How Government, Social and Personnel Support Leverage the Sustainability in Start-ups: The Moderating Role of Board Gender Diversity

Abstract

This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of start-up’s sustainable development by integrating systems theory and gender schema theory. We examined the impact of support systems created by government (SFGS), social (SFSS) and human capital (SFHC) on the corporate sustainability of start-ups (SS). Additionally, this study explored the moderating role of board/founders’ gender (G) in these dynamics. To address this gap, data were collected from a sample of 350 start-ups. The researcher employed exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to assess and validate the proposed hypotheses. Findings represented the positive impact of support systems created by human capital on the sustainable development of rural Indian start-ups. Notably, the research also revealed that the founders’ gender moderated two of the three identified effects. It shows sustainability supports start-ups, including the role of gender in sustainability and entrepreneurship literature. Managerially, it highlights the significance of network building, gender equity and skill development. The government needs to put more effort into excluding gender-related barriers in developing countries. This study suggests the integration of system and gender schema theories for start-up corporate sustainability in developing nations. The moderating role of founders’ gender and the use of start-ups as sample units make this research more original and novel.