Sara Carter

Gender as a Determinant of Small Business Performance: Insights from a British Study

The performance of small businesses, that is the ability of small firms to contribute to job and wealth creation through business start-up, survival and growth, has been an important area of policy and academic debate in the 1980s. Surprisingly little has been written about gender and small business performance. Our literature search revealed only a small number of studies of any substance on this subject, though over forty made some mention of it, Most studies shied away from direct examination of quantitative performance measures (such as jobs created, sales turnover, annual growth), tending to concentrate on qualitative measures of success or failure. The paper examines small business performance and gender using data obtained from a survey of 600 (300 women, 300 men) Scottish and English small business ownermanagers, part of a three year study on the impact of gender on small business management. Analyses suggest that the relationship between gender and small business performance is complex, but that gender still appears to be a significant determinant even after other key factors are controlled for.

Social Entrepreneurship: Theoretical Antecedents and Empirical Analysis of Entrepreneurial Processes and Outcomes

This paper seeks to address the emerging issue of social entrepreneurship by exploring both the historical and theoretical antecedents of social enterprise and its contemporary practice. The paper draws on the relevant historical, sociological and economics based literature as well as that emanating from the entrepreneurship domain. In-depth interviews with 80 social entrepreneurs revealed five key themes within which the practice of social entrepreneurship could be compared and contrasted with for-profit entrepreneurship. These include: the entrepreneurial process, in particular opportunity recognition; network embeddedness; the nature of financial risk and profit; the role of individual versus collective action in managing and structuring enterprises; and creativity and innovation.

Gender, Entrepreneurship, and Bank Lending: The Criteria and Processes Used by Bank Loan Officers in Assessing Applications

Previous research provides unequivocal evidence that women–owned businesses start with both lower levels of overall capitalization and lower ratios of debt finance. Structural dissimilarities between male–owned and female–owned businesses explain most, but by no means all, of these contrasting funding profiles. Explanations of residual differences, viewed in terms of supply–side discrimination or demand–side debt and risk aversion, remain controversial. Using experimental and qualitative methodologies, this study explores the role of gender in bank lending decisions, focusing on the criteria and processes used by male and female loan officers. Results reveal similarities in the criteria used to assess male and female applicants but show modest differences in the emphasis given to certain criteria by male and female lending officers. The processes used by male and female lending officers to negotiate loan applications revealed the greatest differences.

Extending women’s entrepreneurship research in new directions

The dramatic expansion of scholarly interest and activity in the field of womens entrepreneurship within recent years has done much to correct the historical inattention paid to female entrepreneurs and their initiatives. Yet, as the field continues to develop and mature, there are increasingly strong calls for scholars to take their research in new directions. Within this introduction to the special issue, we expand upon the reasons for this call, describe who responded, and summarize the new frontiers explored within the work appearing in this and another related collection. We conclude by delineating new territories for researchers to explore, arguing that such endeavors will join those in this volume in not only addressing the criticisms raised to date, but also in generating a richer and more robust understanding of womens entrepreneurship.

Improving the numbers and performance of women‐owned businesses: some implications for training and advisory services

The importance of women as a largely untapped pool of entrepreneurs has been widely recognised by economic development agencies. However, despite a number of initiatives designed to stimulate female self‐employment, relatively few women are starting in business. Research has shown that the experience of business ownership for women is very different than for men. While early studies of female entrepreneurship suggested that the start up period posed particular constraints for women, it was assumed that these barriers were resolved once trading commenced. The use of more sophisticated methodologies and sampling strategies has revealed profound gender differences in both women’s experiences of business ownership and the performance of women owned firms. Some of the key research findings which have emerged from gender based studies of business ownership are outlined, and the implications of these findings for training and advisory services dealing with the small business sector are examined.

The Impact of Gender on Small Business Management: Preliminary Findings of a British Study

Dr Peter Rosa, Lecture with the scottish enterprise fondations, stirling unviersity and sara carter, sernior research fellow with the deprtment of Marketing, stratchclyde univerisity. Glasgow, Scotland, directed a three year study on the impact of Gender on small business managment, funded by the UK economic and social science research council. Daphne Hamilton and Helen burns were research fellows working on the project. in spite of growing research into women in business, the quesion of how far gender difference exists in small business ownership and managment has not been rigorously addressed, mainly because most studies have been exploratory and insfficiently sophisticated in terms of of methodology. the research aimed to explore the issue of gender idiffrence in small buisness ownership and managment in a much more systematic and rigorous way, through a quantitative survey of 300 female and 300 male business properietors from three sectors: textiles and clothing, business services, and hotels and catering. the survey ws supllmented with thiry qualitative interviews of sposuse of properietors of both sexes. This paper introdcue prelliminary finding from the research which show that the impact of gender is considratable but often complex. of special note are complication of co-ownership with men and the impact of copetitive sectoral forces taht could shape managment practice.

The Rewards of Entrepreneurship: Exploring the Incomes, Wealth, and Economic Well-Being of Entrepreneurial Households

The financial rewards and consequences of entrepreneurship for the individual are unknown. Prior studies have focused on self-employment income estimates and have highlighted the low median earnings that may be anticipated. The apparent financial irrationality of entrepreneurship is typically explained in terms of nonpecuniary compensating factors, such as autonomy and satisfaction. However, the financial rewards of entrepreneurship are multifaceted and include different types and amounts of rewards at different stages of the business life cycle. More accurate reflections of entrepreneurial rewards require researchers to move away from the use of narrow and static measures and instead focus on a broad set of indicators that collectively contribute to overall economic well-being. Entrepreneurial rewards are not only determined by business rationality, but are influenced by household needs that evolve over time. Hence, the analysis of entrepreneurial rewards requires an approach that captures the processes of reward decision making over the business life cycle while contextualizing reward decisions within the entrepreneurial household.

Accounting for change: professional status, gender disadvantage and self‐employment

Research investigating female self‐employment has often highlighted gender‐based differences in the performance of women‐owned firms. Some studies have linked the under‐performance of women‐owned firms to the lower levels of capitalisation used at business inception, associating this with disadvantages accrued in waged work and occupational segregation more generally. Drawing on this association, there has been a tendency to treat self‐employed women as an undifferentiated group, failing to recognise heterogeneity therein. Considers the impact of the possession of professional qualifications on self‐employment and to what degree they might have the potential to mobilise substantial business capital. The discussion explores the influence of gender in the work and career experiences of women and whether the advantages accrued from professional status might challenge gender disadvantage within self‐employment. Results are presented from an exploratory study of male‐owned and female‐owned accountants in independent practice, which suggest that gender disadvantage persists, even within the context of professional practice.

Reassessing Portfolio Entrepreneurship

Portfolio entrepreneurship, that is the simultaneous ownership of several businesses, is becoming an important theme in the small business research literature. To date, however, there have been few dedicated empirical investigations of the phenomenon. This article analyses research on portfolio entrepreneurship that has been derived from a wide range of subject literatures, including economic sociology, cultural anthropology and agricultural economics. The aim is to provide a deeper understanding of the motivations for portfolio entrepreneurship approaches and the processes associated with it.

Marketing theory and practice

Acknowledgements - Preface - List of Tables - List of Figures - Evolution of the Marketing Concept M.J.Baker - The Need for Theory in Marketing M.J.Baker - Sources and Status of Marketing Theory S.Brown - Consumer Behaviour L.McGregor - Organisational Buying Behaviour S.Rajagopa l - Market Segmentation D.Littler - Marketing Research J.Webb - Modelling Markets P.Leeflang - Diffusion Theory & Marketing M.J.Baker - New Product Development S.Hart - Pricing A.Diamantopoulos - Channel Management S.Ennis - Marketing Communications K.Crosier - Analytical Frameworks for Strategic Marketing Planning D.Brownlie - Business to Business Marketing K.Bernard - Retailing S.Carter - Customer Care B.Donaldson - Consumerism D.Tixier - International Marketing M.McDermott & Chan - Marketing and Eastern Europe P.Ghauri - Relationship Marketing Chan & M.McDermott - Marketing, Theory and Practice in a Post-modern Era Cova & Badot - Notes and References - Index