Stemming the gender gap in STEM entrepreneurship – insights into women’s entrepreneurship in science,technology, engineering and mathematics

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are notably important for innovation and technological development, which in turn are seen as drivers of social and economic growth. Hence, researchers and policy-makers have paid substantial attention to analyzing and promoting high-growth ventures in STEM fields. However, STEM fields are highly gender-skewed, regardless of whether the population considered is students, faculty members, graduates, top managers, or entrepreneurs. This is noticeable in the small number of women entrepreneurs with STEM backgrounds. This underrepresentation of women in innovation-driven business startups highlights existing gender biases and systemic disadvantages in social structures, making visible the double masculinity that exists at the intersection of STEM and entrepreneurship. This article addresses this issue by combining insights from research about women’s entrepreneurship and research about the gender aspects of STEM fields. We emphasize institutional, organizational, and individual factors influencing women’s entrepreneurship in STEM fields, laying the foundation for the articles included in this special issue. Finally, we discuss the way forward for research on the gender aspects of STEM entrepreneurship to help us create the knowledge needed to close this gender gap.

     

Green supply chains and the missing link between environmental information and practice

Within the field of green supply chain management (GSCM), an interest in supply chain cooperation to create sustainable competitive advantage, i.e. the collaborative paradigm, has made researchers turn their attention to information related aspects of the supply chain. This study contributes to an understanding of a suboptimal use of environmental information, which is critical for all collaborative efforts aiming at sustainable competitive advantage. The aim of this article is to describe the use of environmental information at different stages of the Swedish food supply chain. The results from this case study of the Swedish food supply chain indicate that environmental information is perceived and used differently by purchasers in the supply chain depending on where (in the supply chain) they are situated in relation to other chain actors. The main contribution of this study is the suggestion of a stage‐dependent connection between perceived environmental cost and perceived environmentally informed consumer demand, which are barriers to GSCM practice discussed in recent GSCM literature. The missing link between information sharing and (environmental) performance of supply chains is explained as distance to end‐consumer in terms of supply chain stages. Implications for GSCM practice and theory are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The political sustainability of a basic income scheme and social health insurance

This paper studies within a two‐stage framework the political economy of a basic income (BI) and social health insurance (SHI) scheme. At the constitutional stage, individuals decide whether these schemes are implemented behind a veil of ignorance about their future income and risk type. This decision is made in anticipation of the outcome at the second stage in which individuals vote on the payroll tax to finance a BI and the contribution rate of a SHI scheme provided these schemes have been implemented. Depending on the amount of healthcare expenditure and the inequalities in income and risk, only a social health insurance scheme is implemented at the constitutional stage.     

Choosing the “cargo” for Noah's Ark - Applying Weitzman's approach to Borana cattle in East Africa

If Noah had had the opportunity to select the animals he took on board his Ark, he would have had to choose between many species, breeds and types within breeds, all containing different genetic material. How could he have made the right choice and which would he have taken on board given the constraints he had to face? Those trying to save threatened livestock breeds within a tight conservation budget face similar questions. In this paper we assess how different types of Borana cattle, a culturally significant breed in East Africa, might be prioritized for conservation. By applying a cost-effectiveness analysis on the basis of Weitzman's approach we conclude that the highest priority should be given to the Ethiopian Borana type (EB) in Ethiopia. Noah, however, would also have been concerned about the problems of inbreeding and effective population size. To overcome this problem we suggest that, rather than loading just two animals, he should have loaded on board 1000 female and 100 male animals as a safe minimum. The minimum cost of conserving 1100 animals of the EB type with the participation of Ethiopian communities is calculated to be €7700 per year, mostly in the form of compensation payments to meet the opportunity costs of livestock-keepers that arise when maintaining the EB.     

Edukation von Patienten bei Ulcus cruris venosum

Dieses Wissen kann Ihren Patienten helfen - Ein diagnostiziertes Ulcus cruris venosum bedeutet für den Betroffenen eine erhebliche Einschr?nkung seiner Lebensqualit?t. Die Erkrankung trifft ihn auf psychischer, physischer und sozialer Ebene. Patientenedukation erm?glicht dem Patienten Verst?ndnis für sein Krankheitsbild sowie für die damit verbundenen Therapie zu entwickeln und er?ffnet so Wege des Miteinanders von Betroffenen und Pflegenden.     

Direct Taxes on Advertising Services

Nine states and four major cities have gross receipts taxes on advertising services. They currently range from 5 percent to less than 1 percent. Additional state and local governments have been confronting advertisers with proposals to institute direct taxes on advertising. The cause appears to be largely the need for increased revenues, not an attempt to harass advertisers.

Considerable insight about the effects of such taxes on advertisers and their suppliers was available from a convenient ad hoc “experiment.” One state imposed such a tax for two years and then repealed it.     

Sind Gruppen die besseren Entscheider? – Experimentelle Evidenz am Beispiel simulierter Entscheidungen im Kontext der Lagerverwaltung

Neben strategischen Entscheidungen geh?ren wiederkehrende Dispositionen unter Unsicherheit zu jenen Determinanten im betrieblichen Alltag, die den Unternehmenserfolg ma?geblich mitbestimmen. Bezüglich der Frage, ob solche Entscheidungen besser von Einzelpersonen oder Gruppen getroffen werden sollten, k?nnen auf Basis der Erkenntnisse der bisherigen Forschung nur bedingte Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet werden. Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt an den bestehenden Forschungsdefiziten an und gibt die Ergebnisse eines Laborexperiments wieder, das den Entscheidungserfolg von Gruppen und Einzelpersonen vergleicht. Das vorliegende Experiment zeigt, dass Gruppen bei wiederkehrenden Dispositionen signifikant rationaler entscheiden. Dieser Rationalit?tsgewinn wird jedoch mit mehr Stress und Friktionen erkauft.     

Health Systems and Health Reform in Europe

The organisation of health care differs widely across Europe. Access to services, financing schemes, incentives for better care, and administrative efficiency are challenges that are being dealt with in a variety of ways. Are insurance-based systems the best solution for balancing resources and services or are national health funds preferable? Does the introduction of competition fulfil high hopes for better service at lower costs? What are the relative advantages and drawbacks of central and local management of health care?