Female Entrepreneurship: Insights from UK and Chinese Small High-Tech Case Studies

摘要

Objectives: Women's entrepreneurship is expanding around the world, and many theories and statistics have reviewed the important role of women entrepreneurs towards the growth of national Gross Domestic Products (GDP) and the sustainability of social economy. Hence the aim of this research is to explore existing theories of female entrepreneurship related to innovation, entrepreneurial behaviour, networking, culture and risk taking, via insights from two case studies, one in a developed economy and one in a transitional economy. This research is also important in providing new insights into women's entrepreneurship in scientific and technical areas and in comparing the experience of women in two contrasting environments.Prior work: Research in entrepreneurship is dynamic, and gender is one of the key research areas in entrepreneurship. The key theories and studies identified traits in women, contributing to differences from their male counterparts in business venture creation and growth. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) identified women entrepreneurs as innovative, rule ignoring and risk taking. Women were also said to be export-oriented, inspiring business venture creation and taking a different route for the growth of businesses. This research aims to explore those issues in enterprise.Approach: Although case studies are considered insufficient to provide a robust indication of the pattern of women entrepreneurship, it is very useful to provide an insight of 'why' and 'how' issues (Yin, 1994). Also, case study research approach position especially appropriate to build theories in new areas (Eisenhardt, 1989). It is therefore very useful in this context where deeper insights are sought into the traits of female entrepreneurs.Results: The key results of this empirical study are to provide practical evidence for current theories on female entrepreneurships, comparing women business owners in regions with some similarities across two different countries as a pilot study. The next stage is to have a larger scale of samples in different sectors in countries chosen to test out the emerging hypotheses.Implications: This study will not only provide educators and researchers in different countries with rich insights into female entrepreneurs, but also to help policy makers understand how women approach innovation, exploring positive influences, attitudes to barriers and problems experienced by participants, to help shape policies and mechanisms in their country to encourage female start up businesses.Value: The value of this paper is that it will provide valuable insights into female enterprise in industry sectors different from the conventional perceptions on women-owned businesses, adding to the body of research in this area and to that of female entrepreneurship in china, a field that is under-reported and under-researched.