Female Entrepreneurial Intention And Entrepreneurial Behavior And Its Influencing Factors Research

In the past three decades, entrepreneurship literature shows that the rate of starting one' s own business for women is significantly lower than that of man. Although the magnitude of difference is diminishing, the gap between man and women is still huge—the number of male entrepreneurs is almost four times than that of female entrepreneur. What shapes such enormous difference between man and women? This question has been torturing and intriguing lots of researches. Entrepreneurial intentions is defined as an individual internal intention to become an entrepreneur and start one' s own business, which is recognized as one paramount factor leading individual to become an entrepreneur some day or immediately. Through investigating difference between man and women in the formative process that individual engender one' s entrepreneurial intention, scholars have provides some helpful evidence to better our understanding of what cause the gigantic distinction and how it happen. However, limited researches and discrete evidences are far more adequate to provide a comprehensive picture quenching our curiosity about this issue. In this dissertation, I attempt to make contribution to improve our knowledge about the issue by focusing on systematically exploring the disparity and familiarity between genders in formulating their entrepreneurial intention. This dissertation is comprised of four parts described as follows:The first section aimed at identifying women-specific factors impacting individual entrepreneurial intention. Structural interview was used as primary method to locate factors that have exclusively idiosyncratic influence on women entrepreneurial intention. Twenty one entrepreneur scattered largely in east south of China were sampled as interviewees who were asked to describe critical events or trigger events for them to start their own business. The process of interviewing were recorded and transferred, and then content analysis technique is employed to build theory and identify key variables. Finally, the results showed that attitudes of husband to potential women entrepreneurial behaviors and interaction between mates are important determinant for women entrepreneurial intention. In addition, women entrepreneurial intention also is function of work-related experience, life hood and relationship between women and family members. Society-imposing gender role, culture, social norm, national economic situation and attitude of government to entrepreneurial behaviors were also mentioned in the structural interview. Finally, gender identification and family commitment are merged as two striking variable to exclusively impact women entrepreneurial intention.Based on the literature review and structural interview, section two focused on constructing model of describing what factors impacts on individual entrepreneurial intention. A variety of statistical methods (EFA and CFA) were used to provide evidence that the measurement tools are reliable and valid. The results indicated that 1\ for the Macro level antecedents: both genders are sensitive to the factor of social norm and economic situation, and the effect of social culture and government support is small and no significant. The difference between genders appeared in the relative importance of determinants: the social norm and economic situation seems to be equivalent in influencing individual entrepreneurial intention in male group; however, social norm indicated superior influence for entrepreneurial intention to economic situation in female group. 2\ for the disposition level antecedents: in female group, achievement orientation, competitiveness and value for money turned out to be significant determinant for entrepreneurial intention, and yet the linkage of autonomy and risk taking with entrepreneurial intention is no significant. In male group, risk taking and value for the money achieved significant level (0.05). The effect of competitiveness, autonomy and achievement orientation is no significant. 3\ for the personal resource level: both genders obtain similar data pattern. Payment evaluation, resource availability and future employment all achieved significant level.The main purpose of section three is to explore the mechanism how extraneous determinants impact on individual entrepreneurial intention. First, the mediating effect of entrepreneurial feasibility and entrepreneurial desirability is tested. Second, whether entrepreneurial commitment constitutes a mediating linkage of feasible recognition and desirable recognition with individual entrepreneurial intention is examined. In addition, the difference between genders in above process was also investigated. The empirical results indicated that 1/ women entrepreneurial intention is simultaneously shaped by feasibility recognition and desirability recognition for starting one' s own business. However, male individuals are primarily driven by desirability recognition. 2/ the determinants of feasibility recognition in male group are only restricted to personal resource level factor. Nevertheless, women are prone to take into account for both level factors (macro factor level and personal resource level). 3/ in male group, desirability recognition is function of both macro level factors and disposition level factors. Comparatively, in female group, desirability recognition is impacted by only disposition level factors. 4/ in female group, feasibility recognition and desirability recognition have almost the same influence on individual entrepreneurial commitment. Yet, man' s entrepreneurial commitment is only associated with desirability recognition.Built on the basis of section two, section four examined the moderating effect of gender identification and family commitment, which were identified in structural interview part, in the process that antecedents of entrepreneurial intention impact on feasibility recognition and desirability recognition. The results confirmed the moderator role of gender identification and family commitment, and these findings facilitate our understanding of the mechanism how women generate their entrepreneurial intentions.Finally, the empirical findings and theoretical contribution were summarized. Practical implication and limitations of the research were also discussed. Additionally, future research directions are brought forward.