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Male vs. female business owners: Are there differences in investment behavior?

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  • Pelger, Ines
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    Abstract

    This paper analyzes gender differences in the investment activity of German small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The empirical analysis is carried out on a sample of firms drawn from the KfW Mittelstandspanel, a representative survey of German SMEs for the period from 2003 to 2009. We find evidence that female-owned firms are less likely to invest and if they invest, then their average investment rate is lower. These differences cannot entirely be explained by firm or owner characteristics. Furthermore, women s investment is less sensitive to cash flow, which indicates that it is unlikely that their lower investment is driven by difficulties in acquiring external finance. An analysis of stated investment goals reveals that women have different preferences and attitudes towards investment. They indicate to a lesser extent aspiring and growth-orientated investment goals like sales increase, innovation/R&D or implementation of new products. --

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    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association in its series Annual Conference 2012 (Goettingen): New Approaches and Challenges for the Labor Market of the 21st Century with number 62016.

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    Date of creation: 2012
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    Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc12:62016

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    1. Stephen, Roper & Jonathan M., Scott, 2009. "Perceived financial barriers and the start-up decision: An econometric analysis of gender differences using GEM data," MPRA Paper 23342, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. " The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-92, July.
    3. Alexander Muravyev & Dorothea Schäfer & Oleksandr Talavera, 2007. "Entrepreneurs' Gender and Financial Constraints: Evidence from International Data," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 706, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    4. Verheul, Ingrid & Thurik, Roy, 2001. " Start-Up Capital: "Does Gender Matter?"," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 329-45, June.
    5. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Rebel A. Cole & Hamid Mehran, 2009. "Gender and the availability of credit to privately held firms: evidence from the surveys of small business finances," Staff Reports 383, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    7. Stewart C. Myers, 2001. "Capital Structure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 81-102, Spring.
    8. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    9. Blanchard, Lloyd & Zhao, Bo & Yinger, John, 2008. "Do lenders discriminate against minority and woman entrepreneurs?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 467-497, March.
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