Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of networks in the 116 foreign market entries (FMEs) of women-owned small businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study based on semi-structured interviews with eight female entrepreneurs in the Danish fashion design industry.
Findings
The results show that contrary to the traditional emphasis placed on the role of networks in the internationalization literature, the focal female entrepreneurs only spartanly used networks to expand into new foreign markets. Indeed, networks were used in only 24 of the 116 FMEs. The respondents largely attributed this reluctance to use networks to work-life balance issues and misgivings about knowledge misappropriation. In contrast, the focal entrepreneurs strongly attested to the decisive role played by information and communication technology (ICT) in allowing firms to enter foreign markets without incurring the costs of network membership or compromising their work-life balance.
Research limitations/implications
The present study’s findings suggest that ICT has a much stronger role in the FME of firms than previously envisioned.
Practical implications
The study’s findings also have important implications for policymakers and practitioners charged with promoting the international growth of female entrepreneurial ventures.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its kind to explore the way in which female entrepreneurs enter new foreign markets.
Purpose
While the role of government-funded export promotion programs (EPPs) on the international activities of small ventures has been previously documented, they do not appear to have been hitherto studied in a gendered context. This is unfortunate given the evidence suggesting growing numbers of female entrepreneurs with strong international orientation. Thus, this study aims to provide a better understanding of the experiences and practices of women entrepreneurs with regard to EPPs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on personal interviews with eight female-owned international entrepreneurial ventures in the fashion design industry in Denmark. A qualitative research design was used to explore the experiences of the women entrepreneurs regarding different types of EPPs and their various providers, and the data were analysed and interpreted using the NVivo software program.
Findings
The results show that while the level of awareness of EPPs was generally high, the programs were overwhelmingly perceived to be overly expensive, excessively time-consuming, insufficiently specific and largely irrelevant. When the women business owners had availed themselves of their services, the usefulness of the EPPs was deemed to be largely imperceptible. Plausible explanations for these results may be found in the gendered entrepreneurial literature. The study’s findings provide important gendered insights to government support agencies charged with promoting the internationalisation of female-owned small businesses.
Originality/value
This study presents novel gendered findings of the experiences of female entrepreneurs regarding the role played by EPPs in the growth of their firms on international markets. It contributes to the literature on the growing phenomenon of female international entrepreneurs.
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