How women entrepreneurs lead and why they manage that way

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present six testable propositions to guide future research on the power of the trust building, interactive transformational leadership style women employ to succeed in corporate environments and which they further refine as entrepreneurs.

Design/methodology/approach

The propositions are drawn from findings in the fields of management, entrepreneurship, organizational behavior, leadership, teamwork and trust.

Findings

In organizational life, to move beyond outsider stereotypes, women employ collaborative behaviors to create a climate of trust in work teams. As managers and later as entrepreneurs, their leadership style yields a number of performance enhancing outcomes.

Originality/value

Little research links the leadership style of women in organizations to their later entrepreneurial ventures. The propositions and recommendations for testing offered here provide several methods to carry out empirical and theoretical studies.

Citation

Perrin Moore, D., Moore, J.L. and Moore, J.W. (2011), "How women entrepreneurs lead and why they manage that way", Gender in Management, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 220-233. https://doi.org/10.1108/17542411111130981