Business as Plan B

Abstract

This article develops and empirically evaluates an institutional theory of gender inequalities in business start-up, ownership, and growth orientation. I argue that in contexts in which institutional arrangements such as paid leave, subsidized childcare, and part-time employment opportunities mitigate work-family conflict, women are less likely to opt for business ownership as a fallback employment strategy. As a result, women in these contexts may be relatively less well represented among entrepreneurs as a whole but more well represented in growth-oriented forms of entrepreneurship. To evaluate this claim, I analyze survey data from 24 countries over the span of eight years. Multilevel analyses show that supportive work-family institutions are associated with larger gender gaps in the odds of early-stage and established business ownership but smaller gender gaps among business owners in terms of their business size, growth aspirations, and propensity to innovate or use new technology. Consistent with my theoretical argument, women business owners are also less likely to report pursuing entrepreneurship because they lacked attractive employment options in contexts in which supportive institutions are in place. Findings suggest that institutional contexts characterized by salient work-family conflict may fuel women's aggregate representation in business activity but reinforce their segregation into less growth-oriented (and thus lower-status) ventures.

Women Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Review to Outline the Boundaries of Scientific Literature

“…In general, men appreciate good pay, job security and promotion opportunities, while women prefer opportunities to use their initiative and flexible hours (Zou, 2015). The greater motivational desire among women to achieve a better balance between work and family life, leaving aside the desire for economic wealth (Thébaud, 2015), could explain the importance of social entrepreneurship as a possible career option.…”

“…Other empirical evidence has shown the opposite. According to Thébaud (2015), work-family conflict can be an important factor that motivates women to start a business. For example, business creation can offer women considerable flexibility in terms of work hours (for example, work only a few hours a week or work at home) allowing them to find a balance between work and family commitments (Kirkwood and Tootell, 2008).…”

Male and female entrepreneurs’ employment growth ambitions: the contingent role of regulatory efficiency

“…Second, formal institutional arrangements shape not only the number of women (and men) exploring entrepreneurial opportunities and making strategic choices, but also in what ways these women form and realize growth ambitions (Brush et al 2009;Thébaud 2015). We utilize both economic and management approaches to understanding how entrepreneurs both operate within controls and adopt to controls imposed by formal institutions (Cuervo-Cazurra et al 2019).…”

Studying Entrepreneurship as an Institution

“…In general, women's rates of entrepreneurial activity roughly follow those of their male counterparts in a given country, but a persisting gender gap in both entrepreneurial attitudes and action exists within virtually all countries (Jennings & Brush, 2013;Kelley, Brush, Greene, & Litovsky, 2011). While lower rates of entrepreneurship among women are often attributed to gender-based variations in human and social capital required for business entry (Kim, Aldrich, & Keister, 2006), the inclusion of measures of such capital in models predicting self-employment does not eliminate gender differences (Budig, 2006;Thébaud, 2015). Thus, it seems reasonable to attribute widespread differences in men's and women's propensity to found new organizations, at least in part, to normative, collective understandings that commonly define entrepreneurship as less appropriate for women than men (Baughn, Chua, & Neupert, 2006;Elam & Terjesen, 2010).…”

“…In line with this, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor data also show that, in both highly and less developed economies, women are more likely to be among those in early-stage entrepreneurship phases, 3 even though men are more likely to be established business owners (Kelley et al, 2011, p. 19, p. 31). The incompatibility of family and work roles may limit women's access to formal employment, thereby encouraging them to seek employment with more casual operations, at least initially (Budig, 2006;Thébaud, 2015). And again, the greater the proportion of a group engaged in activities in the informal economy, the more likely its members will be characterized by an emergent entry mode.…”