Entrepreneurship is the engine of economic, cultural, and social development. In a reality where equal opportunities between men and women in business are not yet verifiable, we would benefit from an adequate understanding of female entrepreneurship's impact. This chapter explores the concept of female entrepreneurship in a systematic literature review. Based on Web of Science database articles, it uses bibliometric analysis to analyze the drivers influencing female entrepreneurial intentions, performance, and outcomes. This study enables the systematization of the existing literature into four themes: 1) gender-specific entrepreneurial intention factors, 2) women´s entrepreneurial success factors, 3) women´s entrepreneurial performance, and 4) gender-specific entrepreneurial performance. The results provide insights into the triggering factors of female entrepreneurship intention and help to develop a more profound understanding of the factors affecting their entrepreneurial performance and outcomes. An agenda for further research was laid out based on the existing literature.
Top1. Introduction
Entrepreneurship drives innovation, contributes to economic recovery, and creates employment opportunities (Miranda, Sergio, & Jesús, 2017). Entrepreneurship consists of exploring opportunities, developing new business models, and innovating in production processes (Agarwal & Lenka, 2015). Despite categorizing entrepreneurship as a “man's job” (Agarwal & Lenka, 2015), women are emerging as successful entrepreneurs locally and internationally (Chipfunde, Yahaya, & Othman, 2021).
Female entrepreneurship refers to the activity of women who create, manage, and own businesses (Martini, Malacarne, Pederzolli Giovanazzi, & Buffa, 2020). It is a form of economic empowerment for women, allowing them to gain financial independence and contribute to the economy's growth (Chipfunde et al., 2021). This phenomenon substantially impacts society because businesses owned by women have a positive impact on their countries and communities (Isa, Jaganathan, Ahmdon, & Ibrahim, 2019; Martini et al., 2020; Sidratulmunthah, Hussain, & Imran Malik, 2018).
Despite the benefits, female entrepreneurship still faces significant challenges (Thébaud, 2015). Women face numerous barriers in entrepreneurship, including limited access to resources and opportunities compared to men, such as funding and mentorship (Brixiová, Kangoye, & Tregenna, 2020). Additionally, societal stereotypes and biases can represent significant challenges for women seeking to establish themselves as successful entrepreneurs (Van Emmerik, Euwema, & Wendt, 2008).
The study of female entrepreneurship has increased in recent years, leading to a deeper understanding of the subject. Researchers include the reasons behind women's difficulty in developing an entrepreneurial career (Cardella, Hernández-Sánchez, & Sánchez-García, 2020), the contribution of female entrepreneurs in sustainable development (Martini et al., 2020), and the impacts of various factors affecting the performance (Chipfunde et al., 2021).
The existing Systematic Literature Reviews (SLR) contribute to the concept and development of female entrepreneurship. Although contributions have already analyzed female entrepreneurship, they do so by addressing specific aspects rather than in a more holistic way. The researchers are more specifically approaching a particular theme, like theories, a particular geographic area, or a specific type of entrepreneurship, such as rural or sustainable entrepreneurship.
As expected, and given the importance of female entrepreneurship, we find multiple SLR about the subject. Some of them are very recent, for instance, Fernandes, Ferreira, Veiga, Kraus, & Dabić (2022) analyzed digital entrepreneurship platforms, and Akter, Rahman, & Radicic (2022) focused on gender and international women's entrepreneurship. The work developed by Ferreira, Fernandes, & Ratten (2019) addresses entrepreneurship and the different theories associated. However, no SLR explored the concept of female entrepreneurship more broadly, analyzing the drivers influencing female entrepreneurship intentions, performance, and outcomes. Thus, this systematic approach contributes to the literature by mapping more streams, areas, contributions, and locations associated with female entrepreneurship. This SLR also provides a comprehensive framework to understand the process and impact of female entrepreneurship on the development of organizations and countries. This framework illustrates how the identified thematic groups are interrelated. The results of this SLR can inform and support women entrepreneurs, leaders, and governments in promoting and enhancing female entrepreneurship. This research also responds to a gap that calls for further studies on female entrepreneurship, which is why it is still understudied (Chipfunde et al., 2021; Palalic, Ramadani, & Dana, 2017).