Speaker
Description
Entrepreneurial activities are embedded in space (Reuschke et al., 2015; Welter, 2011; Wright & Stigliani, 2013), and for women in particular, these activities are often deeply intertwined with local communities, networks and available spatial resources at the neighborhood level (Ekinsmyth, 2011; Hanson, 2003, 2009). Space embeddedness is crucial for women’s personal and professional support and affects the scalability and sustainability of their businesses (Brush et al., 2002; Brush et al., 2009)). However, entrepreneurship studies have generally unremarked the role of the neighborhoods where female entrepreneurs operate, focusing primarily on employment type and gender division of labor or regional and/or urban dynamics. Literature in Urban Studies and Regional Studies partially filled this gap, showing that spatial segmentation and sectoral segmentation negatively influence the ownership and growth of women-led businesses in non-feminized professions and sectors.
Still, the location decision is shaped by the interaction of spatial and institutional contexts. Institutional factors push women towards particular spaces, which in turn influences the nature and development of their entrepreneurial activities. Understanding these dynamics is key to appreciating how space affects women entrepreneurs’ opportunities and outcomes.
In this study, we combine literature in Entrepreneurship Studies with Urban Studies to understand whether and how the neighborhoods where female entrepreneurs operate influence their ventures’ growth. We argue that the surroundings of the workplaces where female entrepreneurs operate offer resources, structure, and boundaries for women’s everyday work and personal lives. This recalls previous studies investigating space-time constraints in terms of opportunities to which workers and entrepreneurs are potentially exposed. Therefore, we aim to answer the question: Which spatial resources in the surroundings of female-led ventures are conducive to their growth? What boundary conditions influence this relationship?
In the empirical part of the paper, we employ a geo-coded firm-level dataset on Italian entrepreneurial ventures in which each venture is associated with a surrounding area of 1 square kilometer. This dataset contains information on ventures’ features and the spatial resources of their surroundings (e.g., childcare facilities, networking spaces, walkable areas, etc.) retrieved from multiple sources such as the Italian Registry of Firms, the ORBIS dataset, Corine Land Cover, the National Statistical Office, and OpenStreetMap. Aligning with literature which has shown that women have different spatial requirements compared to men to balance their work and personal lives effectively (Burchell et al., 2020), we find that when the surroundings of female-led ventures have spatial resources that facilitate both work-related and life-related needs (e.g., childcare facilities, networking spaces, walkable areas, etc.), then female-led ventures can achieve superior performances.
Our results offer insights for policymakers willing to promote female entrepreneurship and urban planners aiming to design inclusive and equitable cities. By emphasizing the critical role of spatial resources in shaping entrepreneurial success, this study advances scholarly debate and offers an interdisciplinary perspective that bridges Entrepreneurship Studies with Urban Studies, highlighting the potential of spatial strategies for fostering entrepreneurship in urban environments.
References
Brush, C., Carter, N., Greene, P., Hart, M., & Gatewood, E. (2002). The Role of Social Capital and Gender in Linking Financial Suppliers and Entrepreneurial Firms: A Framework for Future Research. Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 4.
Brush, C. G., de Bruin, A., & Welter, F. (2009). A gender‐aware framework for women’s entrepreneurship. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 1(1), 8–24. Ekinsmyth, C. (2011). Challenging the boundaries of entrepreneurship: The spatialities and practices of UK ‘Mumpreneurs’. Geoforum, 42(1), 104–114.
Hanson, S. (2003). Geographical and Feminist Perspectives on Entrepreneurship. Geographische Zeitschrift, 91, 1–23.
Hanson, S. (2009). Changing Places Through Women’s Entrepreneurship. Economic Geography, 85(3), 245–267.
Reuschke, D., Mason, C., Syrett, S., & Van Ham, M. (2015). Connecting entrepreneurship with homes and neighbourhoods. In C. Mason, D. Reuschke, S. Syrett, & M. van Ham (Eds.), Entrepreneurship in Cities: Neighbourhoods, Households and Homes (Entrepreneurship, Space and Place; No. 1). Edward Elgar.
Welter, F. (2011). Contextualizing Entrepreneurship—Conceptual Challenges and Ways Forward. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(1), 165–184.
Wright, M., & Stigliani, I. (2013). Entrepreneurship and growth. International Small Business Journal, 31(1), 3–22.
| Keywords | Female Entrepreneurship; Spatial Resources; Neighborhoods; Urban Design; Work-Life Balance |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
