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Gender and Ownership in UK Small Firms

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  • Peter Rosa
  • Daphne Hamilton

Abstract

The emphasis on the individual “female entrepreneur†in much of the small business literature in the last decade disguises the fact that many women in business ownership are in partnership with others, usually with men. How “gender†impinges on the process of small business ownership has been little studied. The paper examines gender and ownership using evidence from a three-year study on the impact of gender on small business management, involving interviews with 602 male and female UK business owners, drawn from three industrial sectors. Difficulties were encountered in interpreting sex differences as “gender†trends, owing to significant sectoral variation. Nevertheless, some marked gender differences were identified. These referred to differential patterns of kinship with the respondent; the allocation and perception of specialist roles within the business; and the fact that female owners are less likely to be associated with more than two businesses. Overall sole traders were in the minority in both sexes, implying that most owners shared responsibility and management in some way with other owners. The paper concludes with methodological implications of co-ownership for the sampling and analysis of small business owner/managers from a gender perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Rosa & Daphne Hamilton, 1994. "Gender and Ownership in UK Small Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 18(3), pages 11-27, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:18:y:1994:i:3:p:11-27
    DOI: 10.1177/104225879401800302
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Candida G. Brush, 1992. "Research on Women Business Owners: Past Trends, a New Perspective and Future Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 16(4), pages 5-30, July.
    2. Sue Birley & Caroline Moss & Peter Saunders, 1987. "Do Women Entrepreneurs Require Different Training?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 12(1), pages 27-36, July.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Jerome A. Katz & Pamela M. Williams, 1997. "Gender, self-employment and weak-tie networking through formal organizations," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 183-198, January.
    3. Gry Agnete Alsos & Lars Kolvereid, 1998. "The Business Gestation Process of Novice, Serial, and Parallel Business Founders," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 22(4), pages 101-114, July.
    4. Araby Madbouly & Huda Al Khayyal & Anwar Mourssi & Waleed Al Wakeel, 2021. "Determinants of GCC Women Entrepreneurs Performance: Are they Different from Men?," Journal of Asian Business Strategy, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 11(2), pages 83-94, December.
    5. Johnson, Michael A. & Stevenson, Regan M. & Letwin, Chaim R., 2018. "A woman's place is in the… startup! Crowdfunder judgments, implicit bias, and the stereotype content model," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 813-831.
    6. Helene Ahl, 2006. "Why Research on Women Entrepreneurs Needs New Directions," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(5), pages 595-621, September.
    7. Yang Zhao & Xuemei Xie & Liuyong Yang, 2021. "Female entrepreneurs and equity crowdfunding: the consequential roles of lead investors and venture stages," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 1183-1211, September.
    8. Jodyanne Kirkwood, 2009. "Spousal Roles on Motivations for Entrepreneurship: A Qualitative Study in New Zealand," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 372-385, December.
    9. Carter Sara & Rosa Peter, 1998. "The financing of male-- and female--owned businesses," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 225-242, January.
    10. Peter Rosa, 1998. "Entrepreneurial Processes of Business Cluster Formation and Growth by ‘Habitual’ Entrepreneurs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 22(4), pages 43-61, July.
    11. Maria Noguera & Claudia Alvarez & José M. Merigó & David Urbano, 2015. "Determinants of female entrepreneurship in Spain: an institutional approach," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 341-355, December.
    12. Yang Zhao & Xuemei Xie & Liuyong Yang, 0. "Female entrepreneurs and equity crowdfunding: the consequential roles of lead investors and venture stages," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-29.
    13. Ioannis Giotopoulos & Alexandra Kontolaimou & Aggelos Tsakanikas, 2017. "Drivers of high-quality entrepreneurship: what changes did the crisis bring about?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 913-930, April.
    14. Kamaha Njiwa, Marinette & Atif, Muhammad & Arshad, Muhammad & Mirza, Nawazish, 2023. "The impact of female dominance on business resilience: A technology adoption perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    15. Xuemei Xie & Jiuchang Lv, 2016. "Social networks of female tech-entrepreneurs and new venture performance: the moderating effects of entrepreneurial alertness and gender discrimination," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 963-983, December.
    16. Jay Mitra & Asma Basit, 2021. "Personal networks and growth aspirations: a case study of second-generation, Muslim, female entrepreneurs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 121-143, January.
    17. Barbara Orser & Martine Spence & Allan Riding & Christine A. Carrington, 2010. "Gender and Export Propensity," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 34(5), pages 933-958, September.
    18. Donald R. Williams, 2004. "Effects of Childcare Activities on the Duration of Self–Employment in Europe," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 28(5), pages 467-486, September.

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