Influence of stages of economic development on women entrepreneurs' startups

Abstract

Women entrepreneurs add to the economic well-being of countries. This study examines whether stages of economic development (SEDs) influence women entrepreneurs similarly across national settings. This study approaches the environments in which women entrepreneurs launch their businesses from two perspectives-family support and personal problems-in Canada, China, Egypt, Morocco, Poland, South Korea, and Turkey. Findings show that the relationship between SEDs and family instrumental support (financial and organizational) presents an S shape, whereas that between SEDs and family moral support is an inverted S shape. Evidence confirms that the relationship between SEDs and personal problems follows an inverted U-shape, with personal problems increasing with SEDs to an optimal point, above or below which personal problems decrease. This study exemplifies the need for joined theory and practice to influence public policy worldwide. The results are useful for further developing policies to promote women-owned business startups by understanding what barriers women entrepreneurs face and what solutions work best with the stage of country development.

Factors Driving Foreign Women Entrepreneurship in China

“…Research on women entrepreneurship was particularly neglected in the past (Ascher, 2012). However, in recent years, there has been an increasing number of research studies examining women entrepreneurs (Lee & Marvel, 2014;Welsh, Kaciak, & Thongpapanl, 2016). Yadav et al (2016) reviewed 185 papers published in 12 well-established entrepreneurship journals about women entrepreneurship between the 1900s and 2016 and found that this domain was not a significant area of research until late 1990s or even early 2000s.…”

“…they were conducted within some national boundaries (Yadav & Unni, 2016). Therefore, Welsh et al (2016) recommended more quantitative and crosscultural investigations across countries. Minniti et al (2010) highlighted the importance of knowing the differences between and commonalities across individuals and across countries to deepen the understanding of female entrepreneurship (Minniti & Naudé, 2010).…”

“…The words 'family' and 'women' are very closely related to each other even when it comes to entrepreneurship. There is a strong link between female entrepreneurship and the prevailing family systems (Welsh et al, 2016) in which identity enactment is observed by embedding habitual routines into their business practices (Lewis, Ho, Harris, & Morrison, 2016). Researchers have concluded generally that women have different aspirations and non-pecuniary motives for pursuing entrepreneurship, as well as a greater need to gain flexibility for balancing work and family responsibilities (Minniti & Naudé, 2010).…”

“…A common view is that women's primary role is running the home and reproduction (Gherardi, 2015). Given the dual responsibilities of women, the work-family conflict constituted a key barrier to the success of women-owned businesses (Welsh et al, 2016).…”

From Conception to Start-Up: Who and What Affect Female Entrepreneurship

“…Moreover, 51% of female-owned companies survive more than 10 years, and 61% of female-owned companies are sole proprietorships in Taiwan. Women play a significant role in job creation and economic development (Carrasco, 2014;Welsh, Kaciak, & Thongpapanl, 2016).…”