Women versus Men in Entrepreneurship: A Comparison of the Sexes on Creativity, Political Skill, and Entrepreneurial Intentions

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Entrepreneurship is fundamental to economic growth and social development. On the economic side, small businesses aid in the creation of jobs. New business formation in a region positively impacts employment growth in that region as well as overall regional competitiveness (Baptista, Escaria, & Madruga, 2008). Entrepreneurship also facilitates knowledge spillovers. By taking ideas that otherwise, may not have been commercialized, and introducing them to market through the creation of a new firm, entrepreneurship is shown to positively influence growth (Acs, Audretsch, Braunerhjelm, & Carlsson, 2012). On the social side, economic welfare is linked to social development. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2008), in addition to economic growth, economic well-being also covers themes of standard of living, work, infrastructure and innovation. Also, entrepreneurship is the mechanism by which society more fully appropriates its investments in the creation of new knowledge, such as research and education (Audretsch, Keilbach, & Lehmann, 2006). Therefore, in the interest of both economic and social benefits, it is important to foster entrepreneurship. One route toward encouraging an increase in entrepreneurial activity is getting women more involved as there is a gender gap in entrepreneurship. Statistics do show that women are less likely than men to engage in entrepreneurial activity. The Center for Women's Business Research (2009) reports that only 28.2% of all businesses in the United States are owned by women, and Reynolds and White (1997) found that women were 60% less likely than men to be nascent entrepreneurs. A key measure that would prove useful in understanding entrepreneurship, strategizing to increase entrepreneurial activity, and addressing the gender gap in entrepreneurship, is entrepreneurial intentions as these intentions precede entrepreneurial behavior. Entrepreneurs' intentions guide their goal setting, communication, commitment, organization, and other kinds of work (Bird, 1988). Their states of mind direct attention, experience and action toward a business concept (Bird, 1988). As such, entrepreneurial intentions help to fuel the individual's direction, intensity, and persistence as he/she embarks on the journey toward being an actual entrepreneur and exhibiting such behavior. Determining gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions and the contexts of these differences, and addressing them, may lead to increased entrepreneurial intentions, and as a result, increased entrepreneurial behavior. Determining the reasons behind gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions is also crucial. Creativity and political skill have both been found to be significantly, positively correlated with entrepreneurial intentions (Phipps, 2012). Therefore, emphasis on increasing individuals' creativity and political skill may result in higher levels of self-efficacy, and positively affect both entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial behavior. Considering all these aspects, the purpose of this research endeavor is to determine gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions, creativity, and political skill, as further insight into these differences will better allow academics and practitioners alike to target underlying factors that affect entrepreneurial behavior. If means are found to increase creativity, political skill, and entrepreneurial intentions among both men and women, a more holistic boost in entrepreneurship may be expected, while also addressing the gender disparity. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION The theory of planned behavior (TPB) explains how intentions predict behavior, and how these intentions are preceded by attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991). Therefore, in the case of entrepreneurship, an individual's entrepreneurial intentions would foreshadow his/her entrepreneurial behavior, and these intentions would be preceded by the individual's attitude towards entrepreneurship, his/her perceived social pressure to be an entrepreneur, and his/her perceived difficulty of being an entrepreneur. …

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