Gender Beliefs Impact on Creativity in the Entrepreneurial Process - Research Proposal Example

GENDER BELIEFS IMPACT ON CREATIVITY IN THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS

Introduction

Recently, significant changes have been observed in the economy with activities moving from the basis of knowledge to innovation, imagination, entrepreneurship, and creativity. Increasing technology effects and globalization have foreseen more business opportunities and competition. An entrepreneur can utilize creativity to act on the existing opportunities resulting to a competitive advantage for a firm. Creativity provides the basis for business growth and innovation, hence creating a positive impact on the society. Furthermore, there has been concerns over antecedent conditions like learning, socio-economic status of a family, and gender that tend to be precursors to an individual’s attitude towards creativity. The emerging concern forms the basis of interest for this research. A substantial body of literature ascertain that in organizations the emphasis on gendered “glass ceiling” has its attributions on structural factors like male-centered expectations of job and gendered networked positions. Most studies posit that women managers are less competent, capable, and achievement-oriented than males. The perception has made women being viewed with less seriousness and their ideas and creativity cannot ‘hold water’ in organizational works. It is due to these findings that most contemporary scholars think that entrepreneurship can provide a good platform for women to show their creativity and success. This paper seeks to introduce a research on the impact of gender issues on creativity in entrepreneurial process. My interest in the research topic is drawn from the fact that I pursue an entrepreneurial course in college. A section of business students from a university and pilots from two aviation colleges in the country will be interviewed for the research.

Significance of the Study

The major purpose of this research is to conduct an empirical test on the widely shared argument about the cultural beliefs concerning men’s and women’s abilities and influence on the entrepreneurial process. The research aims at clearing the claims that the gender status affect the social interactions of an innovative or creative entrepreneur in the course of seeking legitimacy and support from the stakeholders for a newly established organization. I look forward to impact on several areas including social psychology, organizations, and gender inequality. I expect to prove that despite the less effects by work schedules, hierarchies, relationships, and organizational roles, women are not insusceptible to disadvantages that are status-based as manifested by traditional management contexts. My intention is to make the audience belief that the gender status beliefs greatly affects women entrepreneurs in a negative way. Doubts about the competence of women in entrepreneurship heavily contribute in discouraging them from pursuing business and becoming more creative. Consequently, this has foreseen an overrepresentation of men in entrepreneurship. However, in the recent past, most women have taken the perception as a stepping stone in improving on their creativity and innovation in their businesses. This is a motivation to other women who are still affected by the traditional management stereotypes that diminish the abilities of a woman.

Research Questions

The research will seeking to respond to two research questions:

• Are there any effects or impact of gender beliefs on the creativity of entrepreneurial process?
• Do gender-based issues influence the legitimacy of an innovative entrepreneur especially a woman entrepreneur?

Implications and Importance of the Research

The research will illuminate on the issue of gender inequality especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. In a bid to reduce inequality, the research implies that women have the capacity to off-set their vulnerability to gender beliefs by strategically utilizing their innovativeness or creativeness in their own businesses. Although this implication will not be addressing the root problem of gender-based stereotypes, it will provide a platform for women to step out of the discriminatory circles. Through the research, I will informing the involved stakeholders in entrepreneurship as well as management scholars that the solution to the problem lies in the labor market and other areas of the society. These fields host the gender beliefs that are largely stereotypes. The change in gender beliefs by organizations will foster equality in employment and enhanced creativity in entrepreneurship.

My research is significant because it greatly contributes to the organizational legitimacy literature. The research suggests that the existing entrepreneurship social structure needs to be reinforced. It is from this argument that the audience can understand why some of the innovative firms fail while others survive.

Literature Review

First and foremost, a review of the Gender theory by Sandra Bem will be important to understand the concept of gender and how it will be applied in the study. The theory explains gender in the basis of sex-typing. Sex-typed individuals are found to process or integrate information in line with their gender. This is what brings about gender stereotypes. In the case of the research to be conducted, gender stereotypes will form part of the discussion.

To ascertain that in deed a problem exists especially in organizations, Thebaud, (2011) argues that “all new organizations lack a generalized assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms and beliefs” (Thebaud, p9 2011). According to him most of the new organizations attempt to overcome the problem through reproduction of other organizational routines and forms. Consequently, this challenges creative entrepreneurs who introduce a novel product in the entrepreneurial process. Such organizations cause a higher risk and uncertainty for the potential stakeholders. It means that entrepreneurs must work harder to craftily present their ideas. Thebaud’s arguments reveal that apart from gender beliefs, organizational culture still affects creativeness in the entrepreneurial process.

The situation is made worse when gender beliefs are instituted in the entrepreneurial process. Ridgeway and Correll (2003) as well as Fiske et al (2002) found out that men are largely viewed to be more creative and competent than women by most organizations. In a study conducted by Fiske et al (2002) in the United States, most respondents rated women lower than men on a competence multidimensional scale. Webster and Rashotte (2005), echoed the argument saying that the gender status beliefs are found to constrain women more because they are also involved in the expressing the gender-egalitarian beliefs. Gupta et al. (2009), further found out in his study of the U.S, Turkey, and India business students that entrepreneurship was strongly associated stereotypically with masculine characteristics.

According to Correll, Bernard, and Paik (2007), when status characteristics become effectively salient, they influence evaluations and behaviors because they affect the performance expectations in regard to a person’s level of ability. Those actors who are believed to have more abilities than others appear to be more creative in the entrepreneurial process. They are often have more opportunities to take part in group tasks and their performances are more positively evaluated. It confirms that in deed there exists an impact on the creativeness in the entrepreneurial process from gender-related issues.

The underlying primary question from the above literatures is what would be the solution to the incumbent problem. Prentice and Carranza (2002) argued that although the traits of women are believed to be less typical than those of men, innovative or creative women entrepreneurs have a chance to emerge as unique. This is because they signal inconsistent qualities that lower the ability expectations prescribed by the gender status beliefs. Entrepreneurship provides a good platform for women to show their worth in regard to their competence and creativity.

Methodology

The research will conducted in three large institutions in the country including one university and two aviation colleges. An experimental approach will be used because it provides a good controlled setting that is important for me to obtain diversified outcomes. Furthermore, the approach will assists me to analyze the cognitive gender biases in the field of entrepreneurship since the factors that would probably interfere with the testing of hypothesis will absorbed by the process of randomization.

The first study conducted in the first university will include forty participants among them 25 men and 15 women. This study will create a guiding step to the next two experimental studies. A 2 by 2 mixed factorial design will used because it is a good tool to manipulate non-creativeness and creativeness within the subjects. The design will foresee each participant respond to the question about a creative and non-creative entrepreneur (both male and female).

I plan to use both structured and semi-structured interviews to collect information about the cultural beliefs of most organizations about gender. The interviews will primarily target the pilots. Additionally, to stay focused on the research topic, I will employ open and closed-ended questionnaires. This will enable me obtain particular data regarding the effects of gender-related issues on creativeness in an entrepreneurial process.

Expected Results and Conclusion

Firstly, I expect the respondents to agree that creative or innovative entrepreneurs are often viewed as less profitable by most organizations despite being more aggressive. This will a confirmation that of the research problem even before a discussion of the gender beliefs. Upon evaluation of the findings concerning the impact of gender beliefs on creativeness in entrepreneurial process, I expect a negative supposition in light to women competence. In other words, I expect that women will be deemed as less profitable and innovative in comparison to males. They should be rated as less capable and competent.

However, I anticipate that the respondents will agree that entrepreneurship is a good portfolio for women to showcase their creativeness. This is because they are no more under traditional cultural beliefs. In fact, innovative women are found out to be different than other women because of their unique qualities. This finding will create guideline to the research in formulating a good solution to the problem in organization emanating from gender status beliefs. The solutions are expected to be an encouragement to women to be creative or innovative in the entrepreneurial process because it will significantly mitigate the baseline gender bias. I expect that the respondents will ascertain the fact innovation is key to elimination of traditional gender beliefs. The world is changing and becoming more dynamic. The output in the business facet is considered vital regardless of the kind of gender it originated from.