The Influence of CEO Gender on Market Orientation and Performance in Service Small and Medium-Sized Service Businesses

Abstract

This study examines the effects of CEO gender on market orientation and performance (growth and profitability) among a sample of small and medium-sized service businesses. Gender was found to have significant indirect effects (via market orientation) on both market performance (growth) and financial performance (profitability). That is, female-led service SMEs perform significantly better due to their stronger market orientation relative those led by males. The findings further suggest that female-led firms were slightly better than their male-led counterparts in transmitting market performance into financial performance, although the differences were not statistically significant.

EFFECTS OF SIX PERSONALITY FACTORS OF CEOs AT SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES ON PERFORMANCE IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT: FOCUSING ON LEARNING AND GROWTH

“…Among the studies related to the CEO characteristics that determine the outcomes and competitiveness of SMEs, the following areas have been most frequently studied: background and capacity (e.g., Davis, Babakus, Englis, & Pett, 2010;Lee & Kim, 2003;Mazzi, 2011;Park, 2005;Park & Lee, 2011;Soriano & Castrogiovanni, 2012;Thong & Yap, 1995); leadership (e.g., Blackburn, Hart, & Wainwright, 2013;Chung & Park, 2010;Kim, 2007;Zhao, Seibert, & Lumpkin, 2010); and entrepreneurial spirit (e.g., Buyl, Boone, Hendriks, & Matthyssens, 2011;Daily & Dalton, 1992;Kim & Jung, 2015;Won, Hong, & Cha, 2015). In these studies, the CEO's characteristics were shown to affect organisational effectiveness, business performance, and export performance through innovative activities related to the learning ability of the organisation, organisational culture, and technological development.…”

Social Capital, Homophily Ties and Networking Modes: A Gendered Approach to Ceos Evaluations of Organizational Performance

“…Gender plays an important role here. Women are able to apply ideas, skills and knowledge (Davis et al 2010) and place strong emphasis on communication skills (Connerley et al, 2008). Moreover, female CEOsalso rate self-reported performance higher than men (Sorenson et al, 2008).…”

“…Transaction cost theory assumes that individuals who are aware of possible differences between them and others will be more willing to collaborate to achieve concrete and defined goals (Williamson, 1985) and networking is a basic form of collaboration that has positive effects on performance (cf: Hays et al, 2011;Davis et al, 2010;McMurry et al, 2012) but some collaborations may have negative effects on performance as well (Provan, Isett, & Milward, 2007). The observed gaps in the effect of collaborations on performance reflect the variations in performance measurement caused mainly by the diversity in stakeholders' expectations (Herman &Renz 2008) and lack of objective measures of performance.…”

“…Gender studies addressing women's role in management emphasize how women CEOs influence is noticeable (Ibarra, 1993) the evidence regarding gender differences in networking modes and use of homophily ties and their effect on organizational performance is limited (Harrison & Mason, 2007;Davis et al, 2010;Hay et al, 2011). Women's willingness to place strong emphasis on communication (Connerley et al, 2008) and address problems in a wider and more emphatic perspective (Mano & Scehaffer, 2004) are the main reasons why women CEOs are considered as central figures in management positions.…”

“…Women's willingness to place strong emphasis on communication (Connerley et al, 2008) and address problems in a wider and more emphatic perspective (Mano & Scehaffer, 2004) are the main reasons why women CEOs are considered as central figures in management positions. Women's ability to apply ideas, skills and knowledge (Davis et al 2010) either in terms of growth and profitability (Davis et al, 2010;Hay et al, 2011) or the application of professional expertise (Davis et al 2010;Connerley et al, 2008) has been shown to have a positive effect on entrepreneurial performance (Harrison & Mason, 2007;Klyver, 2011).…”