Causes of the gender divide within entrepreneurship ecosystems

Yasuyuki Motoyama, Susan Clark Muntean, Karren Knowlton and Banu Ozkazanc-Pan
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Yasuyuki Motoyama: Ohio State University, USA
Susan Clark Muntean: University of North Carolina, USA
Karren Knowlton: The Wharton School – University of Pennsylvania, USA

Local Economy, 2021, vol. 36, issue 3, 187-204

Abstract: Knowledge about connections within a local economic system holds implication for understanding the ways in which individuals and categories of entrepreneurs access the system itself and resources provided within. While scholars have recently found complex divisions of networks within local entrepreneurship ecosystems, we still have a limited understanding about why these chasms exist. We present a case study with qualitative research in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of St. Louis, Missouri, which identifies structural sources of divergence in networks. Specifically, we find a gender gap in the ecosystem that reveals patterns of difference in access to resources and in the experiences of women relative to men entrepreneurs. Thus, we contribute a more nuanced understanding of how discrete elements within a system’s networks diverge, as well as identifying the root causes of this divergence. The article concludes with implications for theories and practice.

Keywords: economic development; ecosystem; entrepreneurship; gender; networks; women entrepreneurs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:loceco:v:36:y:2021:i:3:p:187-204

DOI: 10.1177/0269094221995783

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