Women taking over businesses: gender stereotypes and construction of legitimacy[La toma de posesión de una empresa por parte de las mujeres: estereotipos ligados al género femenino y construcción de legitimidad]

The takeover of a company is a process of socialisation during which the buyer must convince many actors, both internal and external to the company, of his or her legitimacy. Considering that previous research does not take into account the influence of gender in the experience of the buyer, we seek to better understand how stereotypes linked to the female gender influence the construction of the legitimacy of women successors. We analysed 14 cases of business takeovers by women, with or without family ties to the seller (daughters, employees and external buyers). This research highlights the undeniable negative influence of gender stereotypes on the construction of the legitimacy of women buyers throughout the takeover process. It then identifies four strategies mobilised by the female buyers to face these stereotypes and gain legitimacy. This study is the first empirical study to examine the specificities of women buyers in contexts other than family takeovers and in all phases of the takeover process. The results are valuable for the women buyers but also for their professional and personal environment.