Barbara Orser

Women Entrepreneurs and Financial Capital

This work examines gender differences among Canadian small and medium enterprise (SME) owners seeking external financing, including commercial debt, leasing, supplier financing, and equity capital after controlling for size and industry sector. The work also examines potential gender differences in owners’ strategic choices (application rates) and financiers’ evaluative responses (turndown rates). Contrary to previous work that did not control for size and sector of firm, women business owners were equally likely as men to seek all types of external financing, except for external equity capital. Business in which women held majority ownership were significantly less likely to seek equity capital even after controlling for systemic factors. Male and female business owners that do apply for financing were equally likely to obtain capital. When asked the reasons for not seeking financing, the majority of respondents, male and female, specified that financing was not needed. Recommendations about future research are advanced.

Gender and Export Propensity

This article draws on theories about the internationalization process of small– and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) and feminist arguments to explain gender differences in export propensity. Findings are based on a large–scale survey of Canadian SMEs. After controlling for sector, firm, and owner attributes, female majority–owned firms were significantly less likely to export than firms owned by men. The implications for entrepreneurship and feminist theory, export policy, and research are considered.

Gender influences on career success outcomes

Purpose – Models of career success outcomes have specified that gender is one covariate, among many. Theoretical reasons why gender is better specified as a moderating variable are advanced. The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically how gender moderates that influence of personal and structural factors on objective (total compensation, and ascendency), and subjective (perceived success) career outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – The research draws on a sample of 521 chief executive officers (CEOs), executives and managers. Multivariable (step‐wise) linear regression was employed to examine simultaneously the influence of the predictor variables on career success outcomes.Findings – Even after controlling for explanatory influences on career success, gender influences remained. Gender moderated the predictive influence of international experience on compensation, ascendancy, and perceived success. The findings also illustrate that career development models should be situated by (private versus...

Feminist attributes and entrepreneurial identity

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine how feminist attributes are expressed within entrepreneurial identity.Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a purposive sampling technique to recruit 15 self‐identified “feminist entrepreneurs”. This included retailers, manufacturers, exploration operators, consultants, and professionals. Qualitative data were subject to content analysis.Findings – Contrary to a feminine archetype portrayed as caring and nurturing, respondents do not describe themselves as typically portrayed in the feminist literature. Prevalent themes included participative leadership, action‐oriented, and creative thinker/or problem solver.Research limitations/implications – Researchers should use caution in assuming feminist discourse has direct application to characterizing or stereotyping “feminist” entrepreneurs. The applicability and reliability of “off the shelf” psychometrics to describe contemporary gender roles across the myriads of processes associated with venture ...

The Influence of Gender and Occupational-Role on Entrepreneurs' and Corporate Managers' Success Criteria

Abstract This study explores the construct of success by drawing on a sample of 326 entrepreneurs and 545 corporate managers. Respondents considered success criteria associated with employment and business ownership to be, on average, more important than personal and family dimensions of success. After controlling for occupation-role and human capital (e.g., age, education, years of work experience), the importance of success criteria differed by gender for some, but not all success criteria: male and female managers and entrepreneurs did not differ with respect to the importance ascribed to work-life balance. Among female respondents, an increase in the importance ascribed to “professional autonomy” was associated with decreased likelihood of being employed in a management role in corporate Canada. Among male respondents, an increase in importance ascribed to financial criteria was reflected in an increase likelihood of being employed in a management role in corporate Canada. This research illustrates the importance of controlling for occupation, gender, and human capital when examining work and family values.

Perceived career challenges and response strategies of women in the advanced technology sector

The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of the perceived barriers to career advancement specific to women in the advanced technology sectors. Strategies employed in response to perceived barriers are also examined. Empirical results are based on analysis of qualitative data from a sample of 115 women members of Canadian Women in Technology. Personal-, firm- and industry-level barriers to career advancement were documented. The respondents attributed a high proportion of the challenges they encountered to gender. Respondents were most likely to resolve challenges through personal, or ‘do-it-yourself’, solutions. Few cited firm- or industry-related support structures. While mentoring was identified as a frequently used response strategy through which women address career challenges, the majority of firms in the advanced technology sector lack sufficient numbers of suitable women mentors. The lack of mentorship opportunities is particularly acute for women entrepreneurs. The findings are discussed from the context of contradictions between an industry need to attract and retain entrepreneurial talent and respondents’ perceived career barriers. Industry-level remedial strategies are advanced in the form of: a womens mentoring programme; case studies about successful women entrepreneurs and a website to inform women about career advancement strategies. The programmes were designed by the research team to respond to the challenges cited by women and were implemented in cooperation with the trade association as a critical component of an on-going applied research programme.

Intubation of SARS patients: infection and perspectives of healthcare workers

PurposeThe outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 presented major challenges to the safety of anesthesiologists and other healthcare workers (HCWs). This study determined the incidence of SARS transmission to HCWs who intubated patients and analyzed the concerns of HCWs regarding personal and patient safety.MethodsHealthcare workers who performed tracheal intubation in 10 Toronto hospitals were identified using the Ontario Public Health database. A questionnaire was used to collect information from the HCWs. To determine if the patterns of personal protection or concerns changed over time, data were analyzed according to whether the intubation occurred during SARS 1 (February 23 to April 21) or SARS 2 (April 22 to July 1).ResultsThirty-three HCWs who performed 39 intubations on 35 SARS patients were interviewed. Three of 23 HCWs (13%) acquired SARS during SARS 1 whereas none (0/10) acquired SARS during SARS 2. Personal protection increased from SARS 1 to SARS 2 and HCWs’ concerns changed over time. During SARS 1, concerns focused on the need for personal protective equipment whereas during SARS 2, concerns focused on the need for strict training and patient care protocols. HCWs perceived that their experiences were ineffectively integrated into risk management protocols.ConclusionsProtection guidelines failed to completely prevent the transmission of SARS to HCWs. Nine percent of the interviewed HCWs who intubated patients contracted SARS. A Risk Analysis Framework is presented to facilitate the rapid integration of HCWs’ experiences into practice guidelines.RésuméObjectifĽéclosion du syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère (SRAS) en 2003 a présenté des défis importants à la sécurité des anesthésiologistes et des autres travailleurs de la santé (TS). Ľétude a déterminé ľincidence de transmission du SRAS aux TS qui ont intubé des patients et a analysé les préoccupations des TS concernant la sécurité du personnel et des patients.MéthodeNous avons repéré les TS qui ont réalisé des intubations dans 10 hôpitaux de Toronto grâce à la base de données sur la santé publique de ľOntario. Un questionnaire a été utilisé pour recueillir les informations des TS. Pour vérifier si les modèles de protection individuelle et les préoccupations avaient changé avec le temps, ľanalyse a tenu compte des intubations réalisées pendant les phases I ou II du SRAS: du 23 février au 21 avril ou du 22 avril au premier juillet.RésultatsNous avons interrogé 33 travailleurs qui ont fait 39 intubations sur 35 patients atteints de SRAS. Pendant la phase I, 3 /23 TS (13 %) ont contracté le SRAS et pendant la phase II, aucun (0/10) n’a été atteint. La protection du personnel s’est améliorée ďune phase à ľautre et les inquiétudes ont changé avec le temps. Pendant la phase I, on se préoccupait davantage de la nécessité ďun équipement de protection individuelle tandis qu’à la phase II, ľattention a été centrée sur la formation rigoureuse et le respect des protocoles de soins. Les TS ont eu ľimpression que leurs expériences avaient été mal intégrées aux protocoles de gestion du risque.ConclusionLes directives sur la protection n’ont pas permis ďempêcher complètement la transmission du SRAS aux TS. Parmi les TS qui ont intubé des patients, 9 % ont contracté le SRAS. Un cadre ďanalyse du risque est présenté pour faciliter ľintégration rapide des expériences des TS en directives cliniques.Objectif Ľeclosion du syndrome respiratoire aigu severe (SRAS) en 2003 a presente des defis importants a la securite des anesthesiologistes et des autres travailleurs de la sante (TS). Ľetude a determine ľincidence de transmission du SRAS aux TS qui ont intube des patients et a analyse les preoccupations des TS concernant la securite du personnel et des patients.

Fostering trust in mentoring relationships: an exploratory study

Purpose – Mentoring has been identified as a key strategy to career development and has been argued to be indispensable for women to advance to positions of power. For mentoring to succeed, it is imperative that mentors trust their proteges. However, recent research has suggested that male mentors trust their male proteges more so than their female proteges. Since women are frequently mentored by men, it is imperative that they gain the same level of trust as their male peers enjoy. According to an established model of trust, trust is shaped by the mentors perceptions of protege ability, benevolence and integrity, as well as perceptions of the risk inherent to mentoring. This exploratory research aims to examine what influences these perceptions to shed light on how proteges can gain the trust of their mentors.Design/methodology/approach – Because little research has been conducted in this area, an exploratory qualitative design was chosen. Mayer, Davis and Schoormans model of organizational trust is us...

Banking Experiences Of Canadian Micro-Businesses

Defined as those firms with three or fewer full time employees and annual sales of less than

Gender-Based Small Business Programming: The Case of the Women's Enterprise Initiative

200,000, many micro-enterprises may find it more difficult than larger firms to obtain the debt capital necessary for both expansion and on-going operations. This is because micro-enterprises are often perceived as risky and because banks are not in the venture capital business. Moreover, banking institutions benefit more from the economies of scale inherent in making larger loans. It follows that the terms onwhich lending is extended to small enterprises may be more onerous than the termsextended to larger firms. To the extent that micro-enterprise is dominated by women-owned businesses, the potential scarcity of debt capital could also be experienced as a gender issue. This argumentation motivates the empirical analyses reported in this paper. These arguments lead to two testable hypotheses that this research probes empirically. The first hypothesis is that access to and terms of credit for micro-enterprises are more severe than they are for larger firms. The second hypothesis is that within the micro-enterprise sector access to, and terms of, credit for women owners are, ceteris paribus, more demanding. A taxonomy of the very small business sector is advanced. It is found that size indeed counts against microbusinesses in their banking relationships, but that gender is not a factor. The paper closes by suggesting the development of new technologies to improve the lending efficiencies of micro-loan transactions and the establishment of new lending vehicles. Such changes might be profitable for banks, useful for very small firms, and helpful to community economic development agencies. The high incidence of dissatisfied small business customers suggests the need for a less concentrated small business banking market. To this end, the recommendations of other researchers are endorsed, recommendations for legislative changes that would permit the entry into the lending market of small cooperative banking institutions (such as credit unions and caisses populaires in Canada).