The impact of social network support on opportunity intention among prospective male and female entrepreneurs during 2019-nCov pandemic

Abstract

PurposeThe novel coronavirus (nCoV) pandemic, and the challenges of social distancing, proffer a unique opportunity to re-explore the role of social network support in entrepreneurship. Applying social support theory and gender schema theory, this study aims to examine the gender-based differences in prospective entrepreneurs' reliance on their social networks in their entrepreneurial journey amid social turmoil.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected two-stage primary survey data of prospective entrepreneurs within the pandemic's timeframe from Science and Technology Parks in Iran, one of the first countries to deal with the first, second and third waves of the 2019-nCoV virus.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that female entrepreneurs rely more strongly on their social network support for guidance and encouragement, which positively affects their opportunity intention. While this effect is also seen in men, the effect size is smaller. Also, prospective female entrepreneurs were generally more dissuaded from opportunity intention by the severe perceived environmental uncertainty of the crisis than were men.Originality/valuePrior research on the interaction between social network support and opportunity intentions has been examined in the context of socio-economic normalcy. The authors test whether, how and why these interactions hold in times of crisis, with especial attention to the mechanisms of experienced stress, perceived environmental uncertainty and idea innovativeness.

The moderating role of individual and social resources in gender effect on entrepreneurial growth aspirations

“…In particular, males tend to be less risk-averse (Borghans et al, 2009;Emami et al, 2023) and more overconfident. Recent developments in behavioural endocrinology indicate that the steroid hormone testosterone plays a role in attitudes towards economic risk-taking, and its level is on average eight times higher in men compared to women (Apicella et al, 2015).…”

“…In particular, males tend to be less risk-averse (Borghans et al. , 2009; Emami et al. , 2023) and more overconfident.…”

“…That way, this study identifies critical conditions that shape the effects of resources. In so doing, we build on the literature that emphasises relative advantage in female social abilities and competences that enable female entrepreneurs to reach out and utilise the resources that are socially available (Emami et al, 2023;Hamdani et al, 2023), which helps us explain differences in growth aspirations, and the role of social resources in diminishing the gender gap.…”

Bridging the valley of death: examining university science parks' influence on revenue generation

“…The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the global economy (Emami et al, 2023). However, in the midst of these challenges, several emerging countries, including China, are actively accelerating their economic model transformations (Baldwin and Freeman, 2020).…”