IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v47y2023i2p369-397.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Challenging What We Think We Know: Theory and Evidence for Questioning Common Beliefs About the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurial Confidence

Author

Listed:
  • Jennifer E. Jennings
  • Zahid Rahman
  • Dianna Dempsey

Abstract

Skeptical of prevailing depictions and recommendations regarding the gender gap in entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), our aim is to raise and examine alternative interpretations and inferences. We question the common belief that women are under-confident with respect to entrepreneurship and whether this is a “problem†that needs fixing. The findings from two distinct datasets indicate, instead, that women are as likely as men to possess accurate entrepreneurial confidence, which is less likely than over-confidence to be associated with proclivities potentially detrimental to business venturing. Our analysis therefore calls for revised portrayals of—and suggestions for—the ESE of both women and men.

Suggested Citation

  • Jennifer E. Jennings & Zahid Rahman & Dianna Dempsey, 2023. "Challenging What We Think We Know: Theory and Evidence for Questioning Common Beliefs About the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurial Confidence," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(2), pages 369-397, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:47:y:2023:i:2:p:369-397
    DOI: 10.1177/10422587221102108
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10422587221102108
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/10422587221102108?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mathew L. A. Hayward & Dean A. Shepherd & Dale Griffin, 2006. "A Hubris Theory of Entrepreneurship," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(2), pages 160-172, February.
    2. Robin M. Hogarth & Natalia Karelaia, 2012. "Entrepreneurial Success and Failure: Confidence and Fallible Judgment," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(6), pages 1733-1747, December.
    3. Forbes, Daniel P., 2005. "Are some entrepreneurs more overconfident than others?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 623-640, September.
    4. Robert Fairlie & Alicia Robb, 2009. "Gender differences in business performance: evidence from the Characteristics of Business Owners survey," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 375-395, December.
    5. Hean Tat Keh & Maw Der Foo & Boon Chong Lim, 2002. "Opportunity Evaluation under Risky Conditions: The Cognitive Processes of Entrepreneurs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(2), pages 125-148, April.
    6. Joon Mahn Lee & Byoung‐Hyoun Hwang & Hailiang Chen, 2017. "Are founder CEOs more overconfident than professional CEOs? Evidence from S&P 1500 companies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 751-769, March.
    7. Rachel S. Shinnar & Olivier Giacomin & Frank Janssen, 2012. "Entrepreneurial Perceptions and Intentions: The Role of Gender and Culture," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(3), pages 465-493, May.
    8. Sabrina Artinger & Thomas C. Powell, 2016. "Entrepreneurial failure: Statistical and psychological explanations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(6), pages 1047-1064, June.
    9. Hayward, Mathew L.A. & Forster, William R. & Sarasvathy, Saras D. & Fredrickson, Barbara L., 2010. "Beyond hubris: How highly confident entrepreneurs rebound to venture again," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 569-578, November.
    10. Koellinger, Philipp & Minniti, Maria & Schade, Christian, 2007. ""I think I can, I think I can": Overconfidence and entrepreneurial behavior," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 502-527, August.
    11. Stephen X. Zhang & Javier Cueto, 2017. "The Study of Bias in Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(3), pages 419-454, May.
    12. Ahl, Helene & Nelson, Teresa, 2015. "How policy positions women entrepreneurs: A comparative analysis of state discourse in Sweden and the United States," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 273-291.
    13. Richard J. Arend & Xian Cao & Anne Grego‐nagel & Junyon Im & Xiaoming Yang & Sergio Canavati, 2016. "Looking Upstream and Downstream in Entrepreneurial Cognition: Replicating and Extending the Busenitz and Barney (1997) Study," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(4), pages 1147-1170, October.
    14. Zacharakis, Andrew L. & Shepherd, Dean A., 2001. "The nature of information and overconfidence on venture capitalists' decision making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 311-332, July.
    15. Greve, Henrich R., 2018. "Show Me the Data! Improving Evidence Presentation for Publication," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 423-432, June.
    16. Vishal K. Gupta & Daniel B. Turban & S. Arzu Wasti & Arijit Sikdar, 2009. "The Role of Gender Stereotypes in Perceptions of Entrepreneurs and Intentions to Become an Entrepreneur," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 33(2), pages 397-417, March.
    17. Robert A. Baron & Michael D. Ensley, 2006. "Opportunity Recognition as the Detection of Meaningful Patterns: Evidence from Comparisons of Novice and Experienced Entrepreneurs," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(9), pages 1331-1344, September.
    18. Strohmeyer, Robert & Tonoyan, Vartuhi & Jennings, Jennifer E., 2017. "Jacks-(and Jills)-of-all-trades: On whether, how and why gender influences firm innovativeness," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 498-518.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stephen X. Zhang & Javier Cueto, 2017. "The Study of Bias in Entrepreneurship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(3), pages 419-454, May.
    2. Oliver Thomas, 2018. "Two decades of cognitive bias research in entrepreneurship: What do we know and where do we go from here?," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 68(2), pages 107-143, April.
    3. Mingfeng Tang & Hao Huang & Grace Walsh & Maribel Guerrero, 2023. "The impact of entrepreneurial overconfidence on incubator effectiveness," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 416-440, February.
    4. Zhang, Stephen X. & Foo, Maw-Der & Vassolo, Roberto S., 2021. "The ramifications of effectuation on biases in entrepreneurship – Evidence from a mixed-method approach," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    5. László Szerb & Zsófia Vörös, 2021. "The changing form of overconfidence and its effect on growth expectations at the early stages of startups," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 151-165, June.
    6. Dubard Barbosa, Saulo & Fayolle, Alain & Smith, Brett R., 2019. "Biased and overconfident, unbiased but going for it: How framing and anchoring affect the decision to start a new venture," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 528-557.
    7. Kraft, Priscilla S. & Günther, Christina & Kammerlander, Nadine H. & Lampe, Jan, 2022. "Overconfidence and entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of different types of overconfidence in the entrepreneurial process," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    8. John S. Chen & David C. Croson & Daniel W. Elfenbein & Hart E. Posen, 2018. "The Impact of Learning and Overconfidence on Entrepreneurial Entry and Exit," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 989-1009, December.
    9. Lahti, Tom & Halko, Marja-Liisa & Karagozoglu, Necmi & Wincent, Joakim, 2019. "Why and how do founding entrepreneurs bond with their ventures? Neural correlates of entrepreneurial and parental bonding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 368-388.
    10. Anne Chwolka & Matthias G. Raith, 2023. "Overconfidence as a driver of entrepreneurial market entry decisions: a critical appraisal," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 985-1016, April.
    11. Viktorija Ilieva & Thomas Brudermann & Ljubomir Drakulevski, 2018. "“Yes, we know!” (Over)confidence in general knowledge among Austrian entrepreneurs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, May.
    12. Saulo Dubard Barbosa & Alain Fayolle & Brett Smith, 2019. "Biased and overconfident, unbiased but going for it: How framing and anchoring affect the decision to start a new venture," Post-Print hal-01988083, HAL.
    13. Katrin Muehlfeld & Diemo Urbig & Utz Weitzel, 2017. "Entrepreneurs’ Exploratory Perseverance in Learning Settings," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(4), pages 533-565, July.
    14. Cucchiarini, Veronica & Scicchitano, Sergio & Viale, Riccardo, 2024. "The Entrepreneur's Cognitive and Behavioral Journey: Understanding Heuristics and Bias under Risk and Uncertainty," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1390, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    15. Gambardella, Alfonso & Camuffo, Arnaldo & Spina, Chiara, 2020. "Small Changes with Big Impact: Experimental Evidence of a Scientific Approach to the Decision-Making of Entrepreneurial Firms," CEPR Discussion Papers 14909, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Gupta, Vishal K. & Goktan, A. Banu & Gunay, Gonca, 2014. "Gender differences in evaluation of new business opportunity: A stereotype threat perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 273-288.
    17. Robin M. Hogarth & Natalia Karelaia, 2012. "Entrepreneurial Success and Failure: Confidence and Fallible Judgment," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(6), pages 1733-1747, December.
    18. Johannes Brunzel, 2021. "Overconfidence and narcissism among the upper echelons: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(3), pages 585-623, July.
    19. Lucio Fuentelsaz & Consuelo González & Juan P. Maícas, 2021. "High-growth aspiration entrepreneurship and exit: the contingent role of market-supporting institutions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 473-492, June.
    20. Aticus Peterson & Andy Wu, 2021. "Entrepreneurial learning and strategic foresight," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(13), pages 2357-2388, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:47:y:2023:i:2:p:369-397. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.