The study found that gender does not affect the performance of any particular new venture, but that several other factors do. "Differing expectations, reasons for starting a business, motivations, opportunities sought and types of businesses…vary between the genders, and these result in differing outcomes," according to the study.
Below are excerpted the highlights of the study:
• Men had more business experience prior to opening the business and higher expectations.
• Women entrepreneurs had a larger average household size.
• The educational backgrounds of male and female entrepreneurs were similar.
• Women were less likely than men to purchase their business.
• Women were more likely to have positive revenues, but men were more likely to own an employer firm.
• Female owners were more likely to prefer low risk/return businesses.
• Men spent slightly more time on their new ventures than women.
• Male owners were more likely to start a business to make money, had higher expectations for their business, and did more research to identify business opportunities.
• Male entrepreneurs were more likely to found technologically intensive businesses, businesses that lose their competitive advantage more quickly, and businesses that have a less geographically localized customer base.
• Male owners spent more effort searching for business opportunities and this held up when other factors were controlled for.
• Differences between women and men concerning venture size and hours are explained by control variables such as prior start-up and industry experience.
• Researchers and policymakers need to understand that studies which do not take into account the differing nature of men- and women-owned firms could result in misleading results.
Labels: Men, Small Business, Women
