Ben Ritche M.

Layos 4BSBA-A

STATUS AND FACTORS OF FOOD SECURITY IN MAKILALA, COTABATO

Introduction

Significance of the Study

Food security is one of the concerns of every individual. People are suffering food scarcity due

to the economic factors of the place and the natural factors that there’s no food available in that

specific place. Government proposes projects that will reduce the scarcity of food as well as the

businesses. Businesses offer jobs to the less fortunate, giving them work through livelihood

programs.

Challenges to reduce global food insecurity and poverty are becoming more complex today

than about three decades ago. The current challenges that impede many efforts to achieve food

security include price instability of food integrated with rising energy costs, impacts of climate change

and uncertainties in the financial markets resulting in increased incidence of hunger especially in the

least developing countries. (Naylor,2011).

This study will be conducted determine the status and factors of food security in Makilala,

Cotabato. Basically, to the students, the result of the study will help them in their future researches

about food security and for them to be aware of the food security in Makilala, Cotabato. For the future

researchers who will conduct a follow up researches for this study, the results will help them on the

status and factors of food security in Makilala, Cotabato.

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the level of food self-sufficiency, un-accessed portions of food, and
food gap between the national food security line of the country and consumption by its people. It also aims to scrutinize
the major physical and economic factors inducing food insecurity in the country. Design/methodology/approach – The
paper applies descriptive statistics using mainly secondary data with the support of some primary information.
Findings – Pakistan is almost self-sufficient in food production even if only 30 percent of its production potential has been
achieved. In spite of such a situation, the average food consumption of its people is still significantly below the standards
set up for the national food security line. The study also established that the food gap in the country is 30 percent, while a
35 percent portion of available food is un-accessed due to various constraints spawned by physical, economic and
sometimes natural factors. Out of the seven administrative units of Pakistan, Punjab and Sindh are the main food
producing units while the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are the most highly food deficit unit. Irrespective of
the level of local food production, food gap still exists in all administrative units due to inefficient food procurement and
distribution system, illegal movement of food commodities, poor monitoring of marketing systems, lower purchasing power
and natural disasters.
Research limitations/implications – The paper elaborates on the average situation of the country, and establishes the
baseline for future research to investigate the issues of food security deeply, providing some key recommendations.
Originality/value – The paper investigates the concept of food security through the important indicators, i.e. food gap and
un-accessed portion of food, and tries to sort out the factors inducing such gaps.
Keywords Food security, Food availability, Food consumption, Self-sufficiency, Food gap, Un-accessed portion of food,
Food deficit, Physical factors, Economic factors, Pakistan, Food industry
Paper type Research paper

Conclusions and policy recommendations

Current debates on food security in Pakistan go on with contradictory statements and figures. Independent
international organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Maplecroft
claimed that Pakistan is one of the countries which are at the greater risk of food insecurity but government statistics and
statements present comparatively better situations. The findings of this study however, conclude that Pakistan is still
lagging behind especially in achieving the objectives of its national food policy. Although the country is believed to be
producing less than 40 percent of its actual potential, this is actually true because of the inefficient utilization of available
land and water resources, inadequate supply of inputs and inefficient formal credit system. Despite producing below its
potential, the country is almost self-sufficient in most of the important food commodities. Even if food production is
adequate but there is a gap between food availability and consumption by the populace because a considerable part of
the food produced is un-accessed due to key physical, economic and sometimes natural factors. The key physical factors
include post-production losses, illegal movement of food commodities across the borders and inefficient structure of food
procurement and distribution systems. The key economic factors have brought about prices instability, ineffective
marketing system and higher inflation rates resulting in lower food purchasing power of the people. In addition, natural
disasters have also seriously impacted on food production and level of consumption in the country pushing a huge portion
of the population under transitory but could become lasting food insecurity if such concerns are not addressed.
Pakistan needs to review its current policies at all levels in order to achieve the objectives of its national food
policy. Notwithstanding the adequate supply of inputs and existence of formal credit system, the efficient use of natural
resources especially land and water is also urgently needed to optimize the production potentials of important food
commodities. The Government of Punjab has initiated some steps towards utilization of arable lands by providing these
lands to agricultural graduates. Once this policy of enhancing agricultural production is proved to be successful, it could
provide a good example for other AUs to also undertake. As far as water resources are concerned, the issue has already
been politicized as the proposed construction of big water reservoirs in Pakistan had been under debate for quite some
time without getting any results. One alternative would be to construct smaller reservoirs in all the AUs.
Food security.
Evaluating the performance of institutions is more important than just formulating policies. Marketing and pricing
policies are public-friendly on papers but the actual unsatisfactory performance of concerned institutions makes such
policies ineffective in controlling price fluctuations and cosmetic shortages, and in promoting uniform levels of quality and
measurements. There is need to properly monitor the whole marketing system in order to encourage the relevant
institutions to be transparent in their operations and in the end become performance-oriented. In this regard, direct
communication with the public is very important by developing a physical and virtual (internet) complaints and feedback
mechanisms rather than fostering the conventional top down monitoring system. Likewise, in food procurement and
distribution systems, policy changes are very urgent and necessary. National storage capacity should be increased to
reduce post-production losses while illegal movements of food commodities through middlemen should be minimized if
not completely eliminated. Evaluation of the performance of food procurement and distribution systems is also suggested
based on a public-developed monitoring system. Particularly, in the case of illegal movements of food commodities to
neighboring countries, an appropriate trade agreement with corresponding terms and regulations should be established to
curb the unreported food losses from such illegal food movement because it would be quite difficult to stop or monitor this
activity because of the very long stretch of areas that boarder Pakistan with Afghanistan and Iran.
Macro-economic factors like inflation also cause price instability and lower the purchasing powers of people for
food items especially if the people’s income levels remain very low. Therefore, the government should establish effective
policies for stabilizing food supply and prices in local markets. High dependence on foreign debts and imported energy
sources also result in more incidences of price shocks in local markets. Rise in fuel prices in international markets leads to
higher production costs in developing countries subsequently resulting in higher food prices. Some quick steps can be
taken by the government to reduce the effects of global market changes. As in 2007-2008, the re-emerging and persistent
inflation on food prices resulted in sharp inflation from 50 to 100 percent especially in basic staples in South Asian
countries particularly in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India quickly reacted to such situation by banning the
exportation of main food items like common rice, wheat, and corn and further suspending future trading of these food
commodities to ensure consistent supply of important food commodities in the local markets at stable and affordable
prices. In Pakistan, such quick steps were not undertaken in cereals trade, e.g. rice therefore food supply and prices in
domestic markets were since then not stabilized. As observed in recent past, natural disasters have left severe
consequences on food security in the affected areas of the country. Huge part of the population became food-poor due to
loss of assets, damages to agricultural land and infrastructures, and limited and reduced income opportunities. The recent
floodin 2010 is a good example to reckon the consequences with. Unfortunately after one year had passed, the
government failed to reconstruct and/or rehabilitate the basic infrastructures like roads and bridges let alone the other
requirements in terms of agricultural support services. Consistent planning exercise and policy development is therefore
necessary to set the currently affected population in motion and to mitigate the impacts from future disasters.
This study has provided baseline of the key factors that influence food security in Pakistan but based on the
findings and possible policy recommendations, it also opens the door for possible in-depth research on efficient use of
water and land resources, addressing energy crisis, properly managing post-harvest losses, effective marketing system
and food movements, disaster preparedness, mitigation, and management of macro-economic issues in order to achieve
sustainable food security in the country.
 THE ROLE OF GENDER IDENTITY AND BRAND CONCEPT CONSISTENCY IN EVALUATING
CROSS-GENDER BRAND EXTENSION

INTRODUCTION

Significance of the Study

Gender of an individual is considered by the firms in getting their prospect customers of their

products. The firm adjusts to the preferences of the customers. The firms considers the demand and

the gender of their prospects in order for them to assess what products they are selling to that

specific individual.

There are many brands in the marketplace that possess gender identities (Allison, Golden,

Mullet, and Coogan 1979; Alreck, Settle, Belch 1982; McCracken 1993). They can be stereotyped as

either masculine or feminine. Some examples include Chanel, Hugo Boss, Marlboro, and Virginia

Slims. One advantage of these gendered brands is that they leverage on their masculine or feminine

associations to attract the male or female consumers respectively. However, this strong association

with a particular gender could be a hindrance for brands trying to extend beyond their traditional

market segment. As a result, some companies choose to target the opposite gender segment by

using different brand names. For example, Philip Morris uses the brand name ‘Marlboro’ for targeting

men and ‘Virginia Slims’ to reach out to women (Alreck, Settle, and Belch 1982; McCracken 1993).

Similarly, Estee Lauder uses its own brand of fragrance to target its female customers while a

separate brand name, ‘Aramis’, is used to target male customers (Fortune 1998).

This study will be conducted to determine the role of consumer gender identity and brand

concept consistency in evaluating cross- gender brand extension.

ABSTRACT
Many brands can possess strong gender identity: Marlboro for masculine images and Channel for feminine
images. Over the years, there has been a growing trend of cross-gender extensions among brands, partly due to the
unisex trend in consumer goods. This study examines consumers’ evaluations of cross-gender extensions in an attempt
to identify conditions for successful crossgender extensions. The results show that the gender of a brand, gender of
consumers, and product type influence the evaluation of cross-gender extensions.
BACKGROUND
Gender Stereotyping of Brands According to Wrightsman (1977), a stereotype is “a relatively rigid and
oversimplified conception of a group of people in which all individuals in the group are labelled with the so-called group
characteristics.” Children in every society need to learn their roles and the behaviours that go with them. They need to
learn what a child, a student, a brother/sister, son/daughter, man/woman should do. Thus, sex roles refer to the
expectations of what a man and a woman should do by society. Combining the concept of stereotypes and the concept of
gender roles, gender stereotypes refer to the rigidly held and oversimplified beliefs that men and women, by virtue of their
gender, possess distinct psychological traits and characteristics. Such overgeneralizations tend to be widely shared by a
particular society or culture. In the past, both men and women have had certain sex role requirements as well as
prohibitions (Alreck 1994). For instance, a man had to be strong, tough minded, and decisive, while a woman was
expected to be nurturing, ladylike, and put the family first. Similar to cultural or country stereotypes, gender stereotypes
should influence the perception and judgment of any object, including consumer products and brands (Alreck, Settle and
Belch, 1982). Keller (1998) also argues that some brands in the marketplace possess certain gender-specific associations
so that consumers associate the individual brand’s user as specifically from either sex. A sample categorization of
masculine and feminine brands in various product categories is provided in Table 1. The list is not exhaustive. However, it
shows that gendered brands are not restricted to the traditional domain of fashion and beauty products. They are found in
other product categories such as tobacco and toys
Perception of Fit in Cross-Gender Extensions Past studies in brand extension areas have found that the success
of an extension depends on the perception of fit between the parent brand and the extended product category (Aaker and
Keller 1990; Boush and Loken 1991; Keller 1998). The greater the perception of fit between the two, the more easily the
positive associations of the parent brand are transferred to the extension, thus increasing the chance of success in the
extension. Greater fit perception will have a positive impact on consumers’ evaluation of the extension (Aaker and Keller
1990) as well as on their attitude towards the parent brand (Loken and John 1993). Although the perception of fit could be
formed by various factors, past studies have identified two major bases for more successful fits: product feature similarity
and brand image or concept consistency (Park, Milberg, and Lawson 1991; Bhat and Reddy 1998). Park, Milberg, and
Lawson (1991) suggested that evaluations of brand extensions depend on the degree of overall perceived fit between the
extension product and the brand name. The degree of overall perceived fit is, then, a function of both product-feature
similarity perceptions and brand-conceptconsistency perceptions. Product feature similarity perceptions are derived by
feature correlations or attribute matches from feature level comparisons. Brand concept consistency perceptions are
formed by the image fit between the extension product and the brand (i.e., how well the brand concept accommodates the
extension product). In cross-gender extensions, the main concern for marketers would be brand image fit. This is because
product feature similarity in cross-gender extension is not significantly important since the extension is in the same
product category and shares the same features. The most critical aspect is a brand’s perceived masculinity or femininity.
For example, when Triumph extends into male swimwear, the key issue is whether men will accept the feminine image of
Triumph on their swimwear. In essence, the focus of this study is on assessing brand image fit between cross-gender
extensions.
Gender of Brand and Evaluation of Cross-Gender Extensions According to studies in gender stereotyping,
masculine traits tend to be regarded higher than traditional feminine traits (Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson, and
Rosenkrantz 1972; Ashmore, DelBoca, and Wohler 1986). Being strong, independent, and willing to take risks are seen
more positively than being weak, gullible, and easily influenced. This difference in values may result in a greater
desirability for masculine traits in society. Since a brand is used as an expression of one’s personality (Aaker 1996), the
greater social desirability for masculine traits would be manifested in the choice of products as well as brands by
consumers. This line of argument is consistent with the study by Alreck, Settle, and Belch (1982) which suggested that
men will almost reject feminine brands while women will most likely accept masculine brands. Stuteville (1971) also
suggested that it is easier for a maleoriented product to attract females than the reverse situation. This is because society
labels a boy who acts like a girl as a “sissy” boy while a girl who acts like a boy is called as a “tomboy”. The latter is much
easier for a girl to accept than the former is of a boy. Like products, a brand can also be an avenue to express one’s
masculinity/femininity (McCracken 1993). Given that it is more difficult for a female-oriented product to attract males, it
follows that it is more difficult for a feminine brand to attract males than the reverse situation. Based on the casual order of
consumers’ evaluations of brand extension as examined earlier, the following hypotheses are suggested to predict easier
acceptance of an extension from a masculine brand than an extension from a feminine brand:
H1: Compared to a cross-gender extension from a feminine brand, a cross-gender extension from a masculine
brand will result in: (a) greater perception of brand image fit, (b) greater perception of overall fit, (c) more positive attitude
towards the extension, and (d) more positive attitude towards the original brand.
 Gender of Consumer and Evaluation of Cross-Gender Extensions Gender stereotyping studies suggest that men
and women perceive sex roles differently, with men holding a more unfavorable view towards femininity (Lii and Wong
1982; Smith and Midlarsky 1985; Werner and LaRussa 1985). Based on the concept that consumers use brands as an
expression of their personalities, men and women are predicted to react differently when they encounter cross-gender
extensions. Alreck, Settle, and Belch (1982) found that men tend to exaggerate the differences in brands more markedly
than women. Men are found to perceive a masculine brand to be more masculine and a feminine brand to be more
feminine. They also suggested that compared to women, men tend to find their sexual identity in the material goods they
buy and use. This implies that, compared to a woman, it would be more difficult for a man to accept an extension from a
feminine brand if it contradicts to his masculine gender identity. On the other hand, Lull, Hanson and Marx (1977) found
that women were more sensitive and critical of sex-role stereotyping than men. Thus, women tend to be more responsive
to gender crossing than men because they prefer to adhere less to the traditional sex role prescriptions. This is opposed
to men who have a more rigid definition of their male sex roles. Therefore, the following hypotheses are suggested when
predicting the possible differences between men and women towards cross-gender extensions:
H2: In evaluating cross-gender extensions, compared to men, women will have: (a) greater perception of brand
image fit, (b) greater perception of overall fit, (c) more positive attitude towards the extension, and (d) more positive
attitude towards the original brand.
Product Type and Evaluation of Cross-Gender Extensions Product types may play an important role in
consumers’ evaluation of brand extensions. Since image fit is more important in cross-gender extensions, the acceptance
of cross-gender extensions would be influenced depending on whether the product type is image-oriented or function-
oriented. Park, Jaworski, and MacInnis’s (1986) conceptualization of functional and symbolic brand concept is useful in
examining product type effect in crossgender extensions. With symbolic products, the benefits sought are more extrinsic
in nature and usually correspond to non-product related attributes, especially user imagery. Symbolic benefits relate to
underlying needs for social approval or personal expression and outer-directed self-esteem (Solomon, 1983). Thus,
getting the wrong symbolic product could result in high social and psychological risk. In the case of functional products,
the benefits sought are more intrinsic in nature and usually correspond to product-related attributes. Functional benefits
are often linked to basic motivations such as physiological and safety needs, and often involve a desire to satisfy problem
removal or avoidance (Fennell, 1978). Such products have a lower level of social and psychological risks when compared
with symbolic products. Since the main concern for cross-gender extensions is the image incongruence between
masculinity and femininity, a symbolic product which offers emotional and self-expressive benefits is likely to experience
more difficulties than functional products. To explore the differences between these two categories of products in cross-
gender extensions, the third hypothesis is formed:
H3: Compared to a symbolic product category, a crossgender extension in a functional product category would
result in: (a) greater perception of brand image fit, (b) greater perception of overall fit, (c) more positive attitude towards
the extension, and (d) more positive attitude towards the original brand.
DISCUSSION
This study examines consumers’ evaluations of cross-gender extensions in an attempt to identify conditions for
successful cross gender extensions. Gender of the brand, gender of consumers, and product type are considered key
conditional factors that may influence the success of cross gender extensions. It is found that all three factors do influence
the evaluation of cross gender extensions. Key findings are summarized as follows. First, although it is not significant at
the multivariate level, a significant main effect of the gender of brand (more specifically the direction of gender crossing)is
observed on the three dependent variables related to the acceptance of cross-gender extension. As indicated by the
results, the acceptance of a cross-gender extension is higher when an extension is made from a masculine brand to
target female consumers than the other way round. Second, significant main effects of the gender-of-consumer and the
product type are also observed in the study. Women are found to be more receptive towards cross gender extensions
than men. The acceptance of cross gender extensions is lower for the symbolic product category than for the functional
product category. However, a significant 2-way interaction effect between the genderof-consumer and the product type
suggests a more complex picture on the relationships. It is observed that men’s perception of brand image fit of cross
gender extensions is higher when the brand is from the functional product category rather than from the symbolic product
category. On the other hand, women’s perceptions are not different whether the brand is from the symbolic product
category, or from the functional product category. This pattern is also evident on the attitude toward the brand after
extension. Although it is not significant, a similar pattern is observed on other dependent variables as well. Overall, men’s
acceptance of a cross-gender extension is found to be lower in the symbolic product category than in the functional
product category compared to women. This finding is consistent with the past finding which suggests that men are more
likely to find their sexual identity in the material goods they buy and use. Men are also more consistently defining their
sexual identity in terms of external possessions. (Alreck, Settle and Belch 1982). In a symbolic product category, the
gender image associated with a cross-gendered brand tends to become a salient attribute, thus, men would become more
resistant than women to accept cross-gendered brands. On the other hand, the gender image associated with a brand
tends to become a less salient attribute compared to other functional attributes in a functional product category. As a
result, it may not become as influential as in a symbolic product category. Third, the pattern of effects on the attitude
towards the original brand after the extension mirrors that of the evaluation of the extension, although the effects are
weaker. This may suggest that there is a positive correlation between evaluation of an extension and attitude towards the
original brand. A possible explanation is that an incongruous extension not only affects the evaluation towards the
extension, but it also affects consumers’ attitudes towards the brand itself. This explanation is consistent with past
research findings (Aaker 1991). The results of this study provide some useful implications to marketers who are
considering cross gender extensions. Faced with a cross gender extension from an established gendered brand,
marketers may want to know the conditions that could increase a chance of success in the extension. The findings of this
study suggest that it would be easier for a masculine brand to extend to target female customers than the other way
round. The chance of success would be further increased if the product category is a functional one. This explains why
Gillette has successfully extended its shaving product lines to women customers. However, the findings of this study
should be interpreted with the following limitations in mind. Since university students were used in this study, it should be
cautioned to generalize the result of this study to other populations. It has been suggested that demographic variables
such as age also have an effect on an individual’s sex role perceptions, which in turn affects an individual’s perception of
gender crossing. Another limitation of this study is that only one product category is used to represent each of the
functional and the symbolic product categories. The results of this study should also be replicated in other product
categories before generalizing the results in future studies.
 GENDER EFFECTS ON ATTITUDES TOWARD SPORTS CONSUMPTION

INTRODUCTION

Significance of the Study

Gender is one of the most potent social categories and principles by which people organize

and understand the complex world in which they exist. What are recognized as valuable contributions

of the society; how a society’s resources are distributed; and the judgments as to what attributes and

behaviors should be rewarded or punished, are in part, a function of psychological and social gender.

A review of the history of women’s professional sports reveals that women’s sports have had a

difficult time thriving in the United States. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, many professional

sport leagues were established, only to be disbanded a few years later. The first two women’s

professional softball and basketball leagues filed for bankruptcy and folded within a few years after

their establishment (Elyachar & Moag, 2002; Spencer & McClung, 2001; Wesley, 1999).

Studying attitudes in women’s spectator sports setting would reveal spectators’ and fans’ views

of women’s sports and identify positives and negatives of women’s sports as products. This

information could be invaluable for marketers of women’s sports in identifying whether their product

meets customer expectations or not and how to increase consumption. Therefore, this study

examined sport fans’ attitudes toward women’s sports and its relationship to consumption intentions.
Abstract

To date, few studies have focused on understanding fans of women’s sport, which is especially true with
regard to consumption intentions. This study was undertaken to 1) examine fans’ attitudes toward women’s
sports, including both cognitive and affective evaluations as related to consumption intentions; 2) identify
salient product attributes of women’s sports related to fans’ consumption intentions; and 3) examine group
differences on attitudes. Multiple regression analysis and multivariate analysis of variance were conducted to
address the research questions. Results of the study revealed that both cognitive and affective aspects of
attitude were predictive of women’s sport fans’ consumption intentions. In addition, study results indicated
excitement and entertainment price as two salient product-attributes of women’s sports that predicted
consumption intentions. Lastly, differences in attitudes between former athletes and non-athletes and age
groups were found.
Overall, this study found both cognitive and affective components of attitude as predictive of
consumption intentions in terms of attendance and viewership. This finding confirms the results of previous
studies investigating attitude (Lim et al., 2010, Martinez Caro & Martinez Garcia, 2007) and shows the positive
relationship between attitude and consumption is also valid in the women’s sports context. In addition to
investigating the attitude-consumption relationship, this study identified the salient product attributes of
women’s sports. Results of the present study revealed that consumption intentions were predicted by the
attributes of excitement and entertainment price as well as by fans’ positive affect for their favorite women’s
sport. Examining consumers’ evaluations of the women’s sport product in terms of its product attributes is
important since consumers only value a few attributes of a product/service that will fulfill their needs and/or
help them reach their goals (Hawkins et al., 2007). Lastly, the present study also revealed group differences in
evaluations of women’s sports. Former athletes did not find women’s sporting events as exciting as non-
athletes, and the younger age groups valued female athletes’ skills more than the 65 and over age group.
These findings indicate the importance of studying various market segments as their expectations for women’s
sports differ. Developing a diverse fan base for women’s sport will require attention to these differences and
should be apparent in targeted marketing communication.

Consumer Behavior Theory

Consumer behavior theory is a critical tool for understanding consumers’ behaviors and their decision making
processes (Hawkins, Mothersbaugh, & Best, 2007). According to the Overall Model of Consumer Behavior
(OMCB; Hawkins et al., 2007), attitudes are one of two internal factors that drive consumer behavior. Attitudes
explain an individual’s favorableunfavorable evaluations of a product/service, and Bagozzi and Burnkrant’s
(1979) TwoComponent Model of Attitude claims that these evaluations are composed of cognitive and affective
judgments of the product. Cognitive evaluations of a product are based on consumers’ beliefs about product
attributes (Breckler, 1984; Kothandapani, 1971; Ostrom, 1969), and affective evaluations are consumers’
positive-negative emotional responses to the product (Breckler, 1984). Therefore, an individual’s overall
attitude toward a product is composed of a consumer’s beliefs about the product and its attributes, as well as
their feelings about the product. In addition to explaining what attitude entails, consumer behavior theory
presents a link between consumers’ attitudes and behaviors toward a product or service. According to the
TwoComponent Model of Attitude (Bagozzi & Burnkrant, 1979), cognitive and affective evaluations of a product
lead to behavioral intentions (see Figure 1), and having favorable attitudes towards a product increases
consumers’ likelihood of using and/or purchasing the product (Dwyer, 2013; Lim, Martin, & Kwak, 2010;
Martinez Caro & Martinez Garcia, 2007). Therefore, investigating attitudes towards women’s sports would
reveal fans’ cognitive and affective evaluations of the sports product and be linked to their likelihood of
consuming women’s sports.
Sport marketing researchers have realized the importance of the attitude concept in understanding fan
behavior. Mahony and colleagues (1998; 1999; 2000) investigated fans’ attitudes toward NFL and NBA teams
and the relationship to viewership behavior. They measured fans’ attitudes based on liking-disliking teams, and
reported that both strong positive and strong negative attitudes led to an increased viewership. In other words,
fans were more likely to watch their favorite and most disliked teams. Similarly, Lim et al. (2010) examined
fans’ attitudes towards Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) by focusing on the affect aspect of attitude and reported a
positive relationship between attitudes towards MMA and fans’ actual media consumption. These studies
provide supporting evidence on the attitude-behavior relationship within the sport marketing field. However
these studies only focused on the affective aspect of attitude while neglecting to include the cognitive
component. Therefore, their results only partially explain attitudes towards the chosen sports. When compared
to men’s sports, fans’ attitudes towards women’s sports were studied scantly. Dixon (2002) examined media
coverage and personal involvement as factors contributing to attitude formation and found media coverage to
be most influential in attitude formation towards the LPGA events and professionals. In addition, McCabe
(2008; 2011) investigated the relationship between multi-factorial gender identity (sex, gender identity and
gender roles) and attitudes towards women’s professional basketball. Similar to men’s spectator sports,
attitudes towards women’s sports were measured via affect items while the cognitive component of attitude
was ignored. Moreover, neither Dixon’s nor McCabe’s studies investigated attitude-consumption relationship
although the correlation between attitudes and behavior/behavioral intentions was claimed and studied for
men’s spectator sports.
Studying attitudes toward women’s sports and their relationship to consumption intentions remains
important since women’s sports still struggle to attain key metrics such as media attention and ticket sales.
Understanding both cognitive and affective aspects of fans’ attitudes toward women’s sports, and how attitudes
relate to consumption intentions may reveal valuable insights on why women’s sports have continued to
struggle in growing attendance and viewership numbers.Moreover, various market segments within the
women’s sport market might evaluate a women’s sport product differently, therefore their attitudes towards the
women’s sport may be different. For example, according to the WNBA (WNBA League Overview, 2009), 58%
of their fans are female, 27%, 31%, 26% are from the age groups of 12-17, 18-34, and 35-54 respectively, and
basketball participants are more likely to watch and attend WNBA games. Therefore, it is imperative to
investigate differences in attitudes among market segments. With this knowledge sports marketers would be
able to develop more consumer-based marketing strategies for different segments devised to create positive
attitudes toward women’s sports which could potentially increase sport fans’ consumption intentions. The
purpose of this study was three fold: 1) to investigate fans’ cognitive and affective attitudes toward women’s
sports and its relationship to consumption intentions; 2) to identify salient product attributes of women’s sports
in relation to fans’ consumption intentions; and 3) to examine group differences (gender, age, and sport
participation) on attitudes toward women’s sports. To address this purpose, the researchers raised the
following research questions: RQ1: Which aspect of attitude (cognition or affect) predicts fans’ consumption
intentions? RQ2: Which attributes of women’s sport products are salient to the fans and predict their
consumption intentions?
RQ3: Do attitudes toward women’s sports vary based on gender, age and sport participation background of
fans?
 GENDER ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND GLOBAL MARKETING

INTRODUCTION

Significance of the Study

The role of gender in global marketing is complex due to its influence being inherent in the
business process but seldom acknowledged. Gender is a structure of the environment and its
interaction with society, which means it is sometimes associated with a person’s sex, but this has
been changing due to the emphasis on behavioral rather than biological characteristics. Sex is
defined as “biology, anatomy, hormones and physiology” (Gupta, Malhotra, Czinkota, & Foroudi,
2009, p. 398). This means that sex is, by birth, based on a certain distinctiveness that occurs
naturally. Gender is different from sex, as it can be changed based on individual needs. This means
that gender is “constructed through social, cultural, and psychologically means”(Guptaetal.,
2009,p.398) Therefore, gender is based on how a person behaves in the environment. Sometimes
gender is understood through the interaction of others in a social environment (Butler, 1990). Many
place certain ways of doing things based on gender, which occurs through repetitive acts
(Bruni,Gherardi,&Poggio,2004).
Gender is socially constructed based on what is done instead of what it is (Ahl &
Marlow,2012). This means that often the role of gender is constructed through language and actions
in certain situations. The emphasis on the global market is an important business objective for many
organizations due to increased globalization of marketing campaigns driven by more products being
introduced globally, rather than in a purely local market. Organizations need to constantly monitor
their global market to ensure that they have the right marketing orientation. Increasingly, this involves
committing to a global marketing campaign that communicates information to all countries rather than
on a country-by-country basis. There is a lack of consensus about what constitutes global marketing
due to the wide-ranging definitions of both global and marketing (Zou & Cavusgil, 2002). The most
common is the standardization view of global marketing, which is defined by the common elements of
channel, product, promotion, and price in different countries (Zou & Cavusgil, 2002). Consumers are
showing similar preferences, regardless of geographic location. The benefits of global marketing
include economies of scale in production, consistent consumer dealings, and marketing synergies. In
addition, global marketing enables the use of a country’s comparative advantage with respect to the
value chain. A more global orientation to marketing is needed so that it enables an increased
competitive advantage for organizations. A common way organizations focus on the global marketing
orientation is via systematically analyzing global trends in terms of tastes and preferences. This helps
to build a better globalmarketing campaignthattapsintocustomers’needs,particularly aroundgender-
relatedissues.Genderperspectivescan offer the potential to advance research about global marketing
practices. In this article, I add to the global marketing literature by focusing on the innate role of
gender in marketing and how it is changing based on societal trends. The main research question of
this article is: How do gender and entrepreneurship influence global marketing capabilities? This
article is structured as follows. Firstly, the literature about gender is reviewed with an emphasis on
entrepreneurial capabilities. This leads to the next section on gender and how it is important for global
marketing. Finally, suggestions for global marketers are stated, emphasizing a gender perspective.
This helps to build future research directions for global marketers in terms of how focusing on gender
can lead to increased performance.
Literature review
Gender Marlow and Patton (2005, p. 717) state, “gender is a social construction of sex where characteristics are ascribed
to men and women, which underpin notions of femininity and masculinity.”Gender is a social construct that can be
adopted regardless of biological sex (Marlow & Patton, 2005). Bem (1993), in a seminal book, discussed the lens of
gender being part of society and how it functions. Part of gender is that it has different guises, depending on country
context and society attitudes. The masculine way of behavior is generally perceived as being the most appropriate in
society, but this is changing. There are endemic characteristics of males and females promulgated by society across
generations that are evident in marketing. The traits associated with being a male or female are changing, but there still
are common misconceptions. Most definitions of gender are historical and have been adopted based on societal norms.
This has meant that the definition of gender is still considered as male or female based on biological conditions rather
than ways of behaving. Hence, most global marketers incorporate an element of gender because of its importance in
community life.
This means that gender is an integral part of marketing communications. Gender needs to be understood from cultural
discourses that are part of institutions and structures (Lewis, 2006). This is due to gender not just coming from an
individual, but existing as part of the social environment. This means that people often are unaware of how their gender
affects business decisions. Women take up an active identity about their gender because of behavioral traits. Gender is
displayed by an individual and is part of their social interactions in the community. Therefore, gender usually is not a
choice for individuals because of identifiable biological characteristics. Gender affects individual lives in a variety of ways,
from how people behave to employment opportunities. Some females reinforce negative stereotypes by acting in certain
ways, which can be detrimental to gender-neutral policies. However, there is a changing attitude in society that gender
can be based on behaviors rather than conditional on birth. This is due to changing stereotypes about females who, in the
past, were considered to have primary domestic duties and whose career was secondary. There is an implicit assumption
still existing that care of the family is a female’s job and is not shared amongst genders (Bruni et al., 2004). This has led to
females often being excluded from social networks that are helpful sources of information for business. Businesses run by
females usually have distinctive features that distinguish them from male-run businesses. This is due to females valuing a
more conducive environment based on trust and interaction (Bruni et al., 2004). Female managers usually encourage
more collective action, based on sharing information rather than competition. In addition, there is a social expectation that
females act in a certain way based on culturalist assumptions. Bruni et al. (2004) suggest that there are two main reasons
in the dominant discourse why females decide to start a business: compulsion and attraction. Compulsion factors rely on
the necessity for females to gain income rather than by choice. This stresses the need for autonomy at work that
integrates independence with career fulfillment (Bruni et al., 2004). Attraction factors involve entrepreneurship being seen
as a positive action that females can pursue. The attraction to entrepreneurship form any female entrepreneurs is that
they have an ability to make money but can choose how to make this happen.
Gender entrepreneurship
Due to the increased tolerance of people from different genders, there is an active attempt to avoid being characterized as
female in entrepreneurship (Lewis, 2006).This means that being an “entrepreneur” is often more important than being a
“female entrepreneur,” as the latter has a gender implication. Female entrepreneurs tend to be judged more harshly in
terms of growth compared to males. Despite the merit focused way of understanding entrepreneurship, there is still a
presumption of gender neutrality (Lewis, 2006).This is due to many female entrepreneurs trying to downplay their gender,
as they still are seen as females by others(Lewis,2006). There are different types of female entrepreneurs, just as male
entrepreneurs can be distinguished by industry characteristics rather than gender. These distinctive features of
entrepreneurship are the same for both genders: innovation, risk, proactiveness, and competitiveness (Bruni et al., 2004).
However, gender entrepreneurship is different from traditional entrepreneurship as it has three distinct elements:
exploration, innovation, and mindset. This has resulted in there being increased recognition that gender entrepreneurship
is a distinct discipline. Gender has both a direct and indirect effect on entrepreneurial intention. This is due to more
entrepreneurs rejecting stereotypical gender identities as they focus on their business projects. There is a gap in
entrepreneurship by sex, which influences business performance rates (Noguera, Alvarez, & Urbano,2013). Bird and
Brush (2002) proposed that it is unclear if the entrepreneurship research, designed to understand mostly male
entrepreneurs, can be adapted to females. This is due to gender shaping how entrepreneurship is conducted and plays a
critical role In new business development. The entrepreneurship literature has considered male characteristics of being
strong and aggressive as good to the success of a business. The more subtle female characteristics, such as softness
and empathy, have been considered less suitable for business. Moreover, the private lives of male entrepreneurs
(compared to females) are not considered important, as they are invisible to the occupation. Males in marketing are
considered superior, while females are associated with weak characteristics(Ratten,2016). Female entrepreneurship is
defined as women who start a business, are involved in managerial decisions, And own a majority of the business.
Marlow and Patton (2005) suggest that there are two distinct types of female entrepreneurs: traditional and modern.
Traditional female entrepreneurs are considered necessity entrepreneurs, as they start businesses due to financial needs.
Often, these traditional female entrepreneurs start a business with low profit levels because they have limited educational
qualifications. This traditional view of female entrepreneurship is now dated, as more females have entered more
technologically advanced businesses that require higher educational qualifications. Modern female entrepreneurs are
considered more educated and typically go into online or retail ventures. The general view of modern female
entrepreneurs is that they are entrepreneurs by choice, rather than need. This means that modern female entrepreneurs
use their business experience to develop new business ventures. Women with entrepreneurial skills are often considered
more credible than male entrepreneurs. However, females tend to underestimate their entrepreneurial skills compared to
males. This self-doubt in female entrepreneurs often means that they will overcompensate in other ways by working
harder and having higher standards. There have traditionally been fewer female entrepreneurs, but this has been
changing due to increased workforce participation and altering attitudes towards females. Lewis(2006,p.458)states, “the
female entrepreneurship literature is dominated by an approach that understands women as bringing gender into
entrepreneurship, which in its traditional all male characterization, is seen as non-gendered or gender neutral.” This
means that women’s experiences have been seen as biased because of their gender, and downplayed in terms of
importance in many global marketing campaigns. Most entrepreneurship studies have suggested that entrepreneurs are
normally men and, because they are the majority, they should be studied more (Baker, Aldrich, & Liou, 1997). This has
meant that there has been a misconception that female entrepreneurs, since they are in the minority of overall
entrepreneurs, are not considered worthy of academic attention. An interesting study by Moore and Buttner (1997) found
that most entrepreneurship studies assume that entrepreneurs are males and focus on this gender. This has resulted in
female entrepreneurship being an emerging social phenomenon that has changed the gender dynamics in society.
Gender is sometimes considered as irrelevant to the biased presumption that marketing is the same globally, regardless
of culture. Business is not gender neutral, as there are gendered distinctions in females and male entrepreneurs. The
invisibility of gender in business is due to people assuming that entrepreneurs are all the same (Lewis, 2006). Female
entrepreneurs are sometimes unaware of their gender, as it is inherent in everything they do. This means that females in
organizations tend to downplay their gender and prefer to talk about their merits. This emphasis on merit can diminish the
biases females face in the workplace because of their gender. Females, due to their gender, are often silent about the
masculine paradigm of entrepreneurship (Lewis, 2006). The masculine system of business means that females try to
behave more as males in order to be accepted in business. This has resulted in there being an increasing emphasis on
personal attributes such as hard work and dedication as the main drivers to success, rather than a person’s gender. This
is due to the performance of business being evaluated based on objective criteria such as profitability. Entrepreneurship is
linked to marketing as a result of its emphasis on innovation, which is part of the creative way marketing is perceived in
the global business environment.
Global marketing capabilities
Kreutzer (2007, p. 19) states, “global marketing is based on a specific marketing philosophy that seeks to overcome the
individual approaches of single country points of view.” Global marketing is characterized by the standardization of
marketing programs and processes (Kreutzer,2007). There are still cultural and lingual differences in global markets that
may mean a distinct approach in marketing (Domzal & Unger, 1987). However, these market differences are narrowed
when the marketing message has a universal meaning. There are similarities in human nature around the world, making
global marketing more common. The world has become closer as transportation costs decrease and travel is easier.
Global marketing enables better market research through product development. Domzal and Unger (1987, p. 25) suggest
that world brands “carry consistent name and product characteristics, be distributed everywhere in the world, and be
promoted in exactly the same way.” The universal appeal of many global products is due to their marketing strategies.
More companies are utilizing world branding in terms of image, features, and name (Domzal&Unger,1987). The decrease
in political borders in regions has led to an increase in the ability of companies to enter countries. In addition, there are
market sensitivities in some regions due to culture that requires segmentation strategies to be used. Global marketing
plays an important role in the performance of most firms, but especially those with an entrepreneurial capability with
investments overseas (Cacciolatti & Lee, 2016). Despite the abundance of research on global marketing, there is little
specific focus on how gender entrepreneurship affects marketing in different international contexts. This is due to most
global marketing focusing more on the similarities amongst global citizens, rather than the entrepreneurial capabilities of
the managers running these organizations. The first main types of research about marketing capabilities involve“ the
ability to engage with advertising, pricing, product characteristics, distribution, communication, selling, planning and
implement plans” (Cacciolatti & Lee, 2016, p. 5598). This involves focusing on the marketing via different communication
channels. As social media and related technology have developed, this has influenced the resources devoted to
advertising and selling. These marketing capabilities are concerned about day to-day pricing, promotion, and distribution
strategies rather than strategic objectives. This means the focus is on tactical objectives for how marketing can enhance
an organization’s position in the global marketplace. The second main type of marketing capabilities is “accountability, the
ability to connect with customer, innovativeness, collaboration and organizational power” (Cacciolatti&Lee,2016,p.5598).
These capabilities focus more on the holistic function of marketing in terms of how organizations are embedded within the
global environment. This ensures that organizational dynamics and global trends are taken into account through
marketing capabilities. This is important for improving global marketing performance, which is reliant on learning as well
as financial objectives. In the global market, organizations can have different marketing strategies, including cost
leadership or differentiation (Cacciolatti & Lee, 2016). Cost leadership involves pricing products and services at different
rates, depending on geographic location. This can include the pricing of gender-orientated products such as dresses or
shirts, based on affordability in a market. Some countries are more competitive in terms of the prices consumers pay for
products, and organizations will need to reflect this in their marketing. Other countries, particularly developing countries,
have gender-based skincare products that are altered in terms of sizing to increase sales. Differentiation involves
changing a product or service in the global market to reflect local cultures or customs. An example is both male and
female consumers in China preferring products to come in packets of eight, which is considered a lucky number. In other
countries, colors based on gender are important ways of differentiating products or services. This may include the use of
pink in Japan to reflect the buying power of younger females or blue for male consumers. There can also be differentiation
based on religious beliefs, with halal-certified products being marketed to certain countries. Alternatively, the marketing of
organic or free-trade coffee is popular with all genders, but more so generally for females. Gender is a way of influencing
the global marketing capabilities of organizations. There are a number of different types of global marketing capabilities,
including activities, connections, creativity, innovation, sales, operations, and financial (Cacciolatti & Lee, 2016). Activities
involve looking at plans, then strategizing for certain outcomes. Females or males may prefer certain types of activities as
part of marketing. For example, females may respond to more make-up demonstrations when buying make-up, but males
prefer car-themed events. This means that global marketing should tie specific product or service activities to gender.
Connections involve relating products or services to customer needs. There is more emphasis now on gender-neutral
clothing, and this is reflected in marketing campaigns. Cosmetic and perfume companies have increasingly used female
movie stars in their advertising to connect with customers. Creativity involves promoting a product or service as exciting,
fresh, novel, trendy, and special (Cacciolatti&Lee,2016). This creativity is linked to entrepreneurship because of the
emphasis on change. Some companies are trying to change the way gender is portrayed in their global marketing
campaigns. An example is Unilever, who started the un stereotype to alter the typical way females and males are
portrayed in marketing campaigns (Birkner,2016). This is similar to the Dove “Real Beauty” campaign that had females of
different body shapes talking about their use of Dove beauty products. This is different from the stereotype of slender
models in global marketing campaigns. Another gender-relevant global marketing example is Calvin Klein, which had one
of the most popular marketing campaigns with its CK One perfume advertising in which the product was portrayed and
sold as a gender-neutral perfume. Gender has evolved to be not so much based on biological characteristics but on
attitude, and this is reflected in marketing. In the past, gender products such as dolls or toy cars were marketed based on
gender stereotypes. However, there has been an increased emphasis on females in global marketing due to their
increased influence in spending. This is the result of changing notions of women in society, such as how they relate to
purchasing power. Some companies with male-dominated products, particularly car companies, are changing their
marketing campaigns to reflect the increased role of females in purchasing decisions. In addition, there is a perception
that females are more interested in social responsibility and environmental issues, but this is also changing. Global
marketing has evolved to be more female friendly by trying to encourage the building of a relationship with a brand.
Moreover, there are increased usages of advertising with less technical jargon, which has been a way marketers are
appealing more to their female consumers. There has also been more integrated marketing based on people’s lifestyle.
This is seen in marketing campaigns tying products to certain experiences, such as family outings, as a way to respond to
differences in gender. In addition, social media has been used more by organizations as way to market their products by
focusing on a certain gender. For example, the Kardashians have endorsed certain products on their Instagram accounts
due to their connection with a certain gender demographic. The way some global marketers emphasize gender is through
strategic marketing based on specific gender and cultural characteristics. Strategic marketing capability is defined as
“accumulated marketing skills and knowledge that enable the firm to coordinate strategic activities for new products” (Kim,
Shin, & Min, 2016, p. 5644). Gender stereotypes involve associated behaviors and traits based on gender (Powell
&Graves, 2003). Therefore, there are attributes that many males and females have that are considered stereotypical
characteristics but may differ based on individual conditions. Gupta et al. (2009, p. 399) state, “women are commonly
believed to have more communal qualities (expressiveness, connectedness, relatedness, kindness, supportiveness,
timidness) whereas men are associated with more agentic qualities (independence, aggressiveness, autonomy,
instrumentality, courage).” The stereotypical representations of males and females in society affect global marketing
campaigns. This means that there are certain expectations that go into global marketing based on the gender orientation
of products and services. These include both descriptive and prescriptive gender stereotypes (Guptaetal.,2009).
Language is critical in global marketing, as it embodies the essence of a message that is being conveyed to consumers.
Ahl and Marlow (2012,p.548) state, “language is not neutral; neither is it just a ciphering device rather it is a powerful
interpretative tool, which informs meanings and shapes constitutions of reality.” Gendered characterizations of language
in marketing campaigns become normalized. Anderson (2008, p. 397) states that gender is “a recognized social system
that is also open to resistance, context and change. ”In marketing, there are masculine and feminine words utilized to
convey a message. Ahl and Nelson (2010,p.5)state, “the impact of gender on society is difficult to identify, bring to light,
discuss and respond to.” This is due to there being both public and private issues surrounding gender, which influence its
role in society (Ahl&Nelson, 2010). Therefore, discussions about gender can include controversial topics such as
marriage, religion, and sex. Global marketing is influenced by gender, particularly through individual behavior and social
systems. This has resulted in the social institution of gender being an important part of global marketing. There are
constructions of gender in marketing that are repeated again as stereotypical behavior. However, these gender
constructions can change when the marketing is innovative and responds to market changes. An improved use of words
in global marketing is important to ensuring gender equality. This is due to some words being associated with certain
genders. Research by Lakoff (2004) suggests that the words used to connote gender, especially for females, influence
their position in society. Therefore, it is important to realize that words used in global marketing have specific meanings,
depending on the context. The use of gender-based words in global marketing influences how brands are perceived by
consumers. Language that is male orientated with the use of strong, assertive statements is likely to be considered as
suggesting that marketing is aimed at males.
There is a gender order in countries that changes, depending on religion or economic conditions, which influences
marketing. Many developed countries try to project a more gender-neutral image in marketing images, but this differs in
less developed countries. Thus, there is much to be gained when global marketing has a more inclusive orientation
towards gender. Marketing is not just a masculine concept, but can be feminine, depending on the use of words and
images.
Gender and global marketing
Gender is distinct from the concept of sex in global marketing, depending on the country’s social environment.
Normally, most societies view gender as institutionalized by governments in order to help provide specific services. This
means that the practice of femininity and masculinity will depend on society conditions (Ahl & Nelson, 2010). As marketing
is becoming more global, it is important to understand how gender is changing marketing practices. This helps to bring
clarity about the global meaning of gender in marketing. There is potential to build a global understanding about how the
notion of gender is changing. This is due to gender having different meanings, depending on the cultural context. Some
cultures view gender as more strict in terms of biology, but others see the changing of gender in a person based on dress
as normal. An example is males dressed and behaving as females in Thailand as away to market cosmetics. However, for
other cultures, depending on geographic location, there may be a more conservative view of gender. This is reflected in
more conservative countries with a dominant religion conforming to religious practices. Therefore, gender can be an
awkward topic to address and may influence how it is portrayed by marketers. In each country, there are preexisting
conceptions about what gender is and how it is understood in society. This may be influenced by the position of a person
based on ethnicity, gender, and occupation. Therefore, to understand gender, marketers need to see how it is conducted
in action. Some marketing about gender is intended, but other marketing is unintended and assumed based on the way
products are shown. This means that there needs to be an emphasis on the visibility of gender within marketing to
understand its impact. Marketing can employ specific constructions of gender as a way to influence consumer sales. This
results in certain cultures viewing the marketing of gender differently, based on the position of females in society. The way
gender is conveyed through language, color, action, and behavior is useful in understanding its Influence on global
marketing. Gender can be construed differently, as both male and females could be perceived as minorities, depending
on the circumstances. The understanding of the intersection of gender and marketing is important, with the world having
more global marketing campaigns due to time and economic efficiency. Gender, in some countries, takes a traditional
approach based on job and professional occupation. Global marketing normally has in built gender biases, which means it
is politically construed according to the words and behaviors included within the marketing. The aim of most studies that
contain reference to gender and global marketing is to understand how males or females perceive marketing differently
due to their gender. This means that the majority of studies do not look holistically at the nature of gender in global
marketing to see how it is changing. Therefore, there are processes and practices of gender that influence the success of
global marketing. This means that there is a propensity to study gender in global marketing by taking a gender
perspective without having a gender-based theoretical framework. Feminism is one way to understand the role of gender
in global marketing, as there are different interpretations of gender based on a person’s cultural and social environment.
The global standardization of marketing has occurred with there being increased convergence in consumer tastes and
trends. Global marketing includes the standardization of distribution and positioning strategies amongst countries (Samiee
& Roth, 1992). The majority of multinational companies use the same or very similar design in the marketing of their
products to global consumers (Samiee & Roth, 1992). This has been the result of communications efficiency in terms of
Internet technology and there being more desire amongst companies to have a global approach to marketing as world
markets are more similar. Table1 depicts the criteria used to understand the role of gender in global marketing.
Policy and future research directions
There are a number of interesting possibilities for future research about gender and global marketing. Firstly, how
different cultures change the way males Economic Consumer purchasing power Type of economy (market, communist,
mixed) Market competitiveness Environmental Climate Topography Resource level Political Leadership Roles and
regulations Market restrictions Social Demographic Education Religion Technological Communications Infrastructure
Media and females are perceived in advertising campaigns is an important future research path. Global marketing
researchers need to consider the usefulness of gender based campaigns in terms of society expectations towards gender.
This would help global marketers learn about how gender definitions are changing. Secondly, more research attention is
needed on the different marketing messages used globally towards gender. It is proposed that more research into positive
and negative stereotypes of male, female, and transgender individuals is conducted in terms of global marketing. This
would help to understand the social forces influencing global marketing, as well as how globalization is influencing the
increased common perceptions about gender. Policymakers need to encourage people to become entrepreneurs,
regardless of their gender but based on ability. Of interest to policy makers is how to encourage a gender-neutral
philosophy towards entrepreneurship. Some business decisions are gendered so that governments can introduce policy
to alleviate any gender bias. This could be giving tax incentives to females in traditionally male-orientated businesses and
vice versa as a way of narrowing the gender gap. It is fundamental for policymakers to take into consideration how gender
can motivate people to become entrepreneurs. A future policy objective is to ensure equality, particularly amongst
transgender individuals and people who consider themselves as neither male nor female but as human beings. The newly
recognized category of gender being fluid has led to policy, particularly in early education initiatives of being aware that
gender has different meanings. This would involve gender neutrality awareness campaigns to ensure that
entrepreneurship is considered as a career regardless of gender. This is important, as gender entrepreneurship can have
a positive impact on innovation in today’s global society.
Conclusion
Recognizing the trend towards gender as a neutral issue in global marketing, this article extended the literature to reflect
changes in society. An important finding of this article is that there are changing perceptions of gender influencing global
marketing. It is apparent that gender can be viewed in different ways, depending on cultural and social conditions. Gender
entrepreneurship is the result of cultural, human, and social capital, which influences economic growth. More research is
needed to understand more holistically that the changing notions of gender are no longer being considered biologically,
but rather based on behavior. There may be changing societal conditions that mean that both male and female behavior is
taught, regardless of gender. The interpretation of gender is also changing, as gender-neutral services are becoming the
norm. For business, female products are being marketed to both females and males. There is also a trend towards unisex
products that are transforming entrepreneurship