‘And I'd like to thank my wife…’: Gender dynamics and the ethnic ‘family business’

Alcorso, Caroline

doi:10.1080/08164649.1993.9994678

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…First, contrary to previous research showing that only 35 percent of the spouses of female entrepreneurs take any part in the business (Miettinen, 1986), the reality appears to be more complex with husbands' lives becoming impacted by their wives' entrepreneurship, almost regardless of whether they like it or not. However, what correlates with previous literature is that spouse contributions seem to at least partially mirror the traditional roles of women and men (Alcorso, 1993) with husbands contributing more in terms of business planning, budgeting, and technical support.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Research has also been conducted on female entrepreneurs who do not have spouses, revealing the comfortable situation faced by such women in terms of time management but also the lack of spousal support as adviser or emotional and moral supporter (McKay, 2001). To date, only one empirical study has observed women playing the dominant role in the family business, with their husbands helping out (Alcorso, 1993). In this literature, spouse contributions mirror the traditional roles of women and men, with women adopting a less authoritative role, while men focus more on planning for the future of the business, budgeting, buying, and employing staff (Alcorso, 1993), or technical support (Baines and Wheelock, 1998).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, only one empirical study has observed women playing the dominant role in the family business, with their husbands helping out (Alcorso, 1993). In this literature, spouse contributions mirror the traditional roles of women and men, with women adopting a less authoritative role, while men focus more on planning for the future of the business, budgeting, buying, and employing staff (Alcorso, 1993), or technical support (Baines and Wheelock, 1998). Only 35 percent of the spouses of female entrepreneurs take any part in the business, while 60 percent of male-owned businesses have help from a spouse (Miettinen, 1986).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An examination of how husbands, as key stakeholders, impact the success of women entrepreneurs

Nikina

Shelton

Leloarne

2015

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore: How do changes in the role of the husband affect the marriage of a woman entrepreneur? How do changes in the marriage affect the woman entrepreneur and her relationship with her business? Design/methodology/approach – A novel theoretical approach based on marriage contract theory, gender role ideology and psychological contracts was used. Qualitative methodology included analysis of multiple cases based on rich interview data gathered from 12 Scandinavian couples. Findings – Research revealed that the pattern of dominance between the husband and wife, the gender role ideologies of the two spouses, and the interaction between this pattern and the gender role ideologies, and overall level of marital harmony were key determinants of husbands’ spousal support. Research limitations/implications – Sample size and geographical limitations. Future research: exploring other cultural settings, further application of marriage and psychological contracts in female entrepreneurship; studies of the impact areas of the husband in the wife’s business – also from the perspective of implicit contracts. Practical implications – Research sheds light on how women run their businesses and how the changing roles of the spouse alter marriage dynamics and influence the wife-business relationship. Social implications – Findings benefit female entrepreneurs considering the launch of a business, couples in which the wife currently owns a business, state and governmental policymakers, business consultants, and entrepreneurship instructors. These findings can help couples better prepare for the demands of entrepreneurship. Originality/value – For scholars: expanded understanding of the work-family interface of female entrepreneurs via novel theoretical approach. For business practitioners: understanding the impact of a spouse on life and career of female entrepreneur.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An examination of how husbands, as key stakeholders, impact the success of women entrepreneurs

Nikina

Shelton

Leloarne

2015

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development

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“…Many wives of male entrepreneurs give up their own career to help their spouse (Burke & Belcourt 1989). Indeed, it is suggested that many male-owned businesses would not become established and succeed without such help from a spouse (Alcorso 1993;Goffee & Scase 1986), especially in the early stages of a business start-up (Goffee & Scase 1982;Rosa & Hamilton 1994). Work-family conflict seems to be more pronounced for women who also worked with their domestic partner, making it even more difficult to switch off from the business while at home.…”

Section: Work-family Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is entrepreneurship the answer to achieving work–family balance?

Kirkwood

Tootell

2008

Journal of Management & Organization

145

101

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Many people (particularly women) see entrepreneurship as a way of achieving a better balance between work and family than that provided by paid employment. Fifty-eight entrepreneurs were interviewed in New Zealand (32 women and 26 men) in order to explore the work-family conflict they face, the techniques they use to achieve work–family balance and the effectiveness of these strategies. Our study finds that women entrepreneurs employ a number of flexible work practices, such as choosing where to work, when to work and with whom to work as well as managing their roles within the family. This study concludes that entrepreneurship may not be a panacea for achieving work–family balance. We offer some suggestions for how entrepreneurs may better achieve work–family balance.

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“…The first and most prevalent discussion has been with respect to family businesses (for a recent review, see Zahra and Sharma, 2004). Within this field, there have been a wide range of studies including those focusing on business aspirations and goals of family members (Basu, 2004; Tagiuri and Davis, 1992), leadership (Wah, 2004), gender dynamics (Alcorso, 1993) and ethnic family businesses (McGoldrick and Troast, 1993). A further approach has been to study the demographics of entrepreneur's families and attempt to suggest causality between family background and entrepreneurship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Igniting the entrepreneurial spirit: is the role parents play gendered?

Kirkwood

2007

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior &Amp; Research

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PurposeThe family has the potential to be a breeding ground for entrepreneurs and may be key place where the entrepreneurial spirit is ignited. However, to date there has been little empirical research on how parents may influence their children's subsequent decision to start a new venture.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a qualitative approach to investigate, via in‐depth semi‐structured interviews, the experiences of 50 entrepreneurs (25 men and 25 women).FindingsParents influenced participants' decision to create a new venture in a number of ways and two key gender differences were noted in this parental influence. The first related to how the participants were influenced differently by their mothers and fathers, with fathers playing the primary role in the new venture creation decision. The second was differences between how the women and men participants described the ways they were influenced by their parents. Many women entrepreneurs looked to their parents for advice, support and encouragement, while some men desired independence from their parents (primarily fathers) or were trying to compete with them.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations exist due to the sample size and the complexity of motivations for starting a new venture. This study should be followed by more extensive research, addressing the further research questions and directions that are posed.Originality/valueThis empirical study contributes to the literature by enhancing our limited understanding of how parents influence the decision to start a new venture.

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‘And I'd like to thank my wife…’: Gender dynamics and the ethnic ‘family business’

Cited by 9 publications

References 2 publications

An examination of how husbands, as key stakeholders, impact the success of women entrepreneurs

An examination of how husbands, as key stakeholders, impact the success of women entrepreneurs

Is entrepreneurship the answer to achieving work–family balance?

Igniting the entrepreneurial spirit: is the role parents play gendered?

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