Factors Affecting Women’s Intention to Lead Family Businesses in Mexico

Jorge Duran-Encalada, Katarzyna Werner and Alberto Paucar-Caceres
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Jorge Duran-Encalada: International Commerce Department, School of Business, Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, UPAEP, Puebla C.P. 72410, Mexico
Alberto Paucar-Caceres: Faculty of Business and Law, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6GH, UK

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to establish the prevalence of barriers to women’s leadership in the family business in terms of invisibility, the glass ceiling effect, and sexism. We conduct eight semi-structured interviews with women holding leading managerial roles in family businesses in Mexico to identify the factors that impede/facilitate their involvement. We apply the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in order to determine how these factors support/constrain women in their roles. We find that some factors and circumstances are critical for women to achieve an important leadership role in the family business. These factors entail levels of education and experience, the extent to which women participate in strategic decision making and governance of the firm, as well as the support of the company’s founder and other family members for these women’s efficacy and self-esteem. These results challenge some of the extant findings in the literature, thus enriching the current perspectives on the leadership role of women in family firms. Moreover, this research is the first attempt to analyze impediments to women under the TPB perspective as well as one of the few studies conducted on the topic in Latin America, specifically in Mexico.

Keywords: women; barriers to leadership; family business; succession plan; theory of planned behavior; Mexico (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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