Navigating a gendered ecosystem: the role of entrepreneurial capital in the business strategies of single-owner women farmers

Stevens Azima (), Fanny Lepage (), Karima Afif () and Jessie Greene ()
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Stevens Azima: Université Laval
Fanny Lepage: Université Laval
Karima Afif: Université Laval
Jessie Greene: Université Laval

Agriculture and Human Values, 2025, vol. 42, issue 2, No 30, 1137 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper investigates how the business models adopted by single-owner women farmers are impacted by the entrepreneurial ecosystem in which they operate. We explored these interactions from the perspective of entrepreneurial capital to better understand the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs starting their own farms. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 single-owner women farmers in Quebec. Our results indicate that single-owner women farmers often start farming at a mid-point in their careers, are motivated by strong social and agroecological values, but must navigate a traditional and gendered entrepreneurial ecosystem that limits opportunities to leverage financial, social and symbolic capital to grow their mostly alternative business models. However, single-owner women farmers also mobilize entrepreneurial capital and innovative business strategies to assert their identity as women farmers and grow their businesses with varying degrees of success. This was often achieved by developing strong partnerships with key stakeholders and by marketing through alternative channels, such as short food supply chains. We derive several research propositions to guide future research on this topic.

Keywords: Women’s entrepreneurship; Single-owner women farmers; Business models; Entrepreneurial ecosystem; Entrepreneurial capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-024-10663-3

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