Gender, leadership and venture capital: measuring women’s leadership in VC firm portfolios

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruta Aidis ◽  
R. Sandra Schillo
Keyword(s):  
Venture Capital ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Gender Representation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Role Congruity Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Role Congruity ◽  
Leadership Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a new index summarizing women’s leadership in entrepreneurial ventures (WLEV) in the context of venture capital (VC) firm portfolios. Gender representation among VC portfolio firms is a concern for academics, and increasingly for practitioners aiming to reap the benefits of gender diversity. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the institutional theory and gender role congruity theory, the authors present dimensions of women’s involvement in leadership roles in VC-funded companies. As previous research has not provided standard definitions, the authors clarify the relevant dimensions. In addition, the authors present an empirical analysis of 153 VC fund portfolios and demonstrate women’s involvement across the three key dimensions forming the WLEV Index: involvement in leadership, management and founding of portfolio companies. Findings The authors present a summary of WLEV index aligned with previous research. The index has suitable characteristics for future research and introduces a first comparison with existing statistics. The authors’ findings show relatively low scores of women’s leadership in the VC portfolio companies investigated, especially as compared to average USA companies. Originality/value This paper introduces standardized definitions for women’s leadership in terms of: women-led, women-founded and women-managed. This paper also introduces a methodology and constructs an index to uniformly compare VC firm portfolio companies according to all three dimensions of women’s leadership. These contributions can be expected to form the basis of future research on gender representation in VC portfolio companies.

The effectiveness of transformational leadership on empowerment

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soyeon Kim ◽  
Mannsoo Shin
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Psychological Empowerment ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Female Leaders ◽  
Role Congruity Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Role Congruity ◽  
Male Subordinate

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of gender on the effectiveness of transformational leadership. Drawing on role congruity theory, it elucidates the moderating effects of leader gender, subordinate gender, and leader-subordinate gender dyad on the relationship between transformational leadership and psychological empowerment. Design/methodology/approach Employees of companies in Korea responded to a paper-pencil survey, rating their psychological empowerment and leadership behaviors of their direct leader on a five-point Likert-type scale. The analysis includes 339 responses. Findings The results indicate that a leader’s gender has no significant moderating effect on psychological empowerment, but the gender of the subordinate has a significant moderating effect, with male subordinates more strongly influenced by transformational leadership than female subordinates. Notably, the findings show that the effectiveness of transformational leadership is contingent on the leader-subordinate gender dyad. Specifically, transformational leadership has as significant an effect on female leader-male subordinate dyads as on male leader-male subordinate dyads. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to leadership and gender studies in the management field by investigating the effect of gender roles on the effectiveness of transformational leadership. Future research should extend this study and explore whether these findings are generalizable. Practical implications The remarkable finding of the effect of female leadership on employee empowerment suggests organizations should use more female leaders. Originality/value This is the first empirical study to shed light on gender issues in relation to transformational leadership in Korea.

Human resources competencies: a key scale to assess HRCs, including items in knowledge business, functional expertise and managing change

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managing Change ◽  
Industrial Town ◽  
Appropriate Scale ◽  
Hr Competencies

Purpose The purpose was to produce a standardized tool in the form of a questionnaire to measure HR competencies Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data from 234 managers and experts in human resources of selected firms existing in the Yazd Industrial Town. A questionnaire was developed to assess HRCs. Findings The paper produced a key scale for assessing HRCs in three dimensions: knowledge business, functional expertise and managing change. Two items of the original 33 were dropped as they were found to be unreliable Originality/value The authors believed the developed questionnaire can be used as an appropriate scale for measuring HRCs in future research and also in organizations in Iran.

Disrupting board appointments: Australia's governance guidelines and gender capital

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Sheridan ◽  
Linley Lord ◽  
Anne Ross-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Directors ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Board Dynamics ◽  
Human And Social Capital ◽  
Gender Capital

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify how board recruitment processes have been impacted by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) governance changes requiring listed boards to report annually on their gender diversity policy and profile.Design/methodology/approachEmploying a social constructivist approach, the research analyses interviews conducted with matched samples of board directors and stakeholders in 2010 and 2017 about board recruitment in ASX50 companies.FindingsThe introduction of ASX guidelines requiring gender reporting disrupted traditional board appointment processes. Women's gender capital gained currency, adding an additional dimension to the high levels of human and social capital seen as desirable for board appointments. The politics of women's presence is bringing about changes to the discourse and practice about who should/can be a director. The authors identify highly strategic ways in which women's gender capital has been used to agitate for more women to be appointed to boards.Research limitations/implicationsWhile sample sizes are small, data within the themes cohered meaningfully across the time periods, making visible how women's presence in the board room has been reframed. Future research could consider what this may mean for board dynamics and how enduring are these changes.Practical implicationsThis study highlights the forms that human and social capital take in board appointments, which can be instructive for potential directors, and how these intersect with gender capital. The insights from the study are relevant to board recruitment committees seeking to reflect their commitment to a more gender equitable environment.Originality/valueThere has been a recalibration of men's and women's gender capital in board appointments, and there is now a currency in femaleness disrupting the historical privilege afforded “maleness”.

Balancing territorial identities

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 805-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Stöttinger ◽  
Elfriede Penz
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Territorial Identity ◽  
Constituent Element ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Globalized World

Purpose In today’s globalized world, countries are becoming increasingly multiethnic. This raises questions about the different dimensions of consumers’ territorial identities, and how these dimensions are differentiated, interrelated and interlinked. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Using qualitative interviews, this paper investigates how (40) respondents from two different ethnic minorities in a country that is not necessarily considered multiethnic perceive these dimensions of territorial identity (ethnic, regional and national) as a constituent element of their own person and of their behavior. Findings The authors highlight that these three dimensions of territorial identity co-exist as independent entities; they are distinct but interrelated and interconnected. Furthermore, idiosyncrasies in the ethnic sub-samples are investigated and described. These are related to the connection to the country of residence (being born there vs having immigrated there). Finally, avenues for future research, such as expanding the concept of territorial identities and its connection to consumer behavior, are suggested. Originality/value The authors extend the bipolarity commonly used in territorial identities (global vs local or ethnic vs national) to three conceptually independent dimensions. The authors explore the relationships between these dimensions of territorial identity and show that they may not conflict but, instead, co-exist.

Role of market orientation in sustainable performance

Humanomics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soheil Kazemian ◽  
Rashidah Abdul Rahman ◽  
Zuraidah Mohd Sanusi ◽  
Abideen A. Adewale
Keyword(s):  
Market Orientation ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Customer Orientation ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Competitor Orientation

Purpose Without prejudice to the efficacy of other poverty alleviation mechanisms, micro-financing arguably enjoys relative prominence. However, notwithstanding the remarkable loan repayment rate that the microfinance firms report, they still face the challenge of sustainability. The paper aims to provide insights into how three dimensions of market orientation, namely, customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-function coordination, affect the two aspects of the sustainability of microfinance institutions (MFIs; management and financial). Design/methodology/approach To achieve this goal, this study focuses on Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), a leading microfinance provider which is also the largest MFI in South East Asia. Data elicited via a survey questionnaire administered on 190 management staff of AIM across Malaysia are subjected to statistical analysis via the partial least square-structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 2.0. Findings The results provide empirical evidences that indicate that management sustainability is significantly influenced by customer orientation and inter-function coordination. However, only customer orientation affects the financial sustainability of AIM. Nevertheless, competitor orientation has non-significant effects on both aspects of sustainability of AIM. Research limitations/implications The result of the paper contributes to the literature in understanding the long-term sustainable financial and social performance-based market orientation. Originality/value Findings are useful for policy makers, management of MFIs, practitioners and academics to enhance microfinance system. Managerial implications, limitation of the study and suggestions for future research are also included.

A social capital view of women on boards and their impact on firm performance

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Oldford ◽  
Saif Ullah ◽  
Ashrafee Tanvir Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Corporate Boards ◽  
Board Diversity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Board Gender Diversity

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to leverage a two-sided view of social capital to develop a model of board gender diversity and firm performance using social capital data from Northeast Regional Center of Rural Development.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examine a large sample of 2,322 US publicly listed firms over the period 1996 to 2009. The final sample consists of 14,634 firm-year observations.FindingsThe authors find that when a firm's social network is not supportive of gender diversity, corporate boards have lower levels of female representation. The strength of a social network's social ties exacerbates the relationship between social capital and board gender diversity. The authors also report a negative relationship between female board membership and firm performance in social networks that are not pro-diversity. Robustness tests reveal that the authors’ social capital view of board diversity also applies to board ethnic diversity.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses primarily on blue chip firms due to data constraints. It will be interesting for future researchers to investigate a broader spectrum of firms from a broader perspective of diversity beyond the study’s gender and ethnicity findings. Furthermore, this study assesses the US context, and future research could investigate firm sociability in other national contexts.Practical implicationsThis study contributes new insights to the discourse on gender diversity on corporate boards which stand to inform both policy and practice. The results of the study can inform the position of an industry association on board gender diversity, with guidance on how messaging across networks can be more effective should it account for the hidden bias that the authors uncover in the current study. From a manager's perspective, this study can help those managers and boards trying to enhance board gender diversity by providing a more complete understanding of the factors that can limit progress.Originality/valueThis study contributes a social capital view of board gender diversity to the growing literature of corporate governance, board diversity and local environmental influences on corporate policies.

scholarly journals Elite connectivity and concerted action in French organization

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mairi Maclean ◽  
Charles Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Top Management Teams ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Concerted Action ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Business Elite ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore some of the distinctive features of organizing and organization in France which set it apart from organization in other nations, and which are fundamental to its modus operandi. In particular, this article is concerned with elite connectivity and concerted action by elite “connectors”. Design/methodology/approach – The research underpinning this article stems from a cross-national comparative project on business elites and corporate governance in France and the UK. This has three dimensions, being quantitative, qualitative and case study-based. Concerted action by the ruling elite is explored through two illustrative vignettes: the ousting from office of Jean-Marie Messier and State-sponsored expansion as pursued by EDF. Both examples shed light on the French business elite’s response to globalization and the development of international business. Findings – The paper finds elite cohesion to be achieved quite differently in the two countries. In addition, it finds that the ties that bind French connectors tend to be strong and institutionally based. Practical implications – The case of EDF suggests that the most ambitious of State-sponsored strategies can also be the most successful. It implies that elite ideologies in France have deviated relatively little from sentiments expressed by Rousseau and de Gaulle concerning the primacy of the national interest and the conviction that firms can serve as an (expansionist) instrument of the nation. The Messier case illuminates the pattern of close relationships among the French business elite. It demonstrates how a strategy of expansion may come unstuck when it is not grounded in the customary modes of business regulation. Originality/value – This research confirms a slight preference on the part of the French business elite for more homogenous ties. Against this, the paper demonstrates that a significant proportion of the French elite act as boundary spanners, brokering relationships with others from more distant parts of the wider network. The integration of the French elite in the Eurozone has potentially favored bridge-building relationships and weakened national embeddedness. This may contribute to the decline of indigenous interlocks, while promoting the further internationalization of top management teams. The implications of this for organizational strategy, firm survival and economic performance form an agenda for future research.

McDonald's shines for the opportunities it offers female employees

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-6
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Culture Form ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leadership Culture ◽  
Stakeholder Relationships ◽  
Personal Impact ◽  
Female Employees

Purpose – Examines some of the reasons that the percentage of women in management jobs has risen at McDonald's. Design/methodology/approach – Highlights the importance, among other initiatives, of the Women's Leadership Development program and the Women's Leadership Network. Findings – Explains that the former concentrates on: building a deeper awareness of current strengths; gaining insights and knowledge of areas where skills can be further enhanced; developing leadership skills and personal impact for more effective stakeholder relationships; constructing a stronger leadership culture in female managers at grade 3 and above and broadening the talent pool; acknowledging and supporting gender diversity at senior-management level; and equipping emerging leaders with the skills to manage change. The latter, meanwhile, aims to: provide a stream of female mid-managers who are either ready now for promotion or will be in the future; build confidence and competence and establish a strong leadership culture; form long-lasting networks; and create an increasing number of female role-models able to mentor female employees. Practical implications – Reveals that, with 41 per cent of restaurant-management positions held by females, McDonald's focuses on building their entrepreneurial skills and looks for those qualities in employees that it hires and promotes. Originality/value – Gives the inside story of how McDonald's is making the most of its female talent.

Development of marketing capabilities scale in banking sector

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardeep Chahal ◽  
Jagmeet Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Banking Sector ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
North India ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Marketing Capabilities ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Inside Out

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to develop, measure and empirically validate marketing capabilities (MARKCAPB) scale in banking sector. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected from a branch manager and three next senior managers of 144 branches of 21 public and 7 private banks operating in Jammu city, North India. Findings – The study finds that marketing capabilities are of multi-dimensional scale, comprising three dimensions – outside-in, inside-out and spanning. Further, the study results demonstrate that all three dimensions are significantly related to marketing capabilities; with outside-in capabilities to be most strongly associated with marketing capabilities development followed by inside-out and spanning dimensions. Research limitations/implications – The study focused on only operational perspective of marketing capabilities to develop a reliable and valid measurement scale. Hence, developing marketing capabilities scale from remaining three perspectives – intellectual capital, marketing mix and competition would prove to be an interesting line of future research. Second, as marketing capabilities scale is developed and tested in banks, that too, in a single city of a country (India), it becomes important to examine whether the same scale can be applied to different sectors and countries. Moreover, future research could be carried on at identifying various antecedents that facilitate the development of marketing capabilities. Originality/value – This is the first study of this type that contributes to the development of multi-dimensional scale of marketing capabilities in banking sector in Indian context. The study provides banks’ managers with the deeper understanding of how to develop and establish marketing capabilities in an organisation. Besides, it also put light on the significant role of outside-in, inside-out and spanning capabilities that facilitate the managers in enhancing financial performance by focusing on varied sub dimensions such as relationship, regularity, communication (outside-in), Web technology and employee bonding (inside-out), advertising, pricing and product/service skills (spanning).

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