The strengths of close ties: Taiwanese online entrepreneurship, gender and intersectionality

Abstract

This article examines entrepreneurs who have started innovative Internet and mobile technology companies in Taiwan because they are at the forefront of industrial changes in the country. Similar to findings in Europe and the USA, education and careers in technology in Taiwan remain dominated by men. However, I argue that the gender inequality of the sector is partly the result of the fact that small new enterprises rely on family support and close social networks. Few women are able to join the sector with male friends and colleagues due to the close social ties of the founding teams (homophily).Among my female interviewees, half have started their nascent companies with their husbands and male partners (husband and wife teams). However, gender, family backgrounds and childcare responsibilities affect both men and women, and the interviewees in my study were open in discussing these personal factors in relation to being entrepreneurs. This article argues that starting an Internet company is a family decision, discussed within the household. Intersectionality, not only gender, explains the founders' decision to start a company, and their choice of co-founders.

Development and validation of an internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy scale

“…Internet entrepreneurs have to believe they have the ability to utilize IT-related technology to aid their online businesses. This is corroborated in recent studies, indicating that online entrepreneurs use social media, mobile or Internet-of-Things technologies to start their online businesses (Duffy and Pruchniewska, 2017;Wing-Fai, 2016;Yu et al, 2017). The technology utilization dimension is different from computer efficacy because the conceptual domain of the former is larger than the latter.…”

Developing entrepreneurial resilience: implications for human resource development

“…Among the variables they categorized into entrepreneurial skills, assertiveness, interpersonal reactivity and problem-solving orientation have a positive effect on business success (Caliendo and Kritikos, 2008). Interestingly, gender and sexual orientation are found to play a big role in business creation (Akanji, 2016;Allen, 2000;Powell and Eddleston, 2013;Shepherd and Patzelt, 2015;Wing-Fai, 2016). Research shows that compared to their male counterparts, female entrepreneurs experience more difficulties in securing financial support and building professional/social networks.…”

“…Informal relationships with family and acquaintances. Supportive family is the basic source of finances and materials for initial start-up capital, as well as psychological strut (Allen, 2000;Brüderl and Preisendörfer, 1998;Powell and Eddleston, 2013;Wing-Fai, 2016). In particular, spousal commitment and encouragement are key to entrepreneurial success (Brüderl and Preisendörfer, 1998;Yang and Danes, 2015).…”

Levelling the playing field? Towards a critical-social perspective on digital entrepreneurship

“…proliferation of information of all types, and a number of novel challenges for people navigating this 'information overload'. Thus, while it can be safely assumed that some kinds of information asymmetry have been ameliorated, key information crucial to the wealth creation aspects of digital entrepreneurial success is still guarded, accessible primarily by those high in the social strata, or whose social positionality permits them entrance into highly homophilic entrepreneurial teams and networks (Braguinsky et al, 2012;Wing-Fai, 2016).…”

“…Heterogeneity in selfemployed population (Cheah, 1990) Social hierarchies and power relations shape digital activities and experiences (Daniels, 2009;Sassen, 2002) Homophily amongst entrepreneurial communities (Ruef et al, 2003;Wing-Fai, 2016)…”