Gender Influences Entry into Entrepreneurship - Essay Example

Critically Evaluate the Gender Influences Entry into Entrepreneurship Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Discussion 3 Underpinning of Theories/ Entrepreneurship Models 3 Critical Evaluation of a Person’s Gender’s Influences towards Entry into Entrepreneurship 6 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction Gender difference within the entrepreneurial activities has remained a debatable topic since many years. In accordance with the present day context, there has been an apparent rise in women entrepreneurship. This has largely materialised owing to the changing perspective of the modern day society wherein global culture has started to render equal weightage to the entrepreneurial skills and competencies of both the genders. As per the evidences, it has been revealed that since ages various strategies are being adopted in order to rectify the inequality existing among the genders (Njogu & Orchardson-Mazrui, n.d.). In this regard, it has been further acknowledged that women are essentially considered as the key source pertaining to ideas, innovations and abilities among others. However, it has been determined that the scholars of entrepreneurship endure limited understanding with respect to the underlying factors along with the relevant decisions being made. In fact in the recent discussions, it is ascertained that leadership associated with the entrepreneurship reflects the characteristics of a gender. With the advent of modernization, the world has faced numerous challenges. The entire global economy has undergone major changes after the year 2008. The financial crisis, which the world faced during this period, has accelerated the interests of the people associated with entrepreneurship (Pines & et. al., 2010; Gupta & et. al., 2009). This study intends to discuss the influence of the gender factor upon the entry into entrepreneurship. The discussion will be substantiated with the aid of certain models of entrepreneurship. Discussion Underpinning of Theories/ Entrepreneurship Models In keeping with theories associated with entrepreneurship, it does not reflect any kind of universal explanation. Nevertheless, entrepreneurship includes diversified approaches in order to describe the behaviour of an entrepreneur. Sociology, psychology, economics and regional science among others are few approaches associated with entrepreneurship. Apart from these, the other theories associated with entrepreneurship have been discussed as innovation theory, motivational theory based on the achievement and the acquired needs theory (Saylor, 2010). The basic characteristic of the economic theory includes the presence of favourable economies. It has been discussed that economic along with entrepreneurship growth is analysed under the economic theory. Correspondingly, economic incentive acts as one of the key motivators related to the entrepreneurial activities. In this regard, it has been further determined that the economic incentives mainly incorporate taxation policy, raw material and industrial policy among others (Saylor, 2010). Different theories associated with entrepreneurship also throw light on an aspect of Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). In this regard, TPB has been explained as the inclusion of diversified human behaviours (Mhango, 2006). This particular theory has been established in order to make deliverable decisions based upon the available information. The basic assumption underlying this particular theory reflects its behaviour. It is said that the behaviour associated with TPB is duly monitored by the actor. It is deliberately known that the behaviours are executed on the basis of an individual’s intention. Consequently, it can be determined that intentions are based upon an individual’s will. TPB explicates the relationship between an individual’s attitude and actual behaviour. Subsequently, gender influences on the start-up of entrepreneurship depend upon TPB (Krueger, 2002). This can be explained by stating that in order to start up a business personal intention and behaviour are required for executing the venture. There have been few variables developed that provide a clear distinction about the gender influences on the entrepreneurships. Personal Attitude of Becoming an Entrepreneur The choice of becoming an entrepreneur greatly depends upon the personal desirability. In this context, it can be stated that the personal desirability depicts the expectancy value. With regard to the motive of the two broader gender segment i.e. men and women, few factors have been depicted. It has been analysed that women when compared to men at large have been found to be less concerned about the factor of making money (Nelson & Duffy, 2009). Related to these findings, it has also been determined that women take up entrepreneurship as a substitute associated with their career prospects (KU Leuven, n.d.). Subjective Norms of Becoming an Entrepreneur Subjective norm essentially reflects the normative beliefs of an individual. Women are more socially driven as compared to men (Mueller & Dato-on, 2008). In fact, researches have depicted that women get highly influenced by any kind of role-model (KU Leuven, n.d.). Considering these factors based upon the theoretical aspect of TPB, various recent studies depict an alternative picture of women entrepreneurship. As accessed, in recent years, the number of the businesses undertaken by women is accelerating. Various observations have depicted that women are rather looked upon as the driver of entrepreneurship within certain nations. According to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report which is focused on determining the present status of women entrepreneurship, around 126 million individuals are acting as women entrepreneurs and are running an entirely new setup, whereas 98 million women are successfully handling the established businesses (Hoover, 2013). In this regard, it has been further mentioned that the women entrepreneurs are successfully handling the intricacies associated with entrepreneurship and are creating jobs for themselves as well as for others. Women entrepreneurs actively participate in creating innovative ideas associated with products and services. Women’s participation in various industrial areas plays a decisive role to enhance a country’s economy (Naudé & Minniti, 2011; Klyver & et. al., 2007). Nonetheless, apart from the strengths of women, there lie certain loopholes that create a hurdle in their own success. It is observed that women often tend to get more motivated in terms of necessity rather than opportunity. This happens because women endure less confidence with regard to starting up a business and also fear the failure of the business. However, it is determined that a business which is started up with the necessity based motivation might be successful as compared to the opportunity based motivation. Contextually, the example of Cher Wang, the co-founder of HTC Corporation can be highlighted which reveals the picture of a successful women entrepreneur. This particular company was founded in the year 1997 by Cher Wang and the company’s present Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Chou. The company has travelled all the way from being the manufacturer of the smartphones to be regarded as one of the leading brands of Android series. Subsequently, one of the prominent male entrepreneurs of the past decade is Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook. He is considered as one of the wealthiest and most influential personalities as well as a youth icon. He has acted as a pioneer in the field of modern entrepreneurship wherein his innovative ideas and risk taking ability have cropped up the question regarding the influence of gender in the field of entrepreneurship. It has been argued by certain researchers that such kind of attitude of risk taking is derided amid the women individuals. This often deters them from taking the plunge to enter into entrepreneurship (Forbes.com LLC, 2014; Hendricks, 2013; Naudé & Minniti, 2011). Critical Evaluation of a Person’s Gender’s Influences towards Entry into Entrepreneurship Gender stereotypes essentially take into concern the shared beliefs of the diversified characteristics of the two broader groups along with their attitude. It has been ascertained that in comparison with men, women endure accelerated communal qualities (Bönte & Jarosch, 2011). The communal qualities entail connectedness, Kindness, Timidness and relatedness among others. In keeping with men, the communal qualities they endure reflect aggressiveness, courage and autonomy among others. Correspondingly, gender stereotypes are generally facilitated by the society during childhood as well adolescents (Zhang & et. al., 2009). This gender stereotype is given way mainly by the parents, peers as well as in school among others. Jobs based upon male or female are essentially referred based on the gender stereotype factor. This can be further explained by depicting few examples. Jobs such as surgery and engineering among others are considered to be predominantly masculine. Nursing is considered to be a job-role of the female as per the perception of the society (Gupta & et. al., 2009). Women entrepreneurs tend to become less competent as well as disinterested pertaining to the challenges associated with the business activities. In fact, this remains the perception of the society that while explaining the qualities of a successful leader, the attributes being mentioned are usually associated with the masculine factor (Gupta & et. al., 2009; Sandvika, 2003). In this context, it has been further ascertained that the society also lays a greater influence on the gender factor pertaining to the entry into entrepreneurship. In accordance with the recent studies associated with the entry into entrepreneurship, it puts more emphasis on the diversified key aspects i.e. skills and resource requirements among others within the workplace (Kacperczyk, 2012). With regard to the gender influences on the entry into entrepreneurship, it can be depicted by a pictorial diagram given below that reflects the ratio of the male and the female entrepreneurs around the world. Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity Rated By Gender (Pines & et. al., 2010) According to Tsyganova & Shirokova (2010), there are significant differences associated with gender role pertaining to the entrepreneurship based on two dimensions i.e. personal and business profile. It has been depicted that both the genders start-up their business activities based upon their different characteristics and backgrounds enduring diversified business goals along with internal structure. In this regard, it has been further explained that business activities conducted by females at times remain underperformed in terms of a number of areas. Apart from this, the business activities being undertaken by females are usually of smaller size as compared to that of men. The reason behind this observation is that women endure lower business experiences and the business activities being undertaken by them are usually undercapitalised. According to the author’s observation, female-owned business activities usually remain concentrated in the field of retail and service sectors. Consequently, there are various factors that play a major role in the decision-making process associated with the entry into entrepreneurship (Tsyganova & Shirokova, 2010). Unemployment and the business prospects available in the service sector have emerged as two decisive economic constituents allied with entering into entrepreneurship. In this regard, it can be well ascertained that the unemployment factor lays a greater impact on the entrepreneurship decisions. The regions where the unemployment rate is higher, the people often decide to engage in entrepreneurial activities to earn a living (Verheul & et. al., 2004). Keeping this scenario in mind, it can be well ascertained that unemployment factor lays a major impact on the female entrepreneurs rather than males. Besides, it has been observed that the market share pertaining to the service industry also lays a greater impact on the economy of a country. Thus, it can be ascertained that the market share pertaining to the service industry creates greater influence on the female entrepreneurs rather than men (Tsyganova & Shirokova, 2010). Perception factor also creates an influence over the entry decisions associated with the entrepreneurship. In fact, in this aspect, it has been observed that self-perception also influences the entry to entrepreneurship. It has been determined that in case of women, they usually do not take any credit on the success, which they achieve for being an entrepreneur. Therefore, the underestimation of the performance, knowledge and skills among others play a crucial factor in the start-up of the entrepreneurship (Tsyganova & Shirokova, 2010). Conclusion The study depicts the gender influences upon the entry into the entrepreneurship. In this regard, it has been argued that women are less competent as compared to men pertaining to the entrepreneurial activities. The study has given emphasis upon the perception and attitude of both genders that play a major role in the decision-making factor pertaining to the entry into the entrepreneurship. Apart from this, it has been observed that the dimensions such as skills, knowledge and confidence at times are derived to be lower in women as compared to men. But in this regard, various researches have enlightened about the acceleration and success factor associated with the women entrepreneurship. Examples have been provided to support the contention that both the genders create influences pertaining to the entry into the entrepreneurship. In addition, it has been recognised that there are various factors that influence the decisions of an individual to start up entrepreneurship as a business option. References Bönte, W. & Jarosch, M., 2011. 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