How coaching services help early stage entrepreneurs: an exploration of gender differences

PurposeEntrepreneurial support organizations, such as business incubators and accelerators (BIAs), provide coaching as a core element of their service offering for startups. Yet little is known about how coaching creates value from the entrepreneur's perspective. This is an important issue given that entrepreneurship is recognized as a gendered phenomenon. The purpose of this article is to explore how the coaching services provided during incubation create value for men and women entrepreneurs.Design/methodology/approachFocusing on university business incubators, our comparative qualitative study of 18 men and women entrepreneurs takes a grounded theorizing approach, and draws abductively on entrepreneurial learning theory, to explore the dimensions of coaching services that support venture development and explain gender differences.FindingsThe emergent explanatory model suggests that venture development is supported by coaching service design (at the incubator level) and by coaching content and rapport (at the entrepreneur-coach dyad level). Gender differences were observed in the emphasis placed on accessibility of coaching services provided by the incubator and the guidance provided by the coaches. We theorize that these findings reflect differences in entrepreneurial learning.Practical implicationsTo better support entrepreneurial learning, gender differences should be considered in both the design and delivery of coaching services.Originality/valueOur findings provide deeper insight about how coaching services create value for entrepreneurs by revealing explanatory dimensions at two levels of analysis and theorizing the interrelationship between entrepreneurial learning, gender and venture development.

Presenting a framework for the successful entry of women entrepreneurs into green entrepreneurship

Purpose The concentration of women entrepreneurs on influential events such as the development of green entrepreneurship, which lead to the coordination and dynamic balance between economic and environmental goals, can create a bright future for businesses with sustainable and environmentally friendly architecture. The main purpose of this study is to provide a framework for the successful entry of women entrepreneurs into green entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach The present qualitative applied descriptive-analytical study was conducted on a population of women entrepreneurs working in green businesses. This population was obtained by the non-probability chain sampling method and an exploratory interview with the saturation of 12 individuals. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the findings. Findings The results revealed that creating shared value, inclusive social acceptance, multifaceted interactions and green dynamic bedding are effective in the entry of women entrepreneurs into green entrepreneurship in the form of “competitive empowerment” and “multiplied green synergy”. Thus, managers and planners should consider some factors, including shared value, social acceptance, inclusive acceptance, building green culture, knowledge flows, multiple participation, networking dimension, green marketing, competitiveness, creating platforms, green technologies and risk management. Originality/value This research tries to present a framework for the entry of women entrepreneurs into green entrepreneurship area.

Role and Prospects of Women Entrepreneurs in the Agriculture Sector of India

This chapter mainly focuses on the role and prospects of women entrepreneurs (or women agri-entrepreneurs) in India's agriculture sector. India has witnessed unprecedented growth in the total number of entrepreneurs and innovations over the past many years. Despite this appreciable growth, the role of women entrepreneurs remains devitalised and underutilised, which requires proper attention by the government and other stakeholders of the country. However, over the past many years, the government has taken various crucial initiatives to promote the role of women entrepreneurs, especially in the agriculture sector. As a result, there has been a remarkable transformation in the share and contribution of women entrepreneurs engaged in the agriculture sector. Therefore, the chapter examines the trend and pattern of women agri-entrepreneurs in India and highlights their challenges.

Investigating Entrepreneurial Success Factors of Businesses Owned by Nigerian Women in the UK

The aim of this study is to investigate the entrepreneurial success factors of Nigerian women entrepreneurs based in the UK. An exploratory case study approach was used to gather the primary data from 15 small businesses run by Nigerian women entrepreneurs in the UK. The data collection was conducted through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, observations, and published sources. The data was thematically analysed using NVivo. The main findings indicated that Nigerian women entrepreneurs in the UK primarily depend on personal traits, self-funding, work experience, personal satisfaction, physical networking, and family support for business success. The most significant entrepreneurial success factor was the personal success factor. The study provided feasible recommendations for Nigerian women entrepreneurs based in the UK to put emphasis on environmental success factors and online networking, taking advantage of social media platforms for easy and quicker reach of more customers and business partners.

Exploring Women Entrepreneurship Prospects, Challenges, and Barriers in Pakistan

This study aims to explore challenges, prospects, and barriers for young graduate Pakistani women entrepreneurs. The article is qualitative, and the scholars used the case study research method. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with young graduate female entrepreneurs and analyzed using Gioia methodology. This study explored that the women entrepreneurs used E-business platforms (e.g., social media marketing) as a tool for promoting their innovative business ideas. Current research documents challenges, barriers, opportunities, and support available to Pakistani women entrepreneurs in light of the experiences of the young graduate female entrepreneurs. Further, this article is vital in terms of exclusive methodology, scarcely studies population, contextual value, theoretical advancement by exploring new themes and practical implications. The present paper portrays implications for policymakers to eradicate barriers, address the challenges, and provide opportunities to females by delivering entrepreneurial training and funding opportunities.

Women Entrepreneurs and Agricultural Start-Ups

Numerous nations hail the agriculture sector as a critical source of wealth creation, and past researches have shown the importance of entrepreneurship in the agriculture industry. However, there is a substantial difference in men and women's rates of taking entrepreneurial initiatives. Prior research has overlooked the significance of entrepreneurial inclination in creating agricultural start-ups from the perspective of gender. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the factors that influence women entrepreneurs working in the business endeavours of the agriculture sector. Using logistic regression, the study looked at a representative interview of 581 samples with individuals (18–65 years of age) from GEM countries. This model demonstrates the connection between the variables' qualities reliant on the data and the determinants. The chapter suggests that policymakers consider the consequences of promoting women's entrepreneurship in the agricultural industry and evolve the policies accordingly.

Women Entrepreneurship Through the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

The chapter investigated the COVID-19-induced challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe, the strategies used by women entrepreneurs to survive the COVID-19 crisis, and the government support needed by women entrepreneurs to recover from the pandemic. A quantitative research approach using a structured questionnaire was adopted for gathering data. Empirical findings illustrate that women entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe faces a multiplicity of challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, findings indicate that women entrepreneurs are cutting down costs, have introduced new delivery channels, and have reviewed their business models to become more resilient. However, women entrepreneurs also expect the government to offer readily accessible finances, arrange for skills and capacity-building training in response to the new normal, and craft economic recovery policies and packages that are tailored to specifically respond to the needs of women entrepreneurs. The study has both theoretical and practical implications.