IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ids/ijesbu/v58y2026i4p417-440.html

From margins to mainstream: senior women entrepreneurs and the evolving work ecosystem

Author

Listed:
  • Erhan Aydin
  • Yusuf Alparslan Dibek

Abstract

This study explores the shift in entrepreneurship from youth-centric to senior women over 45. It examines how family dynamics, various forms of capital (economic, social, and symbolic), and cultural perceptions impact their entrepreneurial journeys. Using a qualitative approach, 16 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with senior women entrepreneurs were conducted, offering a comprehensive view of their experiences, challenges, and contributions. The findings highlight senior women's unique advantages to entrepreneurship, such as extensive life experiences and established networks, alongside challenges like societal biases and age-related barriers. The study highlights the importance of family support, capital accessibility, and cultural contexts in shaping their entrepreneurial efforts. This paper contributes significantly to the theory by advocating for a broader understanding of entrepreneurship across different life stages, emphasising the untapped potential of senior women entrepreneurs.

Suggested Citation

  • Erhan Aydin & Yusuf Alparslan Dibek, 2026. "From margins to mainstream: senior women entrepreneurs and the evolving work ecosystem," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 58(4), pages 417-440.
    • Handle: RePEc:ids:ijesbu:v:58:y:2026:i:4:p:417-440
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=155307
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ids:ijesbu:v:58:y:2026:i:4:p:417-440. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sarah Parker (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=74 .

    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.