Female Founding: An Institutional Theory Perspective on the Effect of Gender-Specific Prejudices in Germany
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33423/jbd.v24i3.7406Keywords:
business diversity, entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurship, institutional theory, prejudice, discriminationAbstract
This research is focused on whether female entrepreneurs face institutional discrimination based on prejudices. Therefore, in consideration of the institutional theory, this paper aims to clarify how informal institutions, such as norms, values and attitudes of society impact female entrepreneurship. To visualize these informal norms, values and attitudes of society towards women, common prejudices against women were utilized.
In-depth interviews with female entrepreneurs (n = 19) were conducted and an inductive qualitative analysis was performed to examine the extent to which societal perceptions and attitudes, expressed through prejudices, regarding the education and entrepreneurial skills of women, influence the motivation and self-perception of female entrepreneurs.
The results revealed that the analyzed prejudices represent obsolete social perceptions against women without validity and justification. However, the results demonstrate the negative influence – directly or indirectly – of prejudices on the behavior, career choices, motivation, and self-perception of female entrepreneurs. The results provide possible explanations for the differences between women and men in entrepreneurship and thus advance the discussion on the underrepresentation of women in entrepreneurial settings.
References
Achtenhagen, L., & Welter, F. (2011). ‘Surfing on the ironing board’—The representation of women’s entrepreneurship in German newspapers. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 23(9–10), 763–786.
Ahl, H. (2006). Why research on women entrepreneurs needs new directions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(5), 595–621.
Aidis, R., Welter, F., Smallbone, D., & Isakova, N. (2007). Female entrepreneurship in transition economies: The case of Lithuania and Ukraine. Feminist Economics, 13(2), 157–183.
Aksoy, C.G., Özcan, B., & Philipp, J. (2021). Robots and the gender pay gap in Europe. European Economic Review, 103693.
Ashmore, R.D., & Del Boca, F.K. (1979). Sex stereotypes and implicit personality theory: Toward a cognitive—Social psychological conceptualization. Sex Roles, 5(2), 219–248.
Bell, A.E., Spencer, S.J., Iserman, E., & Logel, C.E.R. (2003). Stereotype threat and women's performance in engineering. Journal of Engineering Education, 92(4), 307–312.
Bem, S.L. (1983). Gender schema theory and its implications for child development: Raising gender-aschematic children in a gender-schematic society. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 8(4), 598–616.
Berenbaum, S.A., Martin, C.L., & Ruble, D.N. (2008). Gender development. In W. Damon, & R. Lerner (Eds.), Advanced child and adolescent development (pp. 647–696). Wiley.
Bernard, N.S., Dollinger, S.J., & Ramaniah, N.V. (2002). Applying the big five personality factors to the impostor phenomenon. Journal of Personality Assessment, 78(2), 321–333.
Blank, S., & Dorf, B. (2012). The startup owner’s manual: The step-by-step guide for building a great company. K & S Ranch. Inc, California. PubMed Abstract OpenURL.
Block, C., Koch, S., Liberman, B., Merriweather, T., & Roberson, L. (2011). Contending with stereotype threat at work: A model of long-term responses. The Counseling Psychologist, 39, 570–600.
Boll, C., & Lagemann, A. (2018). Gender pay gap in EU countries based on SES (2014). Luxembourg, Publication Office of the European Union. Doi, 10, 978935.
Branisa, B., Klasen, S., & Ziegler, M. (2013). Gender inequality in social institutions and gendered development outcomes. World Development, 45, 252–268.
Brush, C.G., De Bruin, A., & Welter, F. (2009). A gender‐aware framework for women’s entrepreneurship. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship.
Bruni, A., Gherardi, S., & Poggio, B. (2004). Entrepreneur-mentality, gender and the study of women entrepreneurs. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 17(4), 256–68.
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie. (2018). Förderlotse. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie. Retrieved from https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Publikationen/Mittelstand/foerderlotse.html
Burgess, D., & Borgida, E. (1999). Who women are, who women should be: Descriptive and prescriptive gender stereotyping in sex discrimination. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 5(3), 665.
Burgess, D., Joseph, A., van Ryn, M., & Carnes, M. (2012). Does stereotype threat affect women in academic medicine? Academic Medicine, 87(4), 506–512.
Busch, R., Gassemi, K., Papastamatelou, J., Unger, A., & May, C. (2020). Perception of formal and informal institutions by entrepreneurs in China, Morocco, and Germany–A cross cultural pilot study. International Journal of Management and Economics, 56(4), 324–338.
Cannings, K., & Montmarquette, C. (1991). Managerial momentum: A simultaneous model of the career progress of male and female managers. ILR Review, 44(2), 212–228.
Charles, M., Reskin, B., & Padavic, I. (1996). Women and men at work. Social Forces, 75(1). Pine Forge Press.
Cheryan, S., Plaut, V.C., Davies, P.G., & Steele, C.M. (2009). Ambient belonging: How stereotypical cues impact gender participation in computer science. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(6), 1045.
Clance, P.R., & Imes, S.A. (1978). The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241.
Dezső, C.L., & Ross, D.G. (2008). ‘Girl Power’: Female participation in top management and firm performance. University of Maryland Robert H Smith School of Business.
Dresing, T., & Pehl, T. (2017). Praxisbuch Interview, Transkription & Analyse. Anleitungen und Regelsysteme für qualitativ Forschende. 6. Aufl. Marburg.
Duckitt, J.H. (1992). Psychology and prejudice: A historical analysis and integrative framework. American Psychologist, 47(10), 1182.
Eddleston, K.A., Ladge, J.J., Mitteness, C., & Balachandra, L. (2016). Do you see what I see? Signaling effects of gender and firm characteristics on financing entrepreneurial ventures. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 40(3), 489—514.
Edelman, L.F., Donnelly, R., Manolova, T., & Brush, C.G. (2018). Gender stereotypes in the angel investment process. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship.
Ellison, G., & Swanson, A. (2010). The gender gap in secondary school mathematics at high achievement levels: Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(2), 109–28.
Fagenson, E.A., & Marcus, E.C. (1991). Perceptions of the sex-role stereotypic characteristics of entrepreneurs: Women's evaluations. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 15(4), 33–48.
García, P.O., & Capitán, Á.O. (2016). Elements that contribute to boost female entrepreneurship: A prospective analysis. Suma de Negocios, 7(15), 54–60.
Gawronski, B., & Bodenhausen, G.V. (2006). Associative and propositional processes in evaluation: An integrative review of implicit and explicit attitude change. Psychological Bulletin, 132(5), 692.
Gilchrist, E. (2002), The middle way: Learning to balance family and work. In Hanauer, C. (Ed.), The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth about Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage. William Morrow and Co., New York, NY, pp. 249–56.
Gimenez-Jimenez, D., Calabrò, A., & Urbano, D. (2020). The neglected role of formal and informal institutions in women’s entrepreneurship: A multi-level analysis. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 18(2), 196–226.
Gupta, V.K., Turban, D.B., Wasti, S.A., & Sikdar, A. (2009). The role of gender stereotypes in perceptions of entrepreneurs and intentions to become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 33(2), 397–417.
Halim, D. (2020). Women entrepreneurs needed – stat! World Bank. Retrieved from https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/women-entrepreneurs-needed-stat
Haslam, S.A., & Ryan, M.K. (2008). The road to the glass cliff: Differences in the perceived suitability of men and women for leadership positions in succeeding and failing organizations. Leadership Quarterly, 19, 530–546.
Helmke, G., & Levitsky, S. (2004). Informal institutions and comparative politics: A research agenda. Perspectives on Politics, 2(4), 725–740.
Holst, E. (2002). Institutionelle Determinanten der Erwerbsarbeit. In Gender matters: Feministische Analysen zur Wirtschafts – und Sozialpolitik. F. Maier, & A. Fiedler (Eds.), Fhw-Forschung (pp.89–109). 42/43. Berlin: Edition Sigma.
Institut für Arbeit und Qualifikation. (2020). Teilzeitquote insgesamt und nach Geschlecht 1991-2019. Universität Duisburg-Essen. Retrieved from http://www.sozialpolitik-aktuell.de/files/sozialpolitikaktuell/_Politikfelder/Arbeitsmarkt/Datensammlung/PDF-Dateien/abbIV8d.pdf
Inzlicht, M., & Ben-Zeev, T. (2000). A threatening intellectual environment: Why females are susceptible to experiencing problem-solving deficits in the presence of males. Psychological Science, 11(5), 365–371.
Jussim, L., Eccles, J., & Madon, S. (1996). Social perception, social stereotypes, and teacher expectations: Accuracy and the quest for the powerful self-fulfilling prophecy.
Kirsch, A., & Wrohlich, K. (2020). Frauenanteil in Spitzengremien großer Unternehmen steigen – abgesehen von Aufsichtsräten im Finanzsektor. In DIW Wochenbericht, 4. Retrieved from https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.703374.de/20-4.pdf
Kollmayer, M., Schober, B., & Spiel, C. (2018). Gender stereotypes in education: Development, consequences, and interventions. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15(4), 361–377.
Ladge, J., Eddleston, K.A., & Sugiyama, K. (2019). Am I an entrepreneur? How imposter fears hinder women entrepreneurs’ business growth. Business Horizons, 62(5), 615–624.
Logel, C., Walton, G.M., Spencer, S.J., Iserman, E.C., von Hippel, W., & Bell, A.E. (2009). Interacting with sexist men triggers social identity threat among female engineers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(6), 1089–1103.
Lyness, K.S., & Heilman, M.E. (2006). When fit is fundamental: Performance evaluations and promotions of upper-level female and male managers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 777–785.
Lyness, K.S., & Thompson, D.E. (2000). Climbing the corporate ladder: Do female and male executives follow the same route? Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(1), 86.
Lyngsie, J., & Foss, N.J. (2017). The more, the merrier? Women in top‐management teams and entrepreneurship in established firms. Strategic Management Journal, 38(3), 487–505.
Maries, A., & Singh, C. (2015). Stereotype threat? Effects of inquiring about test takers’ gender on conceptual test performance in physics. In AIP Conference Proceedings, 1697(1), p. 120008. AIP Publishing LLC.
Mayring, P. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: Theoretical foundation, basic procedures and software solution.
Metzger, G. (2020). KfW-Gründungsmonitor 2020. KfW Bankengruppe. Retrieved from https://www.kfw.de/PDF/Download-Center/Konzernthemen/Research/PDF-Dokumente Gründungsmonitor/KfW-Gruendungsmonitor-2020.pdf
Miletzki, J., & Broten, N. (2017). Development as freedom. In Development as freedom (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Nooteboom, B. (2002). Trust: Forms, foundations, functions, failures and figures. Edward Elgar Publishing.
North, D.C., & Institutions, I.C. (1990). Economic performance. New York.
North, D.C. (1991). Institutions. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), 97–112.
North, D.C. (1995). Structural changes of institutions and the process of transformation. Prague Economic Papers, 4(3), 229–234.
North, D.C. (2010). Understanding the process of economic change. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Payne, B.K., Krosnick, J.A., Pasek, J., Lelkes, Y., Akhtar, O., & Tompson, T. (2010). Implicit and explicit prejudice in the 2008 American presidential election. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46(2), 367–374.
Pettigrew, T.F. (1958). Personality and sociocultural factors in intergroup attitudes: A cross national comparison. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2(1), 29–42.
Polishchuk, L. (2001). Small business in Russia: Institutional environment. Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector (IRIS), University of Maryland.
Prentice, D.A., & Carranza, E. (2003). Sustaining cultural beliefs in the face of their violation: The case of gender stereotypes. In The psychological foundations of culture (pp. 268–289). Psychology Press.
Proshansky, H.M. (1966). The development of intergroup attitudes. In L.W. Hoffman, & M.L. Hoffman (Eds.), Review of child development research (pp. 311–371). New York: Russel Sage Foundation.
Rainer, H., Albrecht, C., Bauernschuster, S., Fichtl, A., Hener, T., & Ragnitz, J. (2018). Deutschland 2017 - Studie zu den Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen der Bürgerinnen und Bürger im vereinigten Deutschland. Leibnitz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (ifo Institut).
Ryan, M.K., Haslam, S.A., Hersby, M.D., Kulich, C., & Atkins, C. (2008). Opting out or pushed off the edge? The glass cliff and the precariousness of women’s leadership positions. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 266–279.
Sarfaraz, L., Faghih, N., & Majd, A.A. (2014). The relationship between women entrepreneurship and gender equality. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 4(1), 1–11.
Schmader, T. (2002). Gender identification moderates stereotype threat effects on women's math performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(2), 194–201.
Schmidt, D. (2002). ‘Im Schatten der ‘‘großen Männer’’: Zur unterbelichteten Rolle der Unternehmerinnen in der deutschen Wirtschaftsgeschichte des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts’. In F. Maier, & Fiedler (Eds.), Gender matters: Feministische Analysen zur Wirtschafts- und Sozialpolitik (pp. 211–29). Fhw-Forschung, 42/43, Berlin: Edition Sigma.
Schumpeter, J.A. (1983). American institutions and economic progress. Zeitschrift für die Gesamte Staatswissenschaft/Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, (2), 191–196.
Schölin, T., Ohlsson, H., & Broomé, P. (2017). The role of regions for different forms of business organizations. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 29(3–4), 197–214.
Smith, N., Smith, V., & Verner, M. (2006). Do women in top management affect firm performance? A panel study of 2,500 Danish firms. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management.
Spencer, S.J., Steele, C.M., & Quinn, D.M. (1999). Stereotype threat and women's math performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35(1), 4–28.
Statistisches Bundesamt. (2020). Bevölkerung, Erwerbstätige, Erwerbslose, Erwerbspersonen, Nichterwerbspersonen [jeweils im Alter von 15 bis unter 65 Jahren]: Deutschland, Jahre, Geschlecht. Bundesministerium des Inneren, für Bau und Heimat. Retrieved from https://www genesis.destatis.de/genesis/online?sequenz=tabelleErgebnis&selectionname=12211- 0001#abreadcrumb
Statistisches Bundesamt. (2021a). Schulen – Absolventen/Abgänger nach Abschlussart und Geschlecht. Bundesministerium des Inneren, für Bau und Heimat. Retrieved from https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bildung-Forschung Kultur/Schulen/Tabellen/liste-absolventen-abgaenger-abschlussart.html
Statistisches Bundesamt. (2021b). Bildung und Kultur – Schnellmeldungsergebnisse der Hochschulstatistik zu Studierenden und Studienanfängern/ -innen. Bundesministerium des Inneren, für Bau und Heimat. Retrieved from https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bildung-Forschung Kultur/Hochschulen/Publikationen/Downloads-Hochschulen/schnellmeldung-ws-vorl 5213103218004.pdf?_blob=publicationFile
Statistisches Bundesamt. (2021c). Studierende nach Semester, Nationalität, Geschlecht und Studienfach. Bundesministerium des Inneren, für Bau und Heimat. Retrieved from https://www.genesis.destatis.de/genesis/online?sequenz=tabelleErgebnis&selectionname=21311- 0003#abreadcrumb
Stephan, U., Uhlaner, L.M., & Stride, C. (2015). Institutions and social entrepreneurship: The role of institutional voids, institutional support, and institutional configurations. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(3), 308–331.
Sunny, C.E., Taasoobshirazi, G., Clark, L., & Marchand, G. (2017). Stereotype threat and gender differences in chemistry. Instructional Science, 45(2), 157–175.
Terrell, K., & Troilo, M. (2010). Values and female entrepreneurship. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship.
Tonoyan, V., Strohmeyer, R., Habib, M., & Perlitz, M. (2010). Corruption and entrepreneurship: How formal and informal institutions shape small firm behavior in transition and mature market economies. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(5), 803–832.
Turner, J.C., & Giles, H. (1981). Introduction. In J.C. Turner, & H. Giles (Eds.), Intergroup behaviour (pp. 1–32). Oxford, England: Blackwell.
United Nations Development Program [UNDP]. (2020). Tackling Social Norms. A game changer for gender inequalities. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hd_perspectives_gsni.pdf
Wade-Benzoni, K.A., Hoffman, A.J., Thompson, L.L., Moore, D.A., Gillespie, J.J., & Bazerman, M.H. (2002). Barriers to resolution in ideologically based negotiations: The role of values and institutions. Academy of Management Review, 27(1), 41–57.
Wajcman, J. (2013). Managing like a man: Women and men in corporate management. John Wiley & Sons.
Warnecke, T. (2013). Entrepreneurship and gender: An institutional perspective. Journal of Economic Issues, 47(2), 455–464.
Wenter, G., Aichinger, E., & Wagner, G. (2019). Frauen und Führung. Deloitte Consulting GmbH. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/at/Documents/consulting/at-deloitte umfrage-frauen-und-fuehrung-2019.pdf
Welter, F. (2004). The environment for female entrepreneurship in Germany. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development.
Welter, F., & Smallbone, D. (2008). Women’s entrepreneurship from an institutional perspective: The case of Uzbekistan. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 4(4), 505–520.
Welter, F., & Smallbone, D. (2014). Institutional perspectives on entrepreneurial behavior in challenging environments. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 2(42), 35–50.
Williamson, O.E. (2000). The new institutional economics: Taking stock, looking ahead. Journal of Economic Literature, 38(3), 595–613.
Westie, F.R. (1964). Race and ethnic relations. Handbook of Modern Sociology, pp. 576–618.
Zhao, E.Y., & Yang, L. (2020). Women hold up half the sky? Informal institutions, entrepreneurial decisions, and gender gap in venture performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.
