Gender in family business ownership and management: a six‐country analysis

Abstract

Purpose While family firms constitute a highly important component of most countries' economies, and in many countries a sizable portion of these family businesses are owned and managed by women, there has been minimal study of gender issues in family business ownership and management. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach The research design was self‐reported survey research, which is the most commonly used methodology in family business research and for small business and entrepreneurship quantitative research. Findings In contrast to early (pre‐1980) gender comparisons in management and entrepreneurship, and in support of the majority of more recent studies, this investigation found no significant relationships between the gender of family business owner‐managers and ten management characteristic variables in a sample of 593 family businesses in six countries. Originality/value These findings add to the limited and currently inconclusive body of knowledge regarding gender issues specifically in family business, and more generally in entrepreneurship and management.

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