the novice entrepreneur

It has been recognized that learning outcomes can be divided into three general categories: Cognitive, skill-based, and affective learning. Moreover, public organizations offer mentoring-inspired support programs to novice entrepreneurs starting a business. This study explores entrepreneurial learning through mentoring. We have coded 53 learning outcomes acquired by novice entrepreneurs through their mentoring relationship. These learning outcomes were analysed using the three general categories and linked with the mentor’s way of promoting learning. Cognitive learning accounts for 62% of total learning outcomes and affective learning makes up 35.9%, which leaves skill-based learning in a marginal position. In addition, methods used by the mentor to ensure mentee learning affect learning content. Mentees were also asked to describe the benefits of their mentoring relationship through discussion groups. From a cognitive learning standpoint, benefits reported by entrepreneurs include an increase in management knowledge and skills, improved vision for their business venture and identifying new opportunities. Benefits resulting from affective learning include a greater sense of self-efficacy, validation of one’s entrepreneurial self-image and a lowered sense of solitude, all factors that could ultimately influence entrepreneur resilience. These results reveal the scope and limitations of mentoring as means to support learning.     

Entrepreneurial orientation and social capital as small firm strategies: A study of gender differences from a resource-based view

Women entrepreneurs have recently been the subject of many studies which have revealed that though women possess some of the same resources as male entrepreneurs, success levels are not the same. The current study looks at the resources utilized by small business owners within downtown business districts. Using a sample of 467 small business owners, we test differences in entrepreneurial orientation and social capital between men and women entrepreneurs. Though women actually reported higher levels of entrepreneurial orientation and social capital, there were no differences in their abilities to utilize these two resources in achieving firm performance. We offer discussion of why these findings are relevant, as well as research implications.     

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.     

Social networks of female tech-entrepreneurs and new venture performance: the moderating effects of entrepreneurial alertness and gender discrimination

The social networks of entrepreneurs are an important factor affecting new venture performance. Based on the survey data of 316 new ventures in China, this paper explores the relationship between the social networks of female tech-entrepreneurs and new venture performance, and examines the moderating effects of entrepreneurial alertness and gender discrimination on this relationship. Our findings reveal that: (a) the social networks of female tech-entrepreneurs have a positive effect on new venture performance; (b) the entrepreneurial alertness of female tech-entrepreneurs has a positive effect on new venture performance; and (c) gender discrimination against women has a negative effect on new venture performance. Moreover, we found that gender discrimination negatively moderates the relationship between the social networks of female tech-entrepreneurs and new venture performance. We also found that entrepreneurial alertness positively moderates the relationship between the social networks of female tech-entrepreneurs and new venture performance. Our findings provide theoretical and practical implications for female technical individuals in the entrepreneurial practice, and shed light on the study of entrepreneurship theory in other emerging economies.     

Sense and sensibility: The role of business incubator client advisors in assisting high-technology entrepreneurs to make sense of investment readiness status

For high-technology entrepreneurs, attaining an appropriate level of investment to support new ventures is challenging as substantial investment is usually required prior to revenue generation. Consequently, entrepreneurs must present their firms as investment ready in the context of an uncertain market response and an absence of any trading history. Gaining tenancy within a business incubator can be advantageous to this process given that placement enhances entrepreneurial contact with potential investors whilst professional client advisors (CAs) use their expertise to assist in the development of a credible business plan. However, for the investment proposal to be successful, it must make sense to fund managers despite their lack of technological expertise and product knowledge. Thus, this article explores how incubator CAs and entrepreneurs act in concert to mould innovative ideas into plausible business plans that make sense to venture fund investors. To illustrate this process, we draw upon empirical evidence which suggests that CAs act as sense makers between venture fund managers (VFMs) and high-technology entrepreneurs, yet their role and influence appears undervalued. These findings have implications for entrepreneurial access to much needed funding and also for the identification of investment opportunities for VFMs.     

A configurational approach to understanding gender differences in entrepreneurial activity: a fuzzy set analysis of 40 countries

This paper explores entrepreneurial activity for men and women across 40 countries. Building on research grounded in social cognitive and institutional theories, we propose a configurational approach to explore how effects of different causal conditions are interdependent in explaining gender specific entrepreneurial activity. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, we find that no one causal element is sufficient for promoting entrepreneurial activity. Instead micro-level attributes of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and opportunity recognition in combination with macro-level business environment formal institutions and national culture create configurations of conditions that lead to high levels of entrepreneurial activity amongst men and women. Moreover, the causal factors configure in different ways for male and female entrepreneurs. This study demonstrates the value of using a configurational analytical technique to explore together the micro- and macro- complexities of what drives men and women around the world to engage in entrepreneurial activity.     

Public policy recommendations for promoting female entrepreneurship in Europe

From 2021 onwards, female entrepreneurship is expected to grow very substantially as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The introduction of teleworking and staggered hours in many countries at national or workplace level will make possible the conciliation between labour and family life. The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential explanatory factors in the behaviour of female entrepreneurship in Europe so as to subsequently propose efficient economic policy measures to promote it. The distinction between opportunity and necessity female entrepreneurs have been considered since both motivation and factors are different in each case. 15 econometric models using the panel data method for a sample of 20 previously selected European countries (grouped by their GDP level) during the period 2001 to 2018 have been estimated to determine which explanatory factors affect female entrepreneurship and necessity-based female entrepreneurship. The empirical analysis used demonstrates that more women enter into entrepreneurship due to necessity rather than in pursuit of opportunity for European countries both with higher levels of GDP and for countries with lower levels of GDP. In this context, the following policy measures should be implemented to promote female entrepreneurship in Europe: the optimization of government spending (training courses and mentoring, public procurement, stronger networks, support in reconciling business and family life, etc.), the government incentives for subsidizing high interest rates to support women in accessing financing, and the improvement of entrepreneurship education to increase the confidence of women in themselves in their own entrepreneurial capabilities.

     

Determinants of agricultural entrepreneurship: a GEM data based study

The aim of this study is to explain the determinants of entrepreneurship in agriculture industry. What are the drivers of early stage entrepreneurial activity of agri-business entrepreneur and how it is influenced by various cognitive and social capital factors? To answers these questions various driving factors of entrepreneurial activity have been explored from the literature. To achieve the objective, the study uses APS (Adult Population Survey) 2013 data of 69 countries provided by GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor). Total number of respondents 1470, those who are alone or with others, currently trying to start a new business, including any self-employment or selling any goods or services to others in Agriculture Industry, were selected from the data set. To measure the influence of cognitive and social capital factors on early stage entrepreneurial activity logistic regression was employed. The findings show that those who see entrepreneurial opportunities, are confident in their own skills and ability, having personal relationship or social networks with existing entrepreneurs, and have invested in others business as business angels are more likely to become an entrepreneur. Additionally, fear of failure or risk perception does not prevent people to become entrepreneur. Policy implications have been discussed. This is one the first study of its kind and contributes to the existing literature by explaining agricultural entrepreneurship through an integrated approach of entrepreneurial cognition and social networking.

     

Bridging the disconnect: how network creation facilitates female Bangladeshi entrepreneurship

Networking has been suggested as a tool to address the challenges of social entrepreneurs in severely resource constrained environments. Especially in countries where women do not usually take part in economic activities, like in Bangladesh, stimulating networking and entrepreneurship among women could have a high impact. We use longitudinal data gathered over two years, to study how entrepreneurial networks are developed and used by female entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, and how a third party can stimulate network development. We followed 26 women from the start of their entrepreneurial development. Adopting a social capital perspective on network formation and development, we identified four essential strategies in building entrepreneurial networks: modifying and building on existing bonding networks, transferring linking ties, teaching how to build bridging networks, and the creation of a network of entrepreneurial peers. We found that a third party can successfully stimulate network development for the poorest in Bangladesh. We also found that the patterns of network development in this severely resource-constraint environment are remarkably different from those found in corporate studies. Our findings can contribute to developing new pathways to stimulate entrepreneurship in developing countries.     

International market selection strategies of manufacturing and services firms

This paper discusses the entrepreneurial landscape in Africa and locates a new generation of African entrepreneurs and their business networks within it. Unlike others in that landscape (i.e. micro- or small-scale informal sector vendors, and traditional or multinational large-scale formal sector firms), the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs are business globalists who organized a system of business enterprise networks consisting of national, regional, and pan-African organizations. The study analyses interview data from 57 men and women network members from 10 countries (Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). Some defining characteristics of these entrepreneurs are interactive social and business relationships, use of modern management methods and information technology, trust among fellow members, transparent business practices, advocacy on behalf of the private sector, and commitment to increasing intra-African commerce. Their mission is to improve the climate for private sector business in Africa and to promote regional economic integration. They pursue cross-national commercial ventures, maintain official observer status at established regional economic organizations, sign memoranda of understanding with multilateral agencies, establish venture capital funds, and help to change government policies. The paper identifies characteristics of the ‘new generation’ entrepreneurs, evaluates goals and achievements of their networks, and concludes that despite limitations, these entrepreneurs and their organizations have created intra- and cross-national networks that strengthen private-sector-led economic growth in Africa.     

Factors affecting the success of women entrepreneurs

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the relation that exists between the skills possessed by women entrepreneurs and their motivations, barriers and performance. Thus, on the theoretical framework we review literature some aspects that are related to the skills required of a business owner: level of education, previous occupational experience, and prior business expertise and management skills. The analysis undertaken shows that the lack of education and managerial skills of women business owners are two of the most important variables when it comes to understanding the motivations and the difficulties they have to face.     

Entrepreneurial learning from observing role models

Abstract

This study examines entrepreneurial learning through the observation of role models. Adopting an interpretive and inductive approach, and using biographical interviews and life course techniques, the article examines how sixteen entrepreneurs articulate their entrepreneurial learning from role models. The overarching research question ‘How do entrepreneurs learn from observing role models?’ enables illustrating who the role models are (parents, teachers, colleagues, other entrepreneurs), the relevant social contexts (home, education, workplace) and what is learned in relation to entrepreneurial learning tasks (learning about oneself, managing relationships, the business and small business management). The study contributes to developing the social perspectives of entrepreneurial learning by demonstrating the significance of learning from role models in different social contexts and at distinct entrepreneurial stages pre- and post-start-up.     

Unlocking the influence of family business exposure on entrepreneurial intentions

Although the impact of family business exposure on offspring’s entrepreneurial intentions has attracted significant attention, assessments of this impact remain inconsistent. To solve this puzzle, we switch the focus from the presence of family business exposure to the content of exposure by examining the learning experiences of business family offspring. Specifically, we test the impact of perceived parental entrepreneurial rewards on entrepreneurial intentions and explore the underlying process in this relationship. Findings from a sample of 131 Chinese business family offspring support that perceived parental entrepreneurial rewards are positively related to entrepreneurial intentions, and this relationship is found to be partially mediated by entrepreneurial self-efficacy; additionally, offspring’s family business involvement weakens the positive impact of perceived parental entrepreneurial rewards on entrepreneurial intentions but strengthens the impact of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The findings from this research contribute to the social cognitive career theory, family business, and entrepreneurial cognition literature. We also provide practical guidance for parent entrepreneurs by clarifying the impact of perceived parental entrepreneurial rewards and family business involvement on their children’s entrepreneurial intentions.