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Does gender affect business ‘performance’? A study of microbusinesses in business services in the UK

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  • chell Elizabeth
  • susan baines

Abstract

There is a dearth of studies that have examined the issue of the impact of gender on business performance. Three problems are evident in this earlier work:(1) the need to expose theoretical assumptions; (2) the adequacy of methodologies adopted; and (3) apparent equivocal results. A theme running through much of this work is whether the concept of ‘performance’ is itself gendered. This paper confines itself to addressing three research questions in respect of the impact of gender of business owner on business performance. The field data comprise a sample of 104 microbusinesses in business services in two locations-Newcastle upon Tyne and Milton Keynes, in the UK. The results show (1) no significant difference between the performance of the businesses of sole male and sole female owners, (2) clear evidence of the underperformance of spouse-owned businesses, (3) no support for the hypothesis that women have an ‘integrated approach’ to their business and personal lives (in contrast to men), and (4) evidence that cultural presuppositions about gender roles were most clearly demonstrated in the spouse-owned businesses.

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  • chell Elizabeth & susan baines, 1998. "Does gender affect business ‘performance’? A study of microbusinesses in business services in the UK," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 117-135, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:entreg:v:10:y:1998:i:2:p:117-135
    DOI: 10.1080/08985629800000007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rosa, Peter & Carter, Sara & Hamilton, Daphne, 1996. "Gender as a Determinant of Small Business Performance: Insights from a British Study," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 8(6), pages 463-478, December.
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    2. Marshall, Maria I. & Peake, Whitney O., 2013. "Women’s Management Strategies and Growth in Rural Female-Owned Family Businesses," 2014 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 3-5, 2014, Philadelphia, PA 161658, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
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    9. Sara, Amoroso & Albert, Link, 2017. "Under the AEGIS∗ of knowledge intensive entrepreneurship: Employment growth and gender of founders among European Firms," UNCG Economics Working Papers 17-9, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics.
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    11. John Watson, 2002. "Comparing the Performance of Male-and Female-Controlled Businesses: Relating Outputs to Inputs," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 26(3), pages 91-100, April.
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    14. Aki Kangasharju & Sari Pekkala, 2001. "The Role of Education in Self-Employment Success," Studies in Economics 0116, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    15. Lo, Kuang-Ta & Pan, Jiun-Nan & Peng, Shi-Shu, 2020. "The role of gender and its potential channels to affect self-employment in Taiwan," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 601-610.
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    19. Watson, John & Robinson, Sherry, 2003. "Adjusting for risk in comparing the performances of male- and female-controlled SMEs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 773-788, November.
    20. Celestine Katongole & John C. Munene & Muhammed Ngoma & Samuel Dawa & Arthur Sserwanga, 2015. "Entrepreneur’s Intrapersonal Resources and Enterprise Success among Micro and Small Scale Women Entrepreneurs," Journal of Enterprising Culture (JEC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(04), pages 405-447, December.
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