Bank loan officers' perceptions of the characteristics of men, women, and successful entrepreneurs (original) (raw)
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Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2007
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.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2009
In this study we examine the role of socially constructed gender stereotypes in entrepreneurship and their influence on men and women's entrepreneurial intentions. Data on characteristics of males, females, and entrepreneurs were collected from young adults in three countries. As hypothesized, entrepreneurs were perceived to have predominantly masculine characteristics. Additional results revealed that although both men and women perceive entrepreneurs to have characteristics similar to those of males (masculine genderrole stereotype), only women also perceived entrepreneurs and females as having similar characteristics (feminine gender-role stereotype). Further, though men and women did not differ in their entrepreneurial intentions, those who perceived themselves as more similar to males (high on male gender identification) had higher entrepreneurial intentions than those who saw themselves as less similar to males (low male gender identification). No such difference was found for people who saw themselves as more or less similar to females (female gender identification). The results were consistent across the three countries. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.
International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2018
Building on the think managerthink male paradigm, this study tested the psychometric properties of an BEntrepreneurial Task and Relationship^(ETR) scale to assess gender stereotypes in entrepreneurship. The sample was composed of 1056 nonentrepreneurs and 178 entrepreneurs. Non-entrepreneurs rated the characteristics of: 1) a successful entrepreneur (n = 348); 2) a successful female entrepreneur (n = 360); and 3) a successful male entrepreneur (n = 348). Entrepreneurs rated to what extent they ascribe themselves entrepreneurial characteristics. Results revealed psychometric adequacy of a two-dimensional 13-item ETR scale to be invariant across different study conditions, non-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, as well as male and female participants. As with management, entrepreneurship is perceived as strongly associated with task orientation. The think entrepreneurthink male paradigm applies to entrepreneurship, highlighting the need for more awareness of gender stereotypes in that context. Implications of our study can be derived on entrepreneurship education and towards policy makers and media to promote a non-stereotyped image of entrepreneurship and foster this career option, particularly among women.
The role of androgynous gender stereotypes in entrepreneurship
2015
Numerous studies have addressed the phenomenon of entrepreneurship from a gender perspective. In many of them, the gender perspective consists of analyzing the differences shown in the behavior of entrepreneurs based on their biological sex. This approach has several limitations in interpreting the phenomenon and, moreover, developing supportive policies. This paper addresses entrepreneurship from the perspective of the role orientation associated with gender. Based on a questionnaire to 780 students of business administration, the article follows the BSRI methodology to perform analysis. The results of the study confirm the persistence of gender stereotypes and their effect on the entrepreneurial phenomenon. Male stereotypes persist associated with entrepreneurs. But androgynous stereotypes also emerge. The emergence of this kind of stereotype may imply a change in attitude towards entrepreneurship. Finally, this research examines the influence of gender-role orientation of individuals in their entrepreneurial intention, deriving theoretical and practical implications for promoting female entrepreneurship. JEL Codes: L26, J24.
Gender Behavioral Issues and Entrepreneurship
Inside the Mind of the Entrepreneur. Contributions to Management Science, 2018
Women, despite the fact that they make up around 50% of the world’s population, own and manage significantly fewer businesses than men worldwide. Previous empirical research indicates that the gender gap in entrepreneurial propensity mainly comes from subjective perceptions as self-confidence in one’s own skills and fear of failure, and from women’s lower exposure to other entrepreneurs. In this chapter we present laboratory economic experiments that study, under controlled conditions, subjective perceptions of women and men that seem to affect entrepreneurial propensity. The results of the reviewed experiments indicate that correcting factors such as self-confidence is possible (due to its cultural origin) and would reduce differences in entrepreneurial propensity between genders. Specifically, the promotion among women of competitive sports, the emphasis on feminine references in entrepreneurship, and avoiding presenting entrepreneurial information with male stereotyping while reinforcing women stereotyping are recommended ways to help women gain self-confidence in competitive environments, as entrepreneurship. Regarding the other subjective perception that has been found to sustain the gender gap in entrepreneurship propensity, the fear of losses (and/or attitudes towards risk), the reviewed experimental research, still in need of more context-free experiments, similarly suggests cultural changes and education as ways to overcome this gender-gap.
The influence of sex and gender-role orientation in the decision to become an entrepreneur
International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between sex, gender-role orientation (GRO) and the decision to become an entrepreneur. Because of the fact that gender stereotypes have influences on the preferences and choices of individuals in their career, this research proposes the following objectives: to determine the existence of gender stereotypes that have an influence on human behaviour and specially in this research context; to measure the GRO of each individual; and, finally, to analyze the relationship between the entrepreneurial intention, the sex and the GRO of participants. Design/methodology/approach Based on a questionnaire, this study follows the Bem Sex-Role Inventory methodology to perform an analysis by means of the multiple regression model. This study uses two different samples of 760 students who attend business administration and management undergraduate programs. Findings The outcomes show that GRO is a better predictor of the decision to be...
SSRN Electronic Journal
One proposed solution to closing the gender gap in venture capital is to encourage female investors to invest in female entrepreneurs. This paper explores how gender homophily affects the long-term success of male-founded and female-founded firms, defined as the continued ability to raise venture financing. Using longitudinal data on venture-backed firms in the United States and employing matching methods, we find that female-founded firms backed only by female investors are two times less likely to raise additional capital compared to those whose first-round investors include male venture capitalists. We find no equivalent effect for malefounded firms. We propose that when female entrepreneurs receive funding from female investors, the market interprets this as an expression of diversity activism, rather than as a signal of quality. We test this explanation in an experimental setting and show that a female-female investment relationship produces a competence discount for the female entrepreneur, leading to lower evaluations of quality for female, but not male founders.
Differences in perceptions of access to finance between potential male and female entrepreneurs
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 2012
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine whether being female increases the probability that an individual feels difficulty in obtaining finance is a barrier to starting a business. The study aims to extend this to examine if a pure gender effect exists or whether it is the interaction of gender with demographic, economic and perceptual characteristics that plays the most important role in the perception of financial constraint.Design/methodology/approachThe data within this study are drawn from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) adult population survey between 2005 and 2007. The first stage of the study splits male and female respondents into separate sub‐samples and runs individual regressions on each portion of the sample. The second stage of the study combines the male and female portions of the sample to directly examine the differences in perceived financial constraint between genders.FindingsThe findings suggest that a greater proportion of women are solely const...
Theorizing about gender and entrepreneurship: bridging the gap with social psychology
International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 2013
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to approach women's entrepreneurship from a social psychological perspective, with the aim of contributing to a better understanding of the entrepreneurial phenomena and to its development as a field of research. Design/methodology/approach -The gender aspect of entrepreneurship is essentially socio-psychological in nature. First, the authors define the social psychology research scope and present a selection of social psychology theories that are particularly relevant to the domain of women's entrepreneurship. Concepts such as stereotypes, stereotype threat and role models are introduced. Second, the authors instantiate how the social psychology experimental method can address core questions in the women's entrepreneurship field, such as women's under-representation in entrepreneurial positions. Findings -The conclusion of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, social psychology theories can address crucial issues in women's entrepreneurship and on the other hand, experimentation as a research methodology enables us to determine causal relationships. However, given the specificities of both social psychology and women's entrepreneurship, we strongly recommend collaborative research between researchers in the two areas.