Unlocking Innovation in Women-Owned Firms: Strategies for Educating the Next Generation of Women Entrepreneurs
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Sep 27, 2017
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Abstract
In this article we report on the results of a survey of innovative practices in a sample of U.S. firms. Survey results reveal gender differences in the areas of both human and social capital. In the area of human capital, women were less likely to have advanced degrees or senior management experience. In the area of social capital, although a high percentage of women engaged in networking activities, there is some evidence that their networking strategies were less targeted than those of men. Consistent with prior research, women entrepreneurs had lower levels of “self-efficacy” or confidence in their ability to identify and develop innovative ideas. The implications of these findings for the education and training of women entrepreneurs are discussed.
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References
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[9] Ibid. 2004. Gatekeepers of Venture Growth: A Diana Project Report on the Role and Participation of Women in the Venture Capital Industry. Kansas City, Missouri: Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
[10] Carter, Nancy M., William B. Gartner, Kelly G. Shaver, and Elizabeth J. Gatewood. 2003. “The Career Reasons of Nascent Entrepreneurs.” Journal of Business Venturing 18: 13-39.
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[12] Coleman, Susan. 2005. “The Impact of Human Capital Measures on the Performance of Women-Owned Small Firms.” Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship 17 (2): 39-55.
[13] Ibid. 2007. “The Role of Human and Financial Capital in the Profitability and Growth of Women-Owned Small Firms.” Journal of Small Business Management 45 (3): 303-319.
[14] Correll, Shelley J. 2001. “Gender and the Career Choice Process: The Role of Biased Self-Assessments.” The American Journal of Sociology 106 (6): 1691-1730.
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[18] Fairlie, Robert W. and Alicia M. Robb. 2009. “Gender Differences in Business Performance: Evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners Survey.” Small Business Economics 33: 375-395.
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[20] Henry, Colette, Francis Hill, and Claire Leitch. 2005. “Entrepreneurship Education and Training: Can Entrepreneurship be Taught? Part II.” Education & Training 47 (2/3): 158-169.
[21] Ibid. 2007. “Evaluating Entrepreneurship Education and Training: Implications for Program Design.” In Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurship Education, Volume I: A General Perspective, ed. A. Fayolle, 248-260. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
[22] Kepler, Erin and Scott Shane. 2007, September. “Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really That Different?” SBA Office of Advocacy. http://www.sba.gov/advo (accessed August 25, 2011).
[23] McMullan, E., J.J. Chrisman, and K. Vesper. 2001. “Some Problems in Using Subjective Measures of Effectiveness to Evaluate Entrepreneurial Assistance Programs.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 26 (1): 37-54.
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[26] Morris, Michael H., Nola N. Miyasaki, Craig E. Watters, and Susan Coombes. 2006. “The Dilemma of Growth: Understanding Venture Size Choices of Women Entrepreneurs.” Journal of Small Business Management 44 (2): 221-244.
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[28] Orser, Barbara and Sandra Hogarth-Scott. 2002. “Opting for Growth: Gender Dimensions of Choosing Enterprise Development.” Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences 19 (3): 284-300.
[29] Reynolds, P.D., S.M. Camp, W.D., Bygrave, E. Autio, and M. Hay. 2002. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2001 Executive Report. Babson College, Babson Park, MA and London Business School, London, UK.
[30] Robb, Alicia and Susan Coleman. 2010. “Financing Strategies of New Technology-Based Firms: A Comparison of Women-and Men-Owned Firms.” Journal of Technology Management and Innovation 5 (1): 30-50.
[31] Roomi, Muhammad Azam and Pegram Harrison. 2008. “Training Needs for Women-Owned SMEs in England.” Education & Training 50 (8/9): 687-696.
[32] Roomi, Muhammad Azam, Pegram Harrison, and John Beaumont-Kerridge. 2009. “Women-Owned Small and Medium Enterprises in England.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 16 (2): 270-288.
[33] Schiller, B.R. and P.E. Crewson. 1997. “Entrepreneurial Origins: A Longitudinal Inquiry.” Economic Inquiry 35 (3): 523-531.
[34] Sexton, D.L., N.B. Upton, L.E. Wacholtz, and P.P. McDougall. 1997. “Learning Needs of Growth-Oriented Business Entrepreneurs.” Journal of Business Venturing 12: 1-8.
[35] Sonnert, Gerhard and Gerald Holton. 1996. “Career Patterns of Women and Men in the Sciences.” American Scientist 84: 63-71.
[36] Storey, D.J. 2000. “Six Steps to Heaven: Evaluating the Impact of Public Policies to Support Small Business in Developed Economies.” In The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship, ed. D. Sexton and H. Landstrom, 176-193. Backwell, Oxford.
[37] Tai, A.R., and R.L. Sims. 2005. “The Perception of the Glass Ceiling in High Technology Companies.” Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies 12 (1): 16-23.
[38] Treanor, Lorna and Colette Henry. 2010. “Gender in Campus Incubation: Evidence from Ireland.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 2 (2): 130-149.
[39] Treanor, Lorna, Collette Henry, and Farzana Miahj. 2010. “Supporting Women-Led New Venture Creation in the Bio-Sciences: The Role of the Incubator”. Paper presented at the 2010 Diana International Conference on Women’s Entrepreneurship, Banff, Alberta.
[40] Tynan, Margaret, Dennis Thomas, Margaret Durand, Bill O’Gorman, and Nerys Fuller-Love. 2009. “Training Female Entrepreneurs: Lessons from the FEIW Project.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 1 (3): 253-260.
[41] Van der Sluis, Justin, Mirjam Van Praag, and Wim Vijverberg. 2005. “Entrepreneurship Selection and Performance: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Education in Developing Economies.” The World Bank Economic Review 19 (2): 225-261.
[42] Vesper, K. 1982. “Research on Education for Entrepreneurship.” In Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship, ed. C.A. Kent, D.L. Sexton, and K.H. Vesper, 321-343. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 321-343.
[43] Walker, Elizabeth and Beverley Webster. 2004. “Gender Issues in Home-based Businesses.” Women in Management Review 19 (7/8): 404-412.
[44] Walker, Elizabeth, Calvin Wang, and Janice Redmond. 2008. “Women and Work-Life Balance: Is Home-based Business Ownership the Solution?” Equal Opportunities International 27 (3): 258-275.
[45] Watson, John and Rick Newby. 2005. “Biological Sex, Stereotypical Sex-Roles, and SME Owner Characteristics.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 11 (2): 129-143.
[46] Watson, K., S. Hogarth-Scott, and N. Wilson. 1998. “Small Business Start-ups: Success Factors and Support Implications.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 4 (3): 217-238.
[47] Wilson, Fiona, Jill Kickul, and Deborah Marlino. 2007, May. “Gender, Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy, and Entrepreneurial Career Intentions: Implications for Entrepreneurship Education.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice: 387-406.
[48] Wilson, Fiona, Jill Kickul, Deborah Marlino, Saulo D. Barbosa, and Mark D. Griffiths. 2009. “An Analysis of the Role of Gender and Self-Efficacy in Developing Female Entrepreneurial Interest and Behavior.” Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 14 (2): 105-119.
[49] Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. 2011. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics (accessed August 15, 2011).
[50] Zafar, Basit. 2009, February. “College Major Choice and the Gender Gap.” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Report No. 364.
[2] Allen, I. Elaine, Amanda Elam, Nan Langowitz, and Monica Dean. 2008. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2007 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.
[3] Becker-Blease, John R., Susan Elkinawy, and Mark Stater. 2010. “The Impact of Gender on Voluntary and Involuntary Executive Departure.” Economic Inquiry 48 (4): 1102-1118.
[4] Becker-Blease, John R. and Jeffrey E. Sohl. 2007. “Do Women-Owned Businesses Have Equal Access to Angel Capital?” Journal of Business Venturing 22 (4): 503-521.
[5] Bobbitt-Zeher, Donna. 2007. “The Gender Income Gap and the Role of Education.” Sociology of Education 80 (1): 1-22.
[6] Boden, Richard J. Jr. and Alfred R. Nucci. 2000. “On the Survival Prospects of Men’s and Women’s New Business Ventures.” Journal of Business Venturing 15: 347-362.
[7] Boyd, N. and G. Vozikis. 1994. “The Influence of Self-Efficacy on the Development of Entrepreneurial Intentions and Actions.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 18 (4): 63-77.
[8] Brush, Candida, Nancy Carter, Elizabeth Gatewood, Patricia Greene, and Myra Hart. 2001. The Diana Project: Women Business Owners and Equity Capital: The Myths Dispelled. Kansas City, Missouri: Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
[9] Ibid. 2004. Gatekeepers of Venture Growth: A Diana Project Report on the Role and Participation of Women in the Venture Capital Industry. Kansas City, Missouri: Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
[10] Carter, Nancy M., William B. Gartner, Kelly G. Shaver, and Elizabeth J. Gatewood. 2003. “The Career Reasons of Nascent Entrepreneurs.” Journal of Business Venturing 18: 13-39.
[11] Cliff, Jennifer E. 1998. “Does One Size Fit All? Exploring the Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Growth, Gender, and Business Size.” Journal of Business Venturing 13: 523-542.
[12] Coleman, Susan. 2005. “The Impact of Human Capital Measures on the Performance of Women-Owned Small Firms.” Journal of Business & Entrepreneurship 17 (2): 39-55.
[13] Ibid. 2007. “The Role of Human and Financial Capital in the Profitability and Growth of Women-Owned Small Firms.” Journal of Small Business Management 45 (3): 303-319.
[14] Correll, Shelley J. 2001. “Gender and the Career Choice Process: The Role of Biased Self-Assessments.” The American Journal of Sociology 106 (6): 1691-1730.
[15] Cross, C. and M. Linehan. 2006. “Barriers in Advancing Female Careers in the High Tech Sector: Empirical Evidence from Ireland.” Women in Management Review 21 (1): 28-39.
[16] Crump, B.J., K. Logan, and A. McIllroy. 2007. “Does Gender Still Matter? A Study of the Views of Women in the ICT Industry in New Zealand.” Gender, Work, and Organization 14 (4): 349-370.
[17] Ding, Waverly W., Fiona Murray, and Toby E. Stuart. 2006. “Gender Differences in Patenting in the Academic Life Sciences.” Science 313: 665-667.
[18] Fairlie, Robert W. and Alicia M. Robb. 2009. “Gender Differences in Business Performance: Evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners Survey.” Small Business Economics 33: 375-395.
[19] Harrison, Richard T. and Colin M. Mason. 2007. “Does Gender Matter? Women Business Angels and the Supply of Entrepreneurial Finance.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 31 (3): 445-472.
[20] Henry, Colette, Francis Hill, and Claire Leitch. 2005. “Entrepreneurship Education and Training: Can Entrepreneurship be Taught? Part II.” Education & Training 47 (2/3): 158-169.
[21] Ibid. 2007. “Evaluating Entrepreneurship Education and Training: Implications for Program Design.” In Handbook of Research in Entrepreneurship Education, Volume I: A General Perspective, ed. A. Fayolle, 248-260. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
[22] Kepler, Erin and Scott Shane. 2007, September. “Are Male and Female Entrepreneurs Really That Different?” SBA Office of Advocacy. http://www.sba.gov/advo (accessed August 25, 2011).
[23] McMullan, E., J.J. Chrisman, and K. Vesper. 2001. “Some Problems in Using Subjective Measures of Effectiveness to Evaluate Entrepreneurial Assistance Programs.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 26 (1): 37-54.
[24] Menzies, T.V., M Diochon, and Y. Gasse. 2004. “Examining Venture-Related Myths Concerning Women Entrepreneurs.” Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 9 (2): 89-107.
[25] Minniti, Maria. 2010. “Female Entrepreneurship and Economic Activity.” European Journal of Development Research 22 (3): 294-312.
[26] Morris, Michael H., Nola N. Miyasaki, Craig E. Watters, and Susan Coombes. 2006. “The Dilemma of Growth: Understanding Venture Size Choices of Women Entrepreneurs.” Journal of Small Business Management 44 (2): 221-244.
[27] National Center for Education Statistics Fast Facts. 2009. http://www.nces.ed.gov (accessed August 15, 2011).
[28] Orser, Barbara and Sandra Hogarth-Scott. 2002. “Opting for Growth: Gender Dimensions of Choosing Enterprise Development.” Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences 19 (3): 284-300.
[29] Reynolds, P.D., S.M. Camp, W.D., Bygrave, E. Autio, and M. Hay. 2002. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2001 Executive Report. Babson College, Babson Park, MA and London Business School, London, UK.
[30] Robb, Alicia and Susan Coleman. 2010. “Financing Strategies of New Technology-Based Firms: A Comparison of Women-and Men-Owned Firms.” Journal of Technology Management and Innovation 5 (1): 30-50.
[31] Roomi, Muhammad Azam and Pegram Harrison. 2008. “Training Needs for Women-Owned SMEs in England.” Education & Training 50 (8/9): 687-696.
[32] Roomi, Muhammad Azam, Pegram Harrison, and John Beaumont-Kerridge. 2009. “Women-Owned Small and Medium Enterprises in England.” Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 16 (2): 270-288.
[33] Schiller, B.R. and P.E. Crewson. 1997. “Entrepreneurial Origins: A Longitudinal Inquiry.” Economic Inquiry 35 (3): 523-531.
[34] Sexton, D.L., N.B. Upton, L.E. Wacholtz, and P.P. McDougall. 1997. “Learning Needs of Growth-Oriented Business Entrepreneurs.” Journal of Business Venturing 12: 1-8.
[35] Sonnert, Gerhard and Gerald Holton. 1996. “Career Patterns of Women and Men in the Sciences.” American Scientist 84: 63-71.
[36] Storey, D.J. 2000. “Six Steps to Heaven: Evaluating the Impact of Public Policies to Support Small Business in Developed Economies.” In The Blackwell Handbook of Entrepreneurship, ed. D. Sexton and H. Landstrom, 176-193. Backwell, Oxford.
[37] Tai, A.R., and R.L. Sims. 2005. “The Perception of the Glass Ceiling in High Technology Companies.” Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies 12 (1): 16-23.
[38] Treanor, Lorna and Colette Henry. 2010. “Gender in Campus Incubation: Evidence from Ireland.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 2 (2): 130-149.
[39] Treanor, Lorna, Collette Henry, and Farzana Miahj. 2010. “Supporting Women-Led New Venture Creation in the Bio-Sciences: The Role of the Incubator”. Paper presented at the 2010 Diana International Conference on Women’s Entrepreneurship, Banff, Alberta.
[40] Tynan, Margaret, Dennis Thomas, Margaret Durand, Bill O’Gorman, and Nerys Fuller-Love. 2009. “Training Female Entrepreneurs: Lessons from the FEIW Project.” International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 1 (3): 253-260.
[41] Van der Sluis, Justin, Mirjam Van Praag, and Wim Vijverberg. 2005. “Entrepreneurship Selection and Performance: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Education in Developing Economies.” The World Bank Economic Review 19 (2): 225-261.
[42] Vesper, K. 1982. “Research on Education for Entrepreneurship.” In Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship, ed. C.A. Kent, D.L. Sexton, and K.H. Vesper, 321-343. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 321-343.
[43] Walker, Elizabeth and Beverley Webster. 2004. “Gender Issues in Home-based Businesses.” Women in Management Review 19 (7/8): 404-412.
[44] Walker, Elizabeth, Calvin Wang, and Janice Redmond. 2008. “Women and Work-Life Balance: Is Home-based Business Ownership the Solution?” Equal Opportunities International 27 (3): 258-275.
[45] Watson, John and Rick Newby. 2005. “Biological Sex, Stereotypical Sex-Roles, and SME Owner Characteristics.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 11 (2): 129-143.
[46] Watson, K., S. Hogarth-Scott, and N. Wilson. 1998. “Small Business Start-ups: Success Factors and Support Implications.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research 4 (3): 217-238.
[47] Wilson, Fiona, Jill Kickul, and Deborah Marlino. 2007, May. “Gender, Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy, and Entrepreneurial Career Intentions: Implications for Entrepreneurship Education.” Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice: 387-406.
[48] Wilson, Fiona, Jill Kickul, Deborah Marlino, Saulo D. Barbosa, and Mark D. Griffiths. 2009. “An Analysis of the Role of Gender and Self-Efficacy in Developing Female Entrepreneurial Interest and Behavior.” Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 14 (2): 105-119.
[49] Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. 2011. http://www.nsf.gov/statistics (accessed August 15, 2011).
[50] Zafar, Basit. 2009, February. “College Major Choice and the Gender Gap.” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Report No. 364.