Nascent Entrepreneurs: Gender, Culture, and Perceptions
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Published
Sep 29, 2017
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Abstract
We assess gender differences in 1526 nascent entrepreneurs (college students) across four countries to test a model of entrepreneurial intentions incorporating gen-der, culture, and perceptions about entrepreneurship motives and barriers. In contrast to prior research on surviving entrepreneurs, we study people who may be at the very beginning of entrepreneurial careers.
The model proves significant—we find support for hypotheses regarding the im-pact of gender, culture, and perceptions of motives and barriers. There are substan¬tial differences between men and women. Culture affects students’ intentions, women have lower levels of entrepreneurial intentions, motives generally have a positive influ¬ence on intentions, barriers have a negative influence, men appear more influenced by mo-tives, and women appear more influenced by barriers.
The results in China provide interesting exceptions in the analyses and suggest directions for future research specific to that country. As a whole, the study results suggest directions for future research on entrepreneurial intentions. We also discuss implications of the study for entrepreneurship education.
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References
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[28] Packham, G., Jones, P., Miller, C., Pickernell, D. and Brychan, T. (2010). “Attitudes towards entrepreneurship education: a comparative analysis.” Education + Training, 52 (8/9): 568-586.
[29] Peterman, N.E. and Kennedy, J. (2003). “Enterprise education: Influencing students’ perceptions of entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 28 (2), 129-144.
[30] Petridou, E., Sarri, A. and Kyrgidou, L.P. (2009). “Entrepreneurship education in higher educational institutions: the gender dimension.” Gender in Management: An International Journal, 24 (4), 286-309.
[31] Pruett, M. Shinnar, R., Toney, B., Llopis, F., and Fox, J. (2009). “Explaining entrepreneurial intentions of university students: A cross-cultural study.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 15 (6): 571-594.
[32] Radović-Marković, Mirjana. (2013). „Female entrepreneurship: Theoretical approaches.“ Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (1-2): 1-9.
[33] Robichaud, Y., McGraw, E., Cachon, J., Bolton, D., Codina, J., Eccius-Wellmann, C., and Walsh, A. (2013). „Female entrepreneurs’ motives and SME’s growth: An international study.“ Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (3-4): 1-27.
[34] Sanchez, J. and Licciardello, O. (2012). “Gender differences and attitudes in entrepreneurial intentions: The role of career choice.” Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (1-2): 7-27.
[35] Sandhu, M.S., S.F. Sidique, and S. Riaz. (2011). “Entrepreneurship barriers and entrepreneurial inclination among Malaysian postgraduate students.” In-ternational Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 17(4): 428-449.
[36] Sexton, D. and Bowman-Upton, N. (1990). “Female and male entrepreneurs: Psychological characteristics and their role in gender related discrimination.” Journal of Business Venturing, 5(1): 29-36.
[37] Shinnar, R.S., Giacomin, O. and Janssen, F. (2012). “Entrepreneurial percep-tions and intentions: The role of gender and culture.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 36(3): 465-493.
[38] Taatila, V. (2010). „Learning entrepreneurship in higher education.“ Education + Training, 52(1): 48-61.
[39] Van Gelderen, M. (2010). “Autonomy as the guiding aim of entrepreneurship education.” Education + Training, 52(8/9): 710-721.
[40] Veciana, J., Aponte, M., and Urbano, D. (2005). “University students’ atti-tudes toward entrepreneurship: A two countries comparison.” International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 1 (2), 165-182.
[41] Wilson, F., Marlino, D. and Kickul, J. (2004). “Our entrepreneurial future: Examining the diverse attitudes and motivations of teens across gender and ethnic identity. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 9(3): 177-97.
[42] Wu, S. and Wu, L. (2008). The impact of higher education on entrepreneurial intentions of university students in China.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 15 (4): 752-774.
[43] Yordanova, D.I. and Tarrazon, M.A. (2010). “Gender differences in entrepre-neurial intentions: Evidence from Bulgaria.” Journal of Developmental Entre-preneurship, 15 (3): 245-261.
[44] Zhao, H., Seibert, S.E. and Hills, G.E. (2005). “The mediating role of self-efficacy in the development of entrepreneurial intentions.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 90 (6): 1265-72.
[2] Bandura, A. (1992). Social cognitive theory of social referencing. In Social Referencing and the Social Construction of Reality in Infancy, Plenum, ed. S. Feinman, 175–208, New York, NY.
[3] Birdthistle, N. (2008). “An examination of tertiary students’ desire to found an enterprise.” Education + Training, 50 (7): 552-567.
[4] Dhaliwal, S. (2010). “Training women to win: A practical perspective on the training needs of women entrepreneurs.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 2 (3): 287-290.
[5] Fayolle, A. (2008). “Entrepreneurship education at a crossroads: Towards a more mature teaching field.” Journal of Enterprising Culture, 16 (4): 325-337.
[6] Finnerty, J. and A.T Krzystofik. (1985). “Barriers to small business for-mation.” Journal of Small Business Management, 23 (3), 50-58.
[7] Genesca, E. and Veciana, J. (1984). “Actitudes hacia la creacion de empresas.” Informacion Comercial Espanola, No. 611, 147-55.
[8] Giacomin, O., Janssen, F., Pruett, M., Shinnar, R., Llopis, F., and Toney, B. (2011). “Entrepreneurial intentions, motivations and barriers: Differences among American, Asian and European students.” International Entrepreneur-ship and Management Journal, 7 (2): 219-238.
[9] Gupta, V.K. and Bhawe, N.M. (2007). “The influence of proactive personality and stereotype threat on women’s entrepreneurial intentions.” Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 13 (4): 73-85.
[10] Hoelscher, M. (2012). “Entrepreneurship education: Lessons learned.” Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (1-2): 125-129.
[11] Holland, N. (2014). “Cultural and socio economic experiences of female en-trepreneurs in Brazil and the United States: An exploratorial and empirical analysis.” Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (1-2): 3-37.
[12] Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
[13] Humbert, A.L. and Drew, E. (2010). “Gender, entrepreneurship and motiva-tional factors in an Irish context.” International Journal of Gender and Entre-preneurship, 2 (2): 173-196.
[14] Jose, S.C. and Orazio, L. (2012). “Gender differences and attitudes in entre-preneurial intentions: the role of career choice.” Journal of Women’s Entre-preneurship and Education, (1-2): 7-27.
[15] Katz, J. (2003). “The chronology and intellectual trajectory of American entrepreneurship education.” Journal of Business Venturing, 18: 283-300.
[16] Kew, J., Herrington, M., Litovsky, Y., and Gale, H. (2013). GEM and YBI Youth Report: The State of Global Youth Entrepreneurship, published by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and Youth Business International.
[17] Khadija, M., Usman, Y., and Mohson, A. (2012). Entrepreneurial attributes among postgraduate students of a Pakistani university. Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (3-4): 86-101.
[18] Kickul, J., Wilson, F., Marlino, D. and Barbosa, S.D. (2008). “Are misalign-ments of perceptions and self-efficacy causing gender gaps in entrepreneurial intentions among our nation’s teens?” Journal of Small Business and Enter-prise Development, 15 (2): 321-335.
[19] Kirkwood, J. (2009). #Is a lack of self-confidence hindering women entrepre-neurs?” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 1(2): 118-133.
[20] Klyver, K. and Grant, S. (2010). “Gender differences in entrepreneurial net-working and participation.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepre-neurship, 2 (3): 213-227.
[21] Langowitz, N. and Minniti, M. (2007). “The entrepreneurial propensity of women.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 31 (3): 341-364.
[22] Lo, C., Sun, H. and Law, K. (2012). Comparing the entrepreneurial intention between female and male engineering students. Journal of Women’s Entrepre-neurship and Education, (1-2): 28-51.
[23] Mazzarol, T., Volery, T., Doss, N. and Thein, V. (1999). “Factors influencing small business start-ups.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, 5 (2): 48-63.
[24] Miller, L. and Budd, J. (1999). “The development of occupational sex-role stereotypes, occupational preferences and academic preferences in children at ages 8, 12 and 16.” Educational Psychology, 19 (1): 17-35.
[25] Minniti, M. and Nardone, C. (2007). “Being in someone else’s shoes: the role of gender in nascent entrepreneurship.” Small Business Economics, 28: 223-238.
[26] Minniti, M., Bygrave, W.D., Autio, E. (2005). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), Executive Report. Babson College and London Business School, Wellesley, MA.
[27] Nabi, G., Holden, R. and Walmsley, A. (2010). “Entrepreneurial intentions among students: towards a re-focused research agenda.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 17 (4): 537-551.
[28] Packham, G., Jones, P., Miller, C., Pickernell, D. and Brychan, T. (2010). “Attitudes towards entrepreneurship education: a comparative analysis.” Education + Training, 52 (8/9): 568-586.
[29] Peterman, N.E. and Kennedy, J. (2003). “Enterprise education: Influencing students’ perceptions of entrepreneurship.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 28 (2), 129-144.
[30] Petridou, E., Sarri, A. and Kyrgidou, L.P. (2009). “Entrepreneurship education in higher educational institutions: the gender dimension.” Gender in Management: An International Journal, 24 (4), 286-309.
[31] Pruett, M. Shinnar, R., Toney, B., Llopis, F., and Fox, J. (2009). “Explaining entrepreneurial intentions of university students: A cross-cultural study.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, 15 (6): 571-594.
[32] Radović-Marković, Mirjana. (2013). „Female entrepreneurship: Theoretical approaches.“ Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (1-2): 1-9.
[33] Robichaud, Y., McGraw, E., Cachon, J., Bolton, D., Codina, J., Eccius-Wellmann, C., and Walsh, A. (2013). „Female entrepreneurs’ motives and SME’s growth: An international study.“ Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (3-4): 1-27.
[34] Sanchez, J. and Licciardello, O. (2012). “Gender differences and attitudes in entrepreneurial intentions: The role of career choice.” Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, (1-2): 7-27.
[35] Sandhu, M.S., S.F. Sidique, and S. Riaz. (2011). “Entrepreneurship barriers and entrepreneurial inclination among Malaysian postgraduate students.” In-ternational Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 17(4): 428-449.
[36] Sexton, D. and Bowman-Upton, N. (1990). “Female and male entrepreneurs: Psychological characteristics and their role in gender related discrimination.” Journal of Business Venturing, 5(1): 29-36.
[37] Shinnar, R.S., Giacomin, O. and Janssen, F. (2012). “Entrepreneurial percep-tions and intentions: The role of gender and culture.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 36(3): 465-493.
[38] Taatila, V. (2010). „Learning entrepreneurship in higher education.“ Education + Training, 52(1): 48-61.
[39] Van Gelderen, M. (2010). “Autonomy as the guiding aim of entrepreneurship education.” Education + Training, 52(8/9): 710-721.
[40] Veciana, J., Aponte, M., and Urbano, D. (2005). “University students’ atti-tudes toward entrepreneurship: A two countries comparison.” International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 1 (2), 165-182.
[41] Wilson, F., Marlino, D. and Kickul, J. (2004). “Our entrepreneurial future: Examining the diverse attitudes and motivations of teens across gender and ethnic identity. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 9(3): 177-97.
[42] Wu, S. and Wu, L. (2008). The impact of higher education on entrepreneurial intentions of university students in China.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 15 (4): 752-774.
[43] Yordanova, D.I. and Tarrazon, M.A. (2010). “Gender differences in entrepre-neurial intentions: Evidence from Bulgaria.” Journal of Developmental Entre-preneurship, 15 (3): 245-261.
[44] Zhao, H., Seibert, S.E. and Hills, G.E. (2005). “The mediating role of self-efficacy in the development of entrepreneurial intentions.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 90 (6): 1265-72.