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1 – 10 of over 13000Aleksandra Gaweł and Timo Toikko
The social inclusion of immigrants has been a central public policy issue in European countries, and entrepreneurship is often promoted as a form of integration. Female immigrants…
Abstract
Purpose
The social inclusion of immigrants has been a central public policy issue in European countries, and entrepreneurship is often promoted as a form of integration. Female immigrants face double discrimination of gender and ethnicity while becoming entrepreneurs. The aim of the paper is to investigate the female empowerment in the host country as a predictor of immigrant women engagement in entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on panel data for European Union countries for years 2006–2021, female immigrant entrepreneurship was modelled by the impact of variables showing the empowerment of women in host countries. Data availability was the determinant regarding the inclusion of 22 countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden were all in the research sample.
Findings
Although immigrant entrepreneurship is highly context-oriented and locale-specific (as in the physical setting for relationships among people), some universal patterns for a group of countries are found. A stronger political and managerial position of power for the women in host countries encourages female immigrant entrepreneurship, while the gender pay gap is statistically insignificant.
Originality/value
The originality of the paper is due to the multi-country level and female-focused research perspectives in immigrant entrepreneurship. The study refers to the intersectionality of gender and ethnicity, arguing that the empowerment of women in host countries affects female immigrant entrepreneurship at the macro-level.
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Rifat Akhter and Kathryn B. Ward
Purpose – The main objective of this research is to explore the impacts of globalization on gender empowerment.Methodology – This research uses a design that combines lagged…
Abstract
Purpose – The main objective of this research is to explore the impacts of globalization on gender empowerment.
Methodology – This research uses a design that combines lagged cross-sectional and cross-sectional analyses. We have used ordinary least square regression. The sample size for this research is 48–70 nation-states. We have used gender empowerment measurement as an indicator of decision-making power that women in a society gain in decision making as a group.
Findings – Our findings illustrate variable effects of global economy on gender empowerment. Higher commodity concentration significantly lowers women's access to the formal and informal labor force and women's decision-making power after controlling for economic development, culture, and state's location in the global economy. Foreign direct investment lowers women's share in both the formal and informal labor force and women's decision-making power, while increasing women's share of secondary education. Thus, this research examines wider dimensions of women's experiences. We also find that some policies have positive effects, whereas others have negative effects on gender empowerment.
Originality/value of the chapter – Previous research on globalization and development has discussed the impacts of globalization on women's empowerment. However, researchers have either used women's access to formal work or education or gender development scores as an indicator of women's empowerment. Researchers have not captured women's empowerment completely. We have overcome this limitation by defining empowerment as a complex of access to resources (access to education, formal and informal labor force) and decision-making power (gender empowerment scores).
Aleksandra Gaweł, Katarzyna Mroczek-Dąbrowska and Malgorzata Bartosik-Purgat
As women’s position in the economy and society is often explained by cultural factors, this study aims to verify whether the observed changes in female empowerment in the region…
Abstract
Purpose
As women’s position in the economy and society is often explained by cultural factors, this study aims to verify whether the observed changes in female empowerment in the region of Central and East European (CEE) countries of the European Union (EU) are associated with masculinity as a cultural trait.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors apply the k-means clustering method to group CEE countries into clusters with similar levels of female empowerment in two time points – 2013 and 2019. Next, the authors examine the clusters and cross-reference them with the national culture’s masculinity to explore the interrelations between female empowerment and cultural traits in the CEE countries and their development in time.
Findings
The analyses reveal that female empowerment is not uniform or stable across the CEE countries. The masculinity level is not strongly related to women’s position in these countries, and changes in female empowerment are not closely linked to masculinity.
Originality/value
Despite the tumultuous history of women’s empowerment in the CEE countries, the issues related to gender equality and cultural traits pertaining to the region are relatively understudied in the literature. By focusing on the CEE region, the authors fill the gap in examining the independencies between female empowerment and cultural masculinity.
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Elika Kordrostami and Melika Kordrostami
In light of the recent shift in the US culture, this paper investigates the effectiveness of female sexual empowerment as ad appeal in the apparel industry.
Abstract
Purpose
In light of the recent shift in the US culture, this paper investigates the effectiveness of female sexual empowerment as ad appeal in the apparel industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 aimed to understand consumers' reactions to female sexual empowerment in ads in terms of their attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the brand and purchase intention. Study 2 investigated the role of gender in perceptions of female sexual empowerment in ads.
Findings
This research establishes that consumers display positive attitudes toward female sexual empowerment in the apparel advertisement. These attitudes positively influence attitudes toward the brand, which in turn improve purchase intention. These effects are stronger for women than men.
Research limitations/implications
This research borrows from social power theory to reveal the impact of female sexual empowerment in ads in the apparel industry. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the findings also show that female sexual empowerment can have a positive impact on purchase intention through a serial mediation of attitude toward the ad and brand.
Practical implications
Marketers need to be aware of the impact of female sexual empowerment as ad appeal. Specifically, firms in the apparel industry could benefit from the positive effects of incorporating female sexual empowerment in their campaigns.
Originality/value
This research is the first to investigate the role of female sexual empowerment as ad appeal in improving consumers' responses to ads.
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Maryam Nakhoda and Samaneh Rahimian
The purpose of this paper is to study promoting and inhibiting factors in empowerment of female librarians in the opinion of female managers. It is necessary that library managers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study promoting and inhibiting factors in empowerment of female librarians in the opinion of female managers. It is necessary that library managers identify and monitor influential factors in empowering librarians, and attempt to eliminate factors with negative effects.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is conducted in a phenomenological approach, which relies on in-depth interviews among nine female managers of top public library in Tehran. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis method was used for analysis of data.
Findings
Interviews analysis revealed that job skills, participation and teamwork, role resolution, access to information, motivation, role modeling, recognition, and appreciation were among the effective factors in empowerment of female librarians. On the other hand, poor organizational communication system, negative attitudes toward staff, and instructional management style were among the inhibiting factors in empowerment of female librarians in the opinion of female public library managers.
Originality/value
Results of the present study can help managers of public libraries to identify factors affecting empowerment of female librarians’. Also the findings can be used in managers’ planning and decision-making process.
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Uttam Chakraborty and Santosh Kumar Biswal
The use of social media is becoming increasingly important for entrepreneurial marketing as a way to gain psychological empowerment through female entrepreneurship. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The use of social media is becoming increasingly important for entrepreneurial marketing as a way to gain psychological empowerment through female entrepreneurship. The participation of female entrepreneurs on social media has witnessed an increasing trend. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of social media participation on female entrepreneurs towards digital entrepreneurship intention and their psychological empowerment.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study integrates the Stimulus–Organism–Response framework with uses and gratification theory to understand and determine a theoretical framework in understanding the importance of social media for female entrepreneurship in the contemporary digital era. To ensure internal consistency of the latent constructs, this study determines Cronbach’s alpha for all the variables. Further, exploratory factor analysis is performed to ensure the unidimensionality of the latent constructs. Structural equation modelling is performed to test the theoretical framework.
Findings
Data analysis confirms the significant effect of social media participations on female entrepreneurs towards their digital entrepreneurship intention which further affects their psychological empowerment.
Originality/value
The practical contributions of this study highlight the importance of female entrepreneurship which is essential for attaining self-reliance by reducing the socio-economic barriers. Further, female entrepreneurs’ participation in social media communities enhances the levels of empowerment.
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Rania Miniesy, Engy Elshahawy and Hadia Fakhreldin
This study aims to examine the impact of social media (SM) on the creation of digital entrepreneurship by female (irrespective of age) and youth male (aged 18–29 years…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of social media (SM) on the creation of digital entrepreneurship by female (irrespective of age) and youth male (aged 18–29 years) entrepreneurs, investigate if SM empowers those entrepreneurs and compare the empowerment characteristics between female and youth male entrepreneurs before and after starting their businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
Self-assessment questionnaires were collected from a sample of 408 Egyptian female and youth male digital entrepreneurs from Greater Cairo, whose businesses had been operating for more than one year.
Findings
The research showed the following four results: Of the surveyed entrepreneurs, 95% asserted that without SM, they would not have started their businesses. Female and youth male entrepreneurs are empowered both on personal and relational levels, and women’s empowerment is more evident in the latter. Before digital entrepreneurship, youth males have significantly higher averages than female entrepreneurs in almost all empowerment characteristics, whereas after digital entrepreneurship, female entrepreneurs have significantly higher averages in making decisions related to investment, personal education and personal health, as well as those of other household members. Female entrepreneurs are relatively more empowered than youth males after digital entrepreneurship when each group is compared with its initial status.
Originality/value
This study’s originality stems from using a large sample of entrepreneurs, including youth males, not just females; employing a more structured, comprehensive measure of empowerment than found in the literature because it included the rarely used psychological dimension; considering more than one SM tool and comparing empowerment of females to that of youth males.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of gender on the effectiveness of transformational leadership. Drawing on role congruity theory, it elucidates the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of gender on the effectiveness of transformational leadership. Drawing on role congruity theory, it elucidates the moderating effects of leader gender, subordinate gender, and leader-subordinate gender dyad on the relationship between transformational leadership and psychological empowerment.
Design/methodology/approach
Employees of companies in Korea responded to a paper-pencil survey, rating their psychological empowerment and leadership behaviors of their direct leader on a five-point Likert-type scale. The analysis includes 339 responses.
Findings
The results indicate that a leader’s gender has no significant moderating effect on psychological empowerment, but the gender of the subordinate has a significant moderating effect, with male subordinates more strongly influenced by transformational leadership than female subordinates. Notably, the findings show that the effectiveness of transformational leadership is contingent on the leader-subordinate gender dyad. Specifically, transformational leadership has as significant an effect on female leader-male subordinate dyads as on male leader-male subordinate dyads.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to leadership and gender studies in the management field by investigating the effect of gender roles on the effectiveness of transformational leadership. Future research should extend this study and explore whether these findings are generalizable.
Practical implications
The remarkable finding of the effect of female leadership on employee empowerment suggests organizations should use more female leaders.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical study to shed light on gender issues in relation to transformational leadership in Korea.
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The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between female empowerment/participation and firm performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between female empowerment/participation and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The data are cross-sectional, extracted from the records of the Enterprise Surveys of the World Bank (ESWB). It covers 561 privately-owned firms from Lebanon. Tobit regressions are used in the analysis.
Findings
The findings show that firm performance is positively associated with one form of female empowerment (female involvement in management), and the positive and significant association remains significant when several control variables are considered. However, the positive association between firm performance and the other form of female empowerment (female involvement in ownership) does not hold the inclusion of control variables in the regression. Furthermore, there is a positive association between firm performance and female participation in the workplace (the percentage of female workers), which remains qualitatively unchanged when several control variables are considered.
Originality/value
This is one of the first research studies that examines the relationship between female empowerment/participation and firm performance, while differentiating between female involvement in management and female involvement in ownership. Notably, the study extends the authors’ limited understanding on that relationship in the context of a small and understudied country such as Lebanon, where privately-held firms dominate.
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Salman Bashir Memon and Claire Seaman
Women entrepreneurs are considered here as a backbone of economic growth and development. This research is conducted to explain the role of microfinance banks in women's…
Abstract
Women entrepreneurs are considered here as a backbone of economic growth and development. This research is conducted to explain the role of microfinance banks in women's financial, socioeconomic, and political empowerment. The sample was gathered from the customers of microfinance banks operating in the specific areas of Sukkur, Pano Aqil, and Khairpur districts of Sindh province. Women perception about the microfinance bank was found to be positive as they give positive feedback about the banks. According to the findings, limited knowledge about business and financial matters make it highly challenging for women entrepreneurs to start and run business smoothly. However, most of the women are living separate with their husbands, and due to more children, women enjoy freedom of mobility.
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