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The purpose of this study is to explore the potential of coaching to develop female entrepreneurship by overcoming potential barriers. It sought to understand how entrepreneurial self-efficacy can be applied to development relationships, through on-line coaching, examining changes in the four key elements of entrepreneurial self-efficacy enactive mastery, vicarious experiences, social persuasion and psychological arousal. The study examines the impact of coaching relationships on female entrepreneurial self-efficacy compared to a control group. The participant group was matched with coaches and undertook a structured six months’ coaching programme.

This was a longitudinal study using a mixed methods approach. Questionnaires investigating entrepreneurial self-efficacy were collected at two time points for both the coaching and control group. After the first time point, the coaching group was supported through a six months coaching development programme. At the second time point, questionnaires were again completed by both groups and qualitative data gather via interviews with the coaching group.

The findings from this study showed that coaching relationships had a positive impact on coachees’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy, compared to the control group in terms of enactive mastery, vicarious experience, social persuasion and psychological arousal. This suggests that coaching is a development intervention which can be used to enhance self-efficacy beliefs of female entrepreneurs, thereby increasing their chances of engaging in successful business creation and operation.

The group size was a problem, with four of the coaching group and ten of the control group dropping out. The coaching participants left the intervention due to personal reasons but no reason could be established for the control group participants leaving the study. The problem of ‘Type II’ was considered and in an attempt to overcome this problem, data were shown at below 10% (p < 0.10). It would also have been useful to collect more qualitative data from the control group.

An online coaching programme provided by women for women, which is tailored to the individual, can support female entrepreneurs through the difficult stages of start-up and development phases of business development. Creating more successful women owned businesses will not only provide financial benefits, but should help provide additional entrepreneurial networks for women, as well as more positive female role models. Exposure to positive role models has been found to have a direct effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy. This circular affect should in theory keep on increasing, if female entrepreneurs have access to the tailored support provided by coaching programmes such as the one used here.

Considering the current global economic climate, it is increasingly important for women to be supported in small business ownership (Denis, 2012). Countries which actively promote women entering into business ownership will ultimately share the gains in terms of wider issues, i.e. improving education and health, and economic growth (Harding, 2007). If female entrepreneurship is to be encouraged and supported, provision needs to be designed and developed based on female entrepreneurs’ needs and requirements, rather than simply conforming to traditional business support models.

This study contributes to learning and theoretical debates by providing an understanding of female entrepreneurs' needs with regard to business support and how this can be related to and supported by coaching. It also adds to the literature on entrepreneurial self-efficacy, coaching and learning by providing empirical evidence to illustrate how coaching interventions, including the use of online methods, can have a positive impact on female entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

This research paper concentrates on the benefits of online coaching for boosting the entrepreneurial self-efficacy of women with business aspirations in the UK. The coaching focused on mitigating business failure through efforts to elevate the female entrepreneurs' self-belief and focus on core goals. The results demonstrate that cultural barriers to entry into entrepreneurship can be overcome by women having access to tailored online coaching, since this can be flexibly arranged around other responsibilities.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to present a longitudinal, qualitative study exploring changes in the attributional constructions of sense-making in the perceptions and lived experiences of the glass-ceiling among a cohort of female mental health nurses in the National Health Service who participated in a 12-month multi-faceted career and leadership development pilot programme compared to a matched control group.

The authors interviewed 27 female mental health nurses in the UK who participated in a multi-faceted development programme specifically designed to support female nurses secure career advancement and 27 members of a matched control group who did not experience the programme. Participants engaged in semi-structured telephone interviews at three separate time points (six months apart) over a 12-month period.

Programme participants differed in their attributional constructions of sense-making in relation to the glass-ceiling over time compared to the matched control group, e.g., triggering understandings and awakenings and re-evaluating the glass-ceiling above when promoted. Findings are used to theorise about the glass-ceiling as a concept that shifts and changes over time as a function of experience.

Practical implications include important organisational outcomes in relation to fostering the career advancement and retention of talented female leaders at all career stages.

The authors present the first known longitudinal, qualitative study to explore changes in attributional constructions of sense-making in perceptions and experiences of the glass-ceiling among female nurses over time compared to a matched control group.

The purpose of this literature review is to provide an intervention model, which can be used by organisations to combat sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment has been somewhat ignored over recent years, with much of the academic literature focusing on harassment specifically on workplace bullying, or psychological harassment of a generic nature. For the purpose of this review, the authors have specifically reviewed individual and organisational antecedents, particularly focusing on the organisation's culture and training programmes.

A review of the sexual harassment literature has been conducted to examine primary, secondary and tertiary interventions to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.

There are a variety of antecedents of sexual harassment which can be examined; these cover three main categories: groups and individuals; organisational and situational; and societal. Sexual harassment should be seen as an issue which needs to be addressed by the organisation, rather than simply increasing and improving an individual's skills in order to deal with harassment (Fitzgerald and Shullman).

This paper provides an up‐to‐date review of the sexual harassment literature and from this provides a model, which organisations can utilise when attempting to tackle the problem of sexual harassment.