IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dsr/wpaper/25.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Female founders in the technology industry: The startup-relatedness of the decision to become a mother

Author

Listed:
  • Katherina Kuschel

    (School of Business and Economics, Universidad del Desarrollo)

Abstract

This paper explores decision-making for motherhood in the tech industry, and if there is an optimal context regarding their startup. The low female participation rate is a public concern in this extreme environment of long working hours, time pressure, and high competitiveness. Eighteen interviews were conducted to female founders and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Findings suggest two sources of “mumpreneur” in technology: 1) mothers that created a startup while young and childless, and 2) mothers that created a technology venture as a strategy to leave the corporate world. The first group is highly work-role salient while the second is highly family-role salient. Three subcategories divide the first category, that can be conceived as continuous stages: “not thinking about motherhood”, “wishing to be a mother”, and “mother”. Those codes are associated with the business stage, team size, and team gender diversity of the startup. Flexibility and autonomy allow work-family balance. Work-role salient mothers acknowledge a huge family sacrifice towards achieving business success. Further research directions are discussed as a way of extending the knowledge among this profile.

Suggested Citation

  • Katherina Kuschel, 2015. "Female founders in the technology industry: The startup-relatedness of the decision to become a mother," Serie Working Papers 25, Universidad del Desarrollo, School of Business and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:dsr:wpaper:25
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://repositorio.udd.cl/bitstream/handle/11447/140/wp25.pdf?sequence=1
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ryan Decker & John Haltiwanger & Ron Jarmin & Javier Miranda, 2014. "The Role of Entrepreneurship in US Job Creation and Economic Dynamism," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(3), pages 3-24, Summer.
    2. Barbara Bird & Candida Brush, 2002. "A Gendered Perspective on Organizational Creation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 26(3), pages 41-65, April.
    3. Aldrich, Howard E. & Cliff, Jennifer E., 2003. "The pervasive effects of family on entrepreneurship: toward a family embeddedness perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 573-596, September.
    4. Sarah Brown & Lisa Farrel & John Sessions, 2006. "Self-Employment Matching: An Analysis of Dual Earner Couples and Working Households," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 155-172, March.
    5. Fischer, Eileen M. & Reuber, A. Rebecca & Dyke, Lorraine S., 1993. "A theoretical overview and extension of research on sex, gender, and entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 151-168, March.
    6. Nancy M. Carter & Kathleen R. Allen, 1997. "Size determinants of women-owned businesses: choice or barriers to resources?," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 211-220, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katherina Kuschel, 2019. "Women Founders in the Technology Industry: The Startup-Relatedness of the Decision to Become a Mother," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, April.
    2. Justo, Rachida & DeTienne, Dawn R. & Sieger, Philipp, 2015. "Failure or voluntary exit? Reassessing the female underperformance hypothesis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 775-792.
    3. Yisook Lim & Chan S. Suh, 2019. "Where is my partner? The role of gender in the formation of entrepreneurial businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 131-151, January.
    4. Sara Poggesi & Michela Mari & Luisa Vita, 2016. "What’s new in female entrepreneurship research? Answers from the literature," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 735-764, September.
    5. Lene Foss & Colette Henry & Helene Ahl & Geir H. Mikalsen, 2019. "Women’s entrepreneurship policy research: a 30-year review of the evidence," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 409-429, August.
    6. Kimberly A. Eddleston & Gary N. Powell, 2012. "Nurturing Entrepreneurs’ Work–Family Balance: A Gendered Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 36(3), pages 513-541, May.
    7. Fernando Castelló-Sirvent & Pablo Pinazo-Dallenbach, 2021. "Corruption Shock in Mexico: fsQCA Analysis of Entrepreneurial Intention in University Students," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(14), pages 1-31, July.
    8. Dr. Brinda Kalyani. P. R & Dr. Dileep Kumar M., 2011. "Motivational factors, entrepreneurship and education: Study with reference to women in SMEs," Far East Journal of Psychology and Business, Far East Research Centre, vol. 3(2), pages 14-35, June.
    9. Joseph Ikechukwu Uduji & Elda Nduka Okolo‐Obasi, 2023. "Gender equity and land: The role of corporate social responsibility in Niger Delta, Nigeria," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1216-1238, August.
    10. John R. Becker–Blease & Jeffrey E. Sohl, 2011. "The Effect of Gender Diversity on Angel Group Investment," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 35(4), pages 709-733, July.
    11. Hedberg, Patricia R. & Danes, Sharon M., 2012. "Explorations of dynamic power processes within copreneurial couples," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 228-238.
    12. Becker-Blease, John R. & Sohl, Jeffrey E., 2007. "Do women-owned businesses have equal access to angel capital?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 503-521, July.
    13. Tatiana Tsyganova & Galina Shirokova, 2010. "Gender Differences In Entrepreneurship: Evidence From Gem Data," Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, vol. 1(1).
    14. Susan Marlow & Dean Patton, 2005. "All Credit to Men? Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Gender," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(6), pages 717-735, November.
    15. In Lee & Matthew Marvel, 2014. "Revisiting the entrepreneur gender–performance relationship: a firm perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 769-786, April.
    16. Kalnins, Arturs & Williams, Michele, 2014. "When do female-owned businesses out-survive male-owned businesses? A disaggregated approach by industry and geography," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 822-835.
    17. Tansel Yilmazer & Holly Schrank, 2010. "The Use of Owner Resources in Small and Family Owned Businesses: Literature Review and Future Research Directions," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 399-413, December.
    18. Daniela Giménez & Andrea Calabrò, 2018. "The salient role of institutions in Women’s entrepreneurship: a critical review and agenda for future research," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 857-882, December.
    19. Craig Wesley Carpenter & Scott Loveridge, 2020. "Business, Owner, and Regional Characteristics in Latino-owned Business Growth: An Empirical Analysis Using Confidential Census Microdata," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 43(3), pages 254-285, May.
    20. Ritch L. Sorenson & Cathleen A. Folker & Keith H. Brigham, 2008. "The Collaborative Network Orientation: Achieving Business Success through Collaborative Relationships," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 32(4), pages 615-634, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entrepreneurship; New high-technology ventures; Female founders; Motherhood; Decision-making; Role salience;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dsr:wpaper:25. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Jean Sepulveda (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feuddcl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.