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This study aims to examine how couplepreneurs foster an entrepreneurial mindset in their kids.

A qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews was used as the data collection technique. Narrative analysis was conducted on a sample of 20 couplepreneurs in Mthatha, South Africa.

Narratives of how couplepreneurs foster an entrepreneurial mindset in their kids included purchasing toys and games for kids that encourage entrepreneurship; competition and team activities among kids that are related to entrepreneurship; the piggy bank; encouraging kids to read entrepreneurial books; and kid entrepreneur showcases.

Sample size challenges are a notable limitation, including research being conducted in only one province of South Africa. Caution is advised when attempting to generalise the results to other contexts.

Understanding the strategies used by couplepreneurs to instil an entrepreneurial mindset in children can help parents to influence and encourage their children's entrepreneurial growth, resulting in more creative and innovative people who make a positive contribution to society, economy and the community.

While there is a body of literature on couple entrepreneurship, there are shortcomings in studies examining how coupleprenuers in African countries instil an entrepreneurial mindset in their children. As a result, this study aims to complement the current corpus of African literature on entrepreneurship, particularly in the context of South Africa.

This paper aims to add to the theorization of family dynamics and women’s entrepreneurship by examining women’s influence on decision-making in family businesses. Business decisions in family firms, in particular, are not free from family influence in terms of goals and strategies, and the role of women in decision-making processes is of particular interest. Consequently, the role of women entrepreneurs in family firms and their influence on business development requires a more fine-grained analysis of the family dynamic within the family and the business.

This study draws on a qualitative study and focuses on the life story narratives of nine women in rural family businesses in rural communities of Småland province in Sweden to empirically examine the decision-making processes. This region is known both for its entrepreneurial culture and traditional gender order. Based on the narrative accounts of women entrepreneurs in family businesses, the data analysis method is thematic, using a Gioia-inspired method.

The complexity of decision-making in rural family firms is further complicated in part due to a closeness with the rural community. Thus, a typology of three decision-making modes in family firms emerges an informal family-oriented mode, a semistructured family/employee consensus mode and a formal board mode with at least one nonfamily member. Moreover, the advantages, disadvantages and strategies that women use to influence decisions within the respective mode are outlined.

This work contributes to the study of women’s agency and its implications in family business and entrepreneurship in the rural context. The study implies that women’s agency shapes the (rural) entrepreneurship context and, likewise, the (rural) entrepreneurship context influences women’s agency. Hence, the author challenges the view of women as only caregivers and sheds light on the practices and processes behind the scenes of entrepreneurial family businesses.