Gender, personal values, strategies and small business performance

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -While most studies concerning gender differences in small business performance have emerged from developed countries, how applicable the results are to transitional economies, where there still exist significant differences in the socialisation of men and women, is not clear. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of gender on the performance of small businesses in Ghana by exploring the impact of personal values on business owners' choice of strategies, specifically asking, do women and men pursue different business strategies, how do personal values influence their strategies and how do their strategies affect performance? Design/methodology/approach -A total of 600 owner-managers of small retail shops in the Greater Accra Region were surveyed. Results were analysed using the partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling. Findings -The results suggest that there are gender differences in personal values, which lead to different strategies adopted by women and men, which in turn influence performance; specifically Ghanaian women owner-managers are more risk-averse than Ghanaian men, and this affects their pursuit of specific functional strategies and ultimately their performance in varied ways. Research limitations/implications -Further studies will need to replicate these findings with other types of businesses, in other locations. Practical implications -The results suggest that closer attention should be given to developing the entrepreneurial values of women if the goal of greater economic development is to be achieved in transitional economies. Originality/value -Limited research has been conducted on women and men small business owners in transitional economies such as Ghana. This empirical research provides important insights into this field.

Jiwa Kewirausahaan dan Nilai Kewirausahaan Meningkatkan Kemandirian Usaha melalui Perilaku Kewirausahaan

“…Nilai-nilai tersebut terdiri atas kreativitas, pengambilan risiko, inovasi, berorientasi prestasi, ambisi, dan kemerdekaan Boohene et al (2008). Nilai dalam menjalankan bisnis mengandung unsur pertimbangan yang mengembangkan gagasan-gagasan seorang pribadi atau sosial, maka lebih dipilih dibanding dengan bentuk perilaku atau bentuk akhir keberadaan perlawanan atau kebaikan.…”

“…Pilihan strategi dalam perusahaan kecil diimplementasikan berdasarkan tujuan pribadi dan keinginan pemilik yang didasarkan pada nilai-nilai pribadi pengelola usaha (Boohene, Sheridan, & Kotey 2008). Nilai-nilai pribadi yang terkait dengan strategi yang proaktif, sering disebut sebagai nilai-nilai kewirausahaan, meliputi kreativitas, pengambilan risiko, inovasi, berorientasi prestasi, ambisi, dan kemerdekaan (Hodgetts & Kuratko 2001;Kickul & Gundry 2002;Boohene et al, 2008).…”

“…Nilai-nilai pribadi yang terkait dengan strategi yang proaktif, sering disebut sebagai nilai-nilai kewirausahaan, meliputi kreativitas, pengambilan risiko, inovasi, berorientasi prestasi, ambisi, dan kemerdekaan (Hodgetts & Kuratko 2001;Kickul & Gundry 2002;Boohene et al, 2008). Selain itu nilai-nilai kesetaraan, perlindungan sosial dan kasih sayang digambarkan sebagai stategi konservatif dan dikaitkan dengan tipe yang reaktif (Kotey & Meredith 1997;Boohene et al, 2008).…”

Empirical development taxonomy of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in South Moravian Region

“…Business strategies are accompanied also by changes in activities in the main functional areas (Boohene et al, 2008). According to Singh et.…”

“…Apparently, for many SMEs the decisions regarding strategic management occur in cases of survival and operational necessity rather than in case of enterprise growth and development (Beaver and Prince, 2004). However, there are an immense number of strategy concept defi nitions (Boohene et al, 2008). An overview of diff erent perspectives and typologies of strategies can be found, for instance, in the empirical study by Gibcus and Kemp (2003) or from the perspective of historical development of strategic management by Hoskisson, (1999).…”