The Family’s Push and Pull on Female Entrepreneurship: Evidence in China

Although the effects of family on performance are well documented in the literature on entrepreneurship, few accounts explore the underlying mechanism of influence that the family has on female entrepreneurial performance. We divide family factors into demands and resources and develop a conceptual framework to explore the mediating effects of family–work relationships and the moderating roles of two boundary attributes in the relationship between family and female entrepreneurial performance. Our research conducted in western China reveals that family demands have a negative effect on female entrepreneurial performance while family resources have a positive effect; family–work relationships partially mediate the effects that family demands and resources have on female entrepreneurial performance; women whose families have greater flexibility are less likely to suffer from the negative effect of family–work conflict on their performance; and those whose family boundaries are less permeable are more likely to achieve higher performance with the help of family–work enrichment.