Abstract
Entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the actors within, are a core factor in fostering entrepreneurial activity in regions (Brush et al., 2019). Business networks are one of the entrepreneurial ecosystems element and key in socially embedding entrepreneurs. The extent to which an entrepreneur is embedded in business networks and relationships, and how these networks and relationships shape their entrepreneurial behavior and outcomes (Jack & Anderson, 2002; Wigren-Kristoferson et al., 2022). However, there is growing evidence that business networks and the embedding process is gendered, mostly to the detriment of women (Murnieks et al., 2020; Brush et al., 2018; McAdam, 2019). These gendered experiences by women entrepreneurs have prompted the emergence of women-only business networks across Europe (Williams & McGregor, 2021). Such networks seek to offer a platform for women entrepreneurs to connect, reduce feelings of isolation, enhance their gender capital, bolster their confidence, and augment their legitimacy (McAdam, 2019). Emerging literature has shown that women-only networks are a double-edged sword: one the one hand they can lead to multiple positive outcomes for women entrepreneurs, including network growth, enhanced access to financing, and improved credibility (McAdam et al., 2019; Woodwark et al., 2021; Williams & McGregor, 2021). On the other hand, these networks can lead to multiple negative outcomes for women entrepreneurs. Examples are that these networks have no adequate consideration of broader factors, limiting women’s access to other ecosystem networks (Harrison et al, 2020; Marlow & Martinez Dy, 2019). In addition, women-only networks may also exert negative effects on symbolic capital and the legitimacy of their participants, and that women entrepreneurs active in such networks exhibit less strategic networking behaviours compared to their counterparts in mixed-gender networks (McAdam, 2019). In short, women-only networks both reinforce and challenge gender structures (Roos, 2019), making many women entrepreneurs struggle to decide whether and how to engage with women-only business networks, and many participate in both (Woodwark et al., 2021). Therefore, this paper aims to understand and answer the research question what women-only networks mean in the embedding process of women entrepreneurs in their access to resources in a broader ecosystem in comparison to mixed business networks.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Diana Conference 2024 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2024 |