International Handbook of Women and Small Business Entrepreneurship

Citation

Fielden, S.L. and Davidson, M.J. (2006), "International Handbook of Women and Small Business Entrepreneurship", Women in Management Review, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 336-339. https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420610668757

Small business entrepreneurship is commonly hailed as the growth engine of today's economies and, worldwide, women are reputed to be entering small business ownership at a faster rate than men. Together, these circumstances imply an environment receptive to a publication featuring women and small business entrepreneurship as the combined object of study. Timeliness, then, may be a feature of the International Handbook of Women and Small Business Entrepreneurship, but it is not the only thing in its favour. Sandra Fielden and Marilyn Davidson, already well known for their contributions to gender issues in management, have brought together an absorbing collection of articles that serve to enhance our understanding of a complex area within organisation studies.

As with many constructs that frame our understanding of organisational issues, the term “entrepreneur” is flexible and somewhat ill‐defined – a point made in this collection by Kiran Mirchandani and others, who try to tease out the various meanings and associations. Yet, we can still detect the dominant characterisations of entrepreneurship as both “virtuous” and “heroic”. Women share the first of these associations – that entrepreneurship is considered inherently “good” – with their enterprising male counterparts. Yet, for women entrepreneurs, the goodness criterion seems to be much more expansive. Research evidence suggests, for example, that women identify an “ethic of care” as a business effectiveness criterion, that they claim to consciously introduce employee policies that were lacking in their previous place of employment (Taylor & Newcomer, Chapter 2, p. 27), and that they wish to “make a difference” (Still, Chapter 5, p. 55). With respect to the heroic associations, both male and female entrepreneurs emerge as bold risk takers, innovators and drivers of development – exceptional individuals who “create” economic wealth and employment. Women entrepreneurs, however, are likely to be especially resilient since they encounter greater structural and personal barriers to small business ownership than men.

But entrepreneurs come in many guises, and the rising emphasis on women entrepreneurs can lead to these and other gender comparisons that are stark and unhelpful. Indeed, this Handbook defies the creation of a generalisable “typical” woman entrepreneur. It refuses to take for granted any crude dichotomy, choosing instead to celebrate and examine diversity within the field: how women entrepreneurs, while different, might share attributes of male counterparts; how entrepreneurial women, influenced by culture or circumstance, differ from each other; and what researchers' differing disciplinary perspectives can bring to the evolving conversation. The Handbook addresses diversity implicitly through the involvement of contributors from a variety of backgrounds who draw on theories from disciplinary areas such as organisation psychology, sociology, economics, finance and management history.

Possibly the first thing the reader observes is that this publication is represented as a “Handbook” a curious categorisation broad enough to cover the “how‐to” of a car manual, through to a scholarly reference book on a particular topic. So what can one expect from this work? First, this particular handbook is not a mere glossary. The editors provide a forum for scholarly works in a specialised area of small business and entrepreneurship research. And the International Handbook of Women and Small Business Entrepreneurship proves a rich resource – collectively, the papers serve to summarise and re‐examine much of the relevant research to date. Some individual authors highlight the state of knowledge and possible future directions for small business policy and research. Others analyse existing theory to develop new conceptual models of entrepreneurship. Several of the chapters contain primary research that may have had little exposure elsewhere. Articles are frequently given “texture” through the inclusion of personal vignettes or brief case studies.

Upon opening the book the reader is not given the luxury of a comprehensive introduction. Instead, the Preface briefly prepares the reader for an “up‐to‐date theoretical review” of the area, and for “practical initiatives and strategies relating to the experiences of women entering small business ownership in the twenty‐first century” (xvi), claims which are reiterated in the final chapter of the book. In the event, this description seems to overemphasise a practical or applied orientation. Yet the book is by no means a “how‐to” text and a practitioner looking for specific guidance or a “quick fix” might well be disappointed. Recommendations for action proposed near the end of some chapters tend toward generalised advice as to how trainers, policy‐makers or researchers might enhance various aspects of their orientations or practices.

That aside, the International Handbook of Women and Small Business Entrepreneurship is an accessible book that follows a logical and coherent pattern. Chapters are grouped around broad themes:

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  Part I. Women into enterprise – personality and behaviour characteristics

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  Part II. Women into enterprise – constraints and conditions for success

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  Part III. Women into enterprise – black and ethnic minority small business owners

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  Part IV. Women into enterprise – a global perspective

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  Part V. Women into enterprise – future perspectives and recommendations.

Within these sections, and consistent with the expectations of a handbook, readers will find clear, meaningful, descriptive chapter titles. So, unlike many edited books, the Handbook does not present chapters whose content is obscured by “clever” titles that can make negotiating the content difficult.

Clearly a brief review cannot capture all the features of 20 diverse chapters, and no single section will be representative. However, we will use the first section to highlight a few themes. Part I opens with a strong offering from the late Muriel Orhan. Orhan points to limitations in the entrepreneurship research to date, and makes a call for researchers to explore alternative qualitative methods and to integrate feminist theoretical perspectives with existing models of entrepreneurship. Part I also establishes that the impulse toward operating their own business is a feature of women worldwide (Taylor & Newcomer, Chapter 2). In a chapter titled “Analysing achievement, motivation and leadership in women entrepreneurs” Langan‐Fox presents a “leadership model of women entrepreneurs” (Figure 3.1, Chapter 3, p. 38,) in which gender interacts with other personal and situational variables such as education, motivation, social status, national characteristics and cultural attitudes. Chapter 4 in turn, offers new conceptualisations of the entry process for female entrepreneurs, with Perrin Moore examining how women develop entrepreneurial careers. We find that women's entrepreneurship may be viewed as part of a career portfolio that might be “a progressive career step, a strategic window of opportunity, or a stage in an evolving career” (Chapter 4, p. 45). The “classic entrepreneur” exists alongside “corporatepreneurs” and “boundarypreneurs” the latter acknowledging that women frequently make several career transitions before entering new ventures and may elect to move more than once between self‐employment and working for others.

The next four sections present an array of further insights from a range of sources and viewpoints. Part II, for example, introduces relatively uncanvassed issues such as the gender dimensions of succession (Martin & Martin, Chapter 7) and draws on the established expertise of scholars such as Marlow and Patton to address core, ongoing business issues such as finance.

Whilst contributions span national boundaries, the international coverage of the Handbook is far from comprehensive, with little coverage of continental Europe or Asia, and none of South America. But the very fact that the editors have drawn on authors and research outside the US and UK, whose research traditionally dominates the entrepreneurship field, is certainly progress. Nationalities represented include Australia (e.g. Bennett; Dann; Langan‐Fox; Orhan; Still), New Zealand (Pringle & Wolfgramm), Singapore (Lee), Canada (Mirchandani) and India (Pillai). On one hand, as readers in New Zealand, it is encouraging to have those familiar experiences, and research from much “closer to home” acknowledged in an international forum. On the other hand, reading of women's experiences within unfamiliar cultural settings, though less comfortable, is challenging and stimulating, forcing us to set aside stereotypes and extend our understandings.

Perhaps it is the obvious effort that has gone into revealing issues confronting ethnic minority women in business that is one of the strongest and most distinctive features of the Handbook. In Part III the entrepreneur is located in the particularities of her situation – as immigrant, as a descendent of slavery, as indigenous minority, with all the “baggage” this brings. We see her as a “real” person, struggling to balance family and cultural commitments and professional or career aspirations. Chapters 9‐12 expose us to the stories and histories of African American women (Inman & Grant), Asian women in the UK (Dawe & Fielden), Maori & Pacific women in New Zealand (Pringle & Wolfgramm) and Hispanic women in the USA (Sarason & Morrison).

So, the range of this book is significant, and the accomplishment considerable. Were we to identify gaps beyond those mentioned, or perhaps opportunities for inclusion in a future Handbook, we suggest two areas: first, a section highlighting entrepreneurship amongst indigenous women. The voices of these women might extend the conversation into new avenues, beyond the limits of immigrant minorities. Secondly, home‐based and micro‐enterprise might deserve greater attention as ways in which women actively engage in business enterprise.

Overall, however, we acknowledge the International Handbook of Women and Small Business Entrepreneurship as a serious contribution to a niche area of entrepreneurship scholarship. The editors and authors have established a place for women in the literature, confirming that gender issues cannot be dismissed as a mere adjunct to the broader field of entrepreneurship study. This collection offers the reader intelligent engagement with the range of research and “ways of knowing” about women and entrepreneurship. Established scholars will find much of interest, and we would also confidently recommend the Handbook to interested newcomers.