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Contributions to Management Science
Claire Sophie Zerwas
Work-Life
Balance and
Women’s
Entrepreneurship
An Exploration of Influencing Factors
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/1505
Work-Life Balance and

Women’s Entrepreneurship
An Exploration of Influencing Factors
Institute for Management
University of Koblenz-Landau
Koblenz, Germany
This dissertation was submitted with the original title “An Exploration of Work-Life Balance
in the Context of Women’s Entrepreneurship” in the year 2018 to the University of Koblenz-
Landau for the fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Dr. rer. pol.
ISSN 1431-1941 ISSN 2197-716X (electronic)

ISBN 978-3-030-29803-6 ISBN 978-3-030-29804-3 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29804-3
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the
material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information
storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
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claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
This thesis is dedicated to
my parents Anke and Horst,
my sister Dorothée, my niece Stella Clara,
and my husband Marius.
You are simply the best!
Preface
Interest in the phenomenon of work-life balance has increased drastically among

researchers and practitioners in recent decades. There are a vast number of publica-
tions on work-life balance in both academic journals and the popular press. Various
reasons for the current interest in work-life balance can be identified. For example,
the literature often highlights increased work demands for women and men or the
integration of women—who are still responsible for a larger share of family and
home responsibilities—in the labor market as important reasons. Furthermore,
technological tools such as e-mail, mobile phones, and portable computers allow
for work to be done “twenty-four seven” (24/7). These changes in society are
provoking private and public discussions on work-life balance. It is sometimes
believed that self-employment is a solution to many workplace problems—above
all to the balancing of work and life—in particular, women are motivated to become
entrepreneurs due to expectations of a higher work-life balance. However, the
existing literature provides only initial answers regarding the relationship between
work-life balance and women’s entrepreneurship. Research on work-life balance has
focused almost exclusively on the experiences of individuals employed in large
businesses or other organizations. However, these lessons from large organizations’
employees are not transferable to the entrepreneurship context. Entrepreneurs are
said to have considerably more flexibility and autonomy regarding their working
lives in comparison to organizationally employed individuals. This results in a
research need concerning work-life balance in the context of entrepreneurship—
especially women’s entrepreneurship.
Based on this research need, the objective of this thesis is to explore work-life
balance in the context of women’s entrepreneurship to gain a comprehensive
understanding of the factors that influence the work-life balance of women entre-
preneurs. To achieve this objective, the women’s entrepreneurship “5M” framework
by Brush, De Bruin, and Welter (2009) is chosen as the conceptual foundation. It is
a comprehensive framework to investigate women’s entrepreneurship. The frame-
work encompasses five dimensions—management, money, market, motherhood,
vii
viii Preface
and macro/meso environment—and guides the study of work-life balance in this

thesis. To gain a deep understanding of the “5Ms,” the present thesis continues the
original literature review by Brush et al. (2009). Building on this understanding, an
expert study is conducted to explore the role of the dimensions of the “5M”
framework for the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs. Semistructured inter-
views with experts in the field of women’s entrepreneurship from academia and
practice are analyzed and interpreted based on a thematic qualitative text analysis.
As part of the analysis, a multiphase coding approach is applied to the interview
transcripts.
This analysis gave rise to the new “7M” model, which is composed of seven
dimensions and the corresponding factors that influence the work-life balance of
women entrepreneurs. All five dimensions from the original “5M” framework
proved to be relevant for women entrepreneurs’ work-life balance, but in the context
of work-life balance, the original “macro/meso environment” dimension needs to
be split into two dimensions—“macro environment” and “meso environment”—
because they address very different aspects. Furthermore, a new dimension—
“myself”—is of importance and introduced in this thesis. This results in seven
dimensions, which are summarized in the “7M” model. However, the analysis
identifies many overlaps and interactions between these dimensions. Code frequen-
cies indicate that the dimensions market, motherhood, and management are partic-
ularly relevant to the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs. An in-depth
analysis of all seven dimensions allows for more detailed insights into the specific
role of each dimension for women entrepreneurs’ work-life balance. Furthermore,
this analysis illustrates that women entrepreneurs are a highly heterogeneous group
and that their work-life balance results from a complex interplay of various interre-
lated factors. Additionally, the thesis discusses the blurring between work and
private life in the context of women’s entrepreneurship. Finally, strategies that can
enhance the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs are derived based on the
“7M” model. In particular, the “management” dimension provides many specific
starting points for women entrepreneurs to improve their work-life balance. To
summarize, this thesis draws a comprehensive picture of work-life balance in the
context of women’s entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on the specific factors
that influence women entrepreneurs’ work-life balance.
Koblenz, Germany Claire Sophie Zerwas

Contents
1 Introduction: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis of Entrepreneurs’

Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Entrepreneurship as an Advantage or Disadvantage in Achieving
Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 State of the Art of Research on Women’s Entrepreneurship
and Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 State of the Art of Research on Women’s
Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2 State of the Art of Research on Work-Life Balance . . . . . 7
1.2.3 Research Need in the Fields of Women’s
Entrepreneurship and Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3 Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4 Research Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5 Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2 Theoretical Foundations of Women’s Entrepreneurship
and Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.1 Theoretical Foundations of Women’s Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . 21
2.1.1 Gender and Feminist Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.1.2 Women’s Entrepreneurship “5M” Framework . . . . . . . . . 25
2.1.3 Literature Review Based on the “5M” Framework . . . . . . 30
2.2 Theoretical Foundations of Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.2.1 Definition of Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.2.2 Theories on Work-Life Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
2.2.3 Discourses on Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2.2.4 The Role of Technology and Changes in the Nature
of Work for Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
2.3 Summary of Theoretical Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
ix
x Contents
3 Research on Women Entrepreneurs’ Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . 77

3.1 Research on Work-Life Balance in the Context
of Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.1.1 Literature Review with a Focus on Work-Life Balance
in the Context of Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.1.2 Summary in the Context of Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.2 Research on Work-Life Balance in the Context of Women’s
Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.2.1 Literature Review with a Focus on Work-Life Balance
in the Context of Women’s Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.2.2 Summary in the Context of Women’s Entrepreneurship . . . 93
3.3 Summary of Research on Women Entrepreneurs’ Work-Life
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4 Expert Study: Factors Influencing Women Entrepreneurs’
Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4.1 Objective of the Expert Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4.2 Research Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
4.2.1 Quality Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
4.2.2 Sample Selection and Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
4.2.3 Interview Guide Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.2.4 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
4.2.5 Data Analysis and Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.3 Presentation of the Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
4.3.1 Overview of the Category System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
4.3.2 Role of the “7Ms” for Women Entrepreneurs’
Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
4.3.3 Interconnectedness of the “7Ms” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
4.4 Discussion of the Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
4.4.1 Discussion of the “7Ms” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
4.4.2 Discussion of Blurring Between Work and Life . . . . . . . . 183
4.5 Summary of the Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
5 Summary, Conclusion and Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
5.1 Summary of Research and Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
5.1.1 Summary of Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
5.1.2 Summary of Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
5.2 Implications for Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
5.2.1 Strategies for Achieving Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . . 202
5.2.2 Summary of Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
5.3 Implications for Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Appendix A: lnterview Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Appendix B: Relationships Between Main Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Appendix C: Definitions of the Subcategories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
List of Abbreviations
24/7 Twenty-four seven

cf. Confer
e.g. Exempli gratia
ETP Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
f. Following
ff. And the following ones
JBV Journal of Business Venturing
MBA Master of Business Administration
p. Page
QDA Qualitative data analysis
UK United Kingdom
URL Uniform resource locator
USA United States of America
WLB Work-life balance
xi
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Research process of the thesis (Author’s own figure) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Fig. 1.2 Structure of the thesis (Author’s own figure) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Fig. 2.1 Women’s entrepreneurship “5M” framework
(Author’s own figure, referencing Brush et al. (2009, p. 13)) . . . . . 28
Fig. 2.2 Published items per year (Author’s own figure) . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . 31
Fig. 2.3 Forms of work-family conflict (Author’s own figure, referencing
Greenhaus and Beutell (1985, p. 77 f.)) . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . 52
Fig. 2.4 Common definitions of work-life balance (Author’s own figure,
referencing Kalliath and Brough (2008a, p. 324 f.)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Fig. 4.1 Structure of the expert study (Author’s own figure) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Fig. 4.2 Basic phases in the thematic qualitative text analysis process
(Author’s own figure, referencing Kuckartz (2014, p. 70)) . . . . . . . 118
Fig. 4.3 Overview of the main categories (Author’s own figure) . . . . . . . . . . 121
Fig. 4.4 Percentage of transcripts to which a dimension has been
assigned (first coding process) (Author’s own figure (created
with MAXQDA Analytics Pro)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Fig. 4.5 Percentage of all coded text passages per main category (first
coding process) (Author’s own figure (created with MAXQDA
Analytics Pro), referencing Zerwas (2018)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Fig. 4.6 Relationships between the main categories (Author’s own figure
(created with MAXQDA Analytics Pro), referencing Zerwas
(2018)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Fig. 4.7 Steps of inductive category development adapted for the current
study (Author’s own figure, referencing Mayring (2014, p. 80)) . . . 128
Fig. 4.8 Comparison of the frequency of codes for the two coding
processes (Author’s own figure (created with MAXQDA
Analytics Pro)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Fig. 4.9 Percentage of all coded text passages per main category
(second coding process) (Author’s own figure (created
with MAXQDA Analytics Pro)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
xiii
xiv List of Figures
Fig. 4.10 Percentage of transcripts to which a dimension has been

assigned (second coding process) (Author’s own figure
(created with MAXQDA Analytics Pro)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Fig. 4.11 Interconnectedness of the “7Ms” (Author’s own figure) . . . . . . . . . . 175
Fig. 4.12 Work-life balance in women’s entrepreneurship “7M” Model
(Author’s own figure) .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. 188
Fig. 5.1 Strategies for achieving work-life balance based
on the “7M” model (Author’s own figure) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
List of Tables
Table 2.1 Classification of the articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Table 2.2 Literature review summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Table 2.3 Overview of the classification . . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . . .. . .. . 45
Table 2.4 Definitions in the “work-life balance” research field . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Table 2.5 Definitions of permeability and flexibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Table 2.6 Work-life balance discourses . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . .. 61
Table 2.7 Key elements in the total responsibility burden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Table 3.1 Work-life balance studies concerning entrepreneurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Table 3.2 Work-life balance studies concerning women entrepreneurs . . . . 94
Table 3.3 Strategies used by women entrepreneurs in the context
of work-life balance identified in the previous literature . . . . . . . . 96
Table 4.1 Criteria for good qualitative work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Table 4.2 Expert study interview partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Table 4.3 Underlying transcription rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Table 4.4 Exemplary case summaries . . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . .. . 120
Table 4.5 Definitions of the main categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Table 4.6 Results of the first coding process in absolute numbers . . . . . . . . . 126
Table 4.7 Final category system . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . 132
Table 4.8 Ranking of the main categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Table 4.9 Subcategories of the “management” dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Table 4.10 Organizational skills mentioned in the interviews . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . 135
Table 4.11 Subcategories of the “money” dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Table 4.12 Subcategories of the “market” dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Table 4.13 Subcategories of the “myself” dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Table 4.14 Subcategories of the “motherhood” dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Table 4.15 Subcategories of the “meso environment” dimension . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Table 4.16 Subcategory of the “macro environment” dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
xv
Chapter 1
Introduction: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis
of Entrepreneurs’ Work-Life Balance
1.1 Entrepreneurship as an Advantage or Disadvantage

in Achieving Work-Life Balance
Balancing work and life is a constant challenge in today’s world (Pradhan, Jena, &
Kumari, 2016, p. 15). Already, in 2005, Lewis and Cooper (2005, p. 8) referred to
work-life balance as a ‘hot topic’ in the media, everyday language, government and
employer discussions and human resource departments. It has become an important
issue in modern societies given its relation to concerns about quality of life
(Hilbrecht, Shaw, Johnson, & Andrey, 2008, p. 455). To this day, the issue of
work-life balance has not lost its relevance; indeed, it has become even more
relevant. People live “harried lives” and frequently wonder why time passes by so
quickly (Schöneck, 2018, p. 3 f.). The subject of work-life balance is one of the most
publicly and privately discussed topics, as it touches the daily lives of many people
(Schöneck, 2018, p. 7).
A growing number of publications in the research field of work-life balance
reflects this strong interest in the topic. A wealth of academic and nonacademic
expositions promote the importance of work-life balance (Grawitch, Maloney,
Barber, & Mooshegian, 2013, p. 277). In Europe especially, there has been growing
interest in the topic (Abendroth & Den Dulk, 2011, p. 234). The reconciliation of
work and family has become a core policy concern within the European Union and
has encouraged debates and policy interventions at the national level (Gregory &
Milner, 2009, p. 1).
There are various reasons for the current high level of interest in work-life
balance. Several authors point to the integration of women in the labor market as
an important reason (Pradhan et al., 2016, p. 16; König & Cesinger, 2015, p. 532;
Clark, 2000, p. 749). The entry of working women into the workforce was already
named as a reason in 2004. To be precise, Burke (2004, p. 1) cited the following
three reasons for the high interest in work and family integration: (1) the increasing
number of women, particularly women with children, in the workforce; (2) evidence
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1

C. S. Zerwas, Work-Life Balance and Women’s Entrepreneurship, Contributions to
Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29804-3_1
2 1 Introduction: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis of Entrepreneurs’ Work-Life Balance
that managerial and professional women and men are working harder and longer
hours; and (3) technological tools such as e-mail, mobile phones and laptops that
make it possible to work ‘twenty-four seven’ (24/7). Likewise, Perrons (2003, p. 68)
observed an expansion of flexible and long working hours resulting from the
opportunities offered by technology, increasing deregulation and associated moves
towards the ‘24/7 society’. Lewis, Gambles, and Rapoport (2007, p. 361) pointed out
that work-life balance “[. . .] appears to capture a widely felt need to prevent paid
work from invading too much into people’s lives.” According to Kalliath and
Brough (2008a, p. 323), this interest partly stems from “[. . .] concerns that unbal-
anced work-family relationships can result in reduced health and performance
outcomes for individuals, families and organisations.” In addition, Clark (2000,
p. 749) highlighted the increased number of single parents, increased mobility
among workers (distancing them from social support from families) and people’s
higher interest in the quality of life outside of work. These changes in society fueled
research on the relationships between work and home life (Clark, 2000, p. 749). For
the reasons mentioned above, the topic of work-life balance continues to receive
considerable attention.
According to Reynolds and Renzulli (2005, p. 33) and Parasuraman and Simmers
(2001, p. 552), self-employment is sometimes regarded as the ultimate answer to
many workplace problems, particularly in regard to balancing work and family roles.
Self-employment gives individuals “[. . .] the chance to break free from bureau-
cratic control, the ability to decide when, where, and how to work, and the
opportunity ‘to be their own boss’” (Reynolds & Renzulli, 2005, p. 34).1 However,
self-employment is not only relevant to individuals but also to society. Entrepre-
neurship contributes to innovation, economic growth and job creation (OECD/The
European Commission, 2014, p. 24; Johansen, 2013, p. 216). Thus, entrepreneur-
ship2 provides an interesting context for research on work-life balance. However,
research on work-life balance in entrepreneurship is rare.3
Particularly interesting for the study of work-life balance is the context of
women’s entrepreneurship. The findings by Buttner and Moore (1997, p. 34) suggest
that the desire to balance family and work responsibilities is one of the most
important entrepreneurial motivations for women. More recently, Humbert and
Drew (2010) investigated potential differences in the motivational factors that lead
men and women into entrepreneurship. They discovered that more women than men
felt that they had become entrepreneurs to achieve better work-life balance (Humbert
& Drew, 2010, p. 188). In particular, more mothers than fathers seek to become
entrepreneurs to reconcile the demands of work and family (Humbert & Drew, 2010,
p. 191).
1
Author’s own formatting.
2
This thesis uses a broad definition of entrepreneurship to include all forms of self-employment and
uses the terms ‘entrepreneurship’ and ‘self-employment’ interchangeably.
3
See Chap. 3 for exceptions.
1.1 Entrepreneurship as an Advantage or Disadvantage in Achieving Work-Life Balance 3
In the context of women’s entrepreneurship, Jennings and McDougald (2007,

p. 756) suggest that women business owners are more likely to experience higher
work-family conflict than their male counterparts. Therefore, it seems questionable
whether entrepreneurship is the ultimate solution for women to reconcile work and
life. In this regard, Davis and Shaver (2012, p. 499) state that “[. . .] the roles of
mother and entrepreneur create more role conflict than do the roles of father and
entrepreneur.” Work-family conflict is associated with negative work, family and
individual well-being outcomes (Burke, 2004, p. 1). McGowan, Redeker, Cooper,
and Greenan (2012, p. 69) state that some aspects of the entrepreneurial experience
“[. . .] render the journey somewhat trickier for women to travel than for the
majority of men, given their tendency to fulfil the majority of caring and home-
making roles and associated duties.” Furthermore, research findings suggest that
entrepreneurship is seen as a masculine field (Steffens & Viladot, 2015, p. 121;
Gupta, Turban, Wasti, & Sikdar, 2009, p. 409; Wilson, Kickul, & Marlino, 2007,
p. 402). For example, Marlow and Patton (2005, p. 722) state that “[. . .] women
experience entrepreneurship in a context which is largely shaped by male norms and
values [. . .].”
In addition, fewer role models are available to female than male entrepreneurs
(Mattis, 2004, p. 154). If one is to think of a famous entrepreneur, it is very likely that
the first to come up will have a man’s name (Max & Ballereau, 2013, p. 97). Alsos,
Isaksen, and Ljunggren (2006, p. 667)4 state that “entrepreneurship is still a male-
dominated activity in the twenty-first century.” The incidence of female entrepre-
neurs is lower than that of male entrepreneurs in almost every country in the world
(Terrell & Troilo, 2010, p. 261). However, women’s participation in start-up activ-
ities varies between different countries. In Germany, women’s participation in start-
up activities was at record levels for the period between 2013 and 2015 (Metzger,
2016, p. 4). During this period, women’s self-employment accounted for 43% of all
start-ups (Metzger, 2016, p. 4). In 2016, the participation of women dropped slightly
but remained high (Metzger, 2017, p. 3). In fact, the share of women fell to 40% in
2016 (Metzger, 2017, p. 3). This decline is primarily due to the significantly lower
participation of women entrepreneurs in full-time start-ups (Metzger, 2017, p. 3).
Traditionally, women have been more involved in part-time than in full-time start-up
activity (Metzger, 2017, p. 3; Metzger, 2016, p. 4). In 2017, the share of women in
start-up activities fell again by 3% points to 37% (Metzger, 2018, p. 4).
In summary, even though many women are motivated to become entrepreneurs
due to expectations of a higher work-life balance, the current research on work-life
balance perceived by women entrepreneurs has remained rather limited (McGowan
et al., 2012, p. 54; Rehman & Azam Roomi, 2012, p. 210; Mathew & Panchanatham,
2011, p. 81; Shelton, 2006, p. 286). The results of the rare studies on this topic are
also difficult to compare, mainly because the results are very context-specific. The
results reflect country-specific differences regarding the socioeconomic and cultural
environment. To clarify the need for research on how women entrepreneurs
4
experience the interface between work and life, Sect. 1.2 discusses the state of the art
of research on women’s entrepreneurship and work-life balance in greater detail.
Based on the derived research need, Sect. 1.3 will present the overall objective and
the corresponding central research question of this thesis.
1.2 State of the Art of Research on Women’s

Entrepreneurship and Work-Life Balance
The derivation of the research need is presented in three steps. In the first step, the
academic discussion on women’s entrepreneurship is summarized in Sect. 1.2.1. In
the second step, the current state of research on the topic of work-life balance is
discussed in Sect. 1.2.2. Building on this, the research need with respect to both
research fields is identified in Sect. 1.2.3.
1.2.1 State of the Art of Research on Women’s

Entrepreneurship
The research field ‘women’s entrepreneurship’ has gained considerable attention in

recent years and is increasingly discussed in the academic literature. In 1976, the
Journal of Contemporary Business published Eleanor Schwartz’s article entitled
‘Entrepreneurship: A New Female Frontier’. From a historical perspective, the
article by Schwartz (1976) was groundbreaking because it is said to be the first
article focusing on women entrepreneurs (Greene, Brush, & Gatewood, 2007,
p. 181).
According to Greene et al. (2007, p. 182 f.), most studies in the 1980s did not test
the theory but considered gender (or sex) as an analytical variable and focused on
possible differences between women and men entrepreneurs.5 This first wave of
research showed that theories developed on male samples did not necessarily
generalize to women (Greene et al., 2007, p. 185 f.). As Greene et al. (2007,
p. 182) illustrate, in the 1990s, evolving theories suggested that context and per-
spectives were relevant for conducting research and gender began to be treated as a
lens rather than just a variable (see for example Barrett, 1995; Berg, 1997; Brush,
1992; Fischer, Reuber, & Dyke, 1993). Researchers who took a feminist perspective
noted that women had historically been excluded from entrepreneurship literature
and emphasized the need to understand entrepreneurship as a gendered activity
(Greene et al., 2007, p. 187).
In the early 2000s, women’s entrepreneurship received considerable attention in
research. A two-volume special issue on women and entrepreneurship was published
5
The specific meanings of the terms ‘gender’ and ‘sex’ will be explored in Sect. 2.1.1.1.
1.2 State of the Art of Research on Women’s Entrepreneurship and Work-Life Balance 5
in the scientific journal “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (ETP)” (De Bruin,
Brush, & Welter, 2006, 2007). In the first volume of the special issue, De Bruin et al.
(2006, p. 585) claimed that women are one of the fastest rising populations of
entrepreneurs but still vastly understudied. Women’s entrepreneurship was charac-
terized as being “at the early childhood stage” (De Bruin et al., 2006, p. 590) at this
time. De Bruin et al. (2006) discuss several reasons for the paucity of research on
women’s entrepreneurship. One reason lies in the implicit assumption in many
theories of entrepreneurship that the individual entrepreneur is generic and, thus,
that there is no need to study women separately (De Bruin et al., 2006, p. 586).
However, as these theories were developed on samples of men, by men, and tested
primarily on samples of men, they may not adequately reflect women entrepreneurs
(De Bruin et al., 2006, p. 586).6 Furthermore, De Bruin et al. (2006, p. 587) argue
that women are less often studied because of less visibility in the media as well as
because of perceptions that they should not be entrepreneurs and that they are less
capable because of family responsibilities. Regarding research norms in educational
institutions, De Bruin et al. (2006, p. 587) postulate that institutional support and
funding for researchers interested in studying women’s entrepreneurship will gen-
erally be less than for other more broad-based and “accepted” topics.
In the second volume of the special issue on women’s entrepreneurship, De Bruin
et al. (2007, p. 323) stated that there was an expanding body of research on women’s
entrepreneurship. Again, they noted that the existing standards in entrepreneurship
research, particularly theories and measures, are inherently male based (De Bruin
et al., 2007, p. 328).
In 2009, the “International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship” was
launched. This journal is entirely focused upon gender and entrepreneurship. The
inaugural issue also featured an article by Brush, De Bruin, and Welter (2009).
According to the editor, Brush et al. (2009) “[. . .] lay the theoretical foundation for
this inaugural issue by presenting a gender-aware framework for women’s entre-
preneurship” (Henry, 2009, p. 5). In this article, Brush et al. (2009) introduced the
women’s entrepreneurship “5 M” framework. First, the authors explained that the
following three basic constructs “3Ms” were frequently used in entrepreneurship
theory to explain venture creation: (1) management, (2) money and (3) market
(Brush et al., 2009, p. 9).7 Access to management, money and market is essential
for every entrepreneur and is often discussed in the context of entrepreneurship
(Bates, Jackson, & Johnson, 2007). Second, the authors proposed including two
additional constructs in the “3 M” framework: (4) “motherhood” and (5) “macro/
meso environment” (Brush et al., 2009, p. 9). “Motherhood” is depicted as a
metaphor that represents the household/family context, and it is acknowledged that
6
De Bruin et al. (2006, p. 586), referencing Hurley (1991).
7
Brush et al. (2009, p. 9), referencing Schumpeter (1934), Kirzner (1985), Shane (2003), Penrose
(1959), Bruno and Tyebjee (1982) and Aldrich (1999).
this context might have a larger impact on women than men due to societal
stereotypes and structures (Brush et al., 2009, p. 9). In support of this, Jennings
and McDougald (2007, p. 756) suggested that women business owners are more
likely than male business owners to experience greater work-family conflict. The
“macro/meso environment” includes expectations of society and cultural norms
(macro) and intermediate structures and institutions (meso; Brush et al., 2009,
p. 8 f.). Henry (2009, p. 5) state that the “5 M” framework “[. . .] helps lay a
foundation for coherent research on women’s entrepreneurship.” In sum, Brush
et al. (2009) proposed a holistic framework to investigate women’s entrepreneurship
(see Sect. 2.1.2).
In 2012, another special issue on women’s entrepreneurship research was
published in the journal “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice (ETP)”. Within the
introduction to the special issue, Hughes, Jennings, Brush, Carter, and Welter (2012,
p. 429)8 refer to “the dramatic expansion of scholarly interest and activity in the
field of women’s entrepreneurship within recent years [. . .]” and characterize
research on women’s entrepreneurship as being “[. . .] at the brink of adolescence.”
Unfortunately, the results of the increasing number of studies on women’s entrepre-
neurship are difficult to compare because they are rooted in different countries and
involve diverse definitions of the term ‘entrepreneurship’. Recently, Birkner, Ettl,
Welter, and Ebbers (2018) stated that women’s entrepreneurship research “[. . .]
seems to be in its ‘teens’, challenged by a liminal state of its own reaching for
broader acceptance in the ‘adult world’ of entrepreneurship research” (Birkner
et al., 2018, p. 5). Even within the teenage age, women’s entrepreneurship is still a
young research field and a richer understanding of women’s entrepreneurship is
needed. In particular, Hughes et al. (2012, p. 431) reference several calls for greater
attention to questions concerning the heterogeneity evident among women entrepre-
neurs and to highlight the different contexts in which women are embedded. For
example, Carrier, Julien, and Menvielle (2008, p. 60) state the following: “It is to be
hoped that future research will avoid attempts to characterize ‘THE’ woman
entrepreneur, since she does not exist; women entrepreneurs have different man-
agement styles, motivations, perceptions of their firms, and ways of developing
them.” More generally, De Bruin et al. (2007, p. 331) observed the following:
“What researchers frequently neglect in entrepreneurship research is the
embeddedness and context specificity of entrepreneurship.” Thus, future research
on entrepreneurship and women’s entrepreneurship in particular should take greater
account of the specific context in which entrepreneurial activities are conducted.
In a second step, several main aspects from the literature on the work-life balance
research field are discussed in the following Sect. 1.2.2.
8
1.2.2 State of the Art of Research on Work-Life Balance
The debate over how to succeed in occupational life without sacrificing personal life
has its roots in a long tradition of research concerning the interface between work
and family or personal life (Lewis & Cooper, 2005, p. 9). Research on these topics
began in the mid-1960s with an initial focus on women, work-family conflict and
stress, and it has more recently focused on all employees (Fleetwood, 2007, p. 353;
Lewis & Cooper, 2005, p. 9). Over the years, a variety of related concepts evolved in
this research field (e.g., work-family stress, role conflict, role strain, work-home
conflict, work-family conflict or interference, work-family accommodation, work-
family compensation, work-family segmentation, work-family enrichment, work-
family expansion, work-family balance, and work-life balance). Sometimes the
different terms are used synonymously or confound.
The term ‘work-family balance’ was the predecessor of ‘work-life balance’
(Gregory & Milner, 2009, p. 1). However, by focusing on employees with family
responsibilities, the notion of work-family balance was considered in practice as
causing a backlash in the workplace among nonparents (Gregory & Milner, 2009,
p. 1). However, much current research still focuses on the relationship between work
and family roles (see for example Eddleston & Powell, 2012; Heilbrunn &
Davidovitch, 2011; König & Cesinger, 2015). The term ‘work-life balance’ enables
a wider understanding of nonwork concerns and gained widespread use in research
and policy arenas (Gregory & Milner, 2009, p. 1). According to Lewis et al. (2007,
p. 360 f.), the shift from ‘work-family’ towards ‘work-life’ discourse began in the
1990s, originating specifically in the United States of America (USA) and the United
Kingdom (UK). Today, the term ‘work-life balance’ is most common. It is often
used in scholarly journals as well as in the media, everyday language, government
and employer discussions and in human resource departments (Hilbrecht et al., 2008,
p. 455; Lewis & Cooper, 2005, p. 8). Nevertheless, the term ‘work-life balance’ is
not without controversy as it is discussed in more detail in Sect. 2.2.1. Some
researchers criticize the implication that work-life balance indicates that work is
not a part of life and that a person’s time should be equally split between the two
(Lewis & Cooper, 2005, p. 8; Rapoport, Bailyn, Fletcher, & Pruitt, 2002, p. 16).
Other terms such as ‘work-life integration’, ‘work-life harmonization’ or ‘work-life
articulation’ are proposed as more useful statements. In the end, however, there are
also difficulties with these terms (see Sect. 2.2.1). For example, ‘work-life integra-
tion’ implies that the two spheres must be merged, which leads to “[. . .] fears of a
contamination or the domination of personal life by the demands of paid employ-
ment” (Gregory & Milner, 2009, p. 2). The present work follows the notion of
Gregory and Milner (2009, p. 2) and uses the “original, long-standing, and easily-
understood term” work-life balance.
In current research, there is still a focus on the conflict between the two domains
of family and work. According to Shaffer, Joplin, and Hsu (2011, p. 221 f.), an
extensive body of work-family research already exists, but the research field has
been dominated by researchers and samples from the USA. In general, the ‘life’
aspect of the work-life balance concept is rather unexplored, and it is a critical aspect
that life is often taken to be a synonym for leisure or for nonwork (Collins, 2007,
p. 416 f.). However, life outside paid work involves leisure, but it also includes
unpaid work (Collins, 2007, p. 420). In addition, some activities such as training,
study, work-related travel or commuting violate the strict separation of leisure and
work (Collins, 2007, p. 418). This aspect makes it even more difficult to examine the
work-life balance concept.
Additionally, the influence of gender on the work-life balance concept requires
further research. According to Emslie and Hunt (2009, p. 151), many contemporary
studies of work-life balance ignore gender or take it for granted. Prominent theories
in the context of work-life balance such as the ‘work-family border theory’ by Clark
(2000) are criticized for being gender-blind (see Sect. 2.2.2). Lewis et al. (2007,
p. 364) argue that current work-life balance discourses reinforce gender inequities
“by claiming gender neutrality and obscuring wider ongoing gendered discourses
and practices.” Burke (2004, p. 1) marks gender as a common antecedent of work-
family conflict. According to him, “women, individuals with children, more highly
job involved individuals and individuals experiencing greater job demands typically
report more work-family conflict” (Burke, 2004, p. 1).9 In this context, many authors
highlight that women are still responsible for a larger share of family and home
responsibilities (see for example Abendroth & Den Dulk, 2011, p. 239; Heilbrunn &
Davidovitch, 2011, p. 128; Lewis et al., 2007, p. 364). However, overall, the results
concerning the level of conflict between work and home life of women in compar-
ison to men are mixed (Emslie & Hunt, 2009, p. 154). Furthermore, Ransome (2007,
p. 374) criticizes the academic work-life balance discourse for focusing narrowly on
the experiences of women with young children. Family households with dependent
children have become the “ideal-typical object of analysis in the discourse”,
although caring comes in different forms and an aging population causes increases
in eldercare (Ransome, 2007, p. 376). Emslie and Hunt (2009, p. 155) agree that
research on work-life balance mainly focuses on the experiences of mothers of
young children. These articles reflect a call for greater attention to questions
concerning the heterogeneity evident among people’s experiences with work-life
balance.
In the past, studies primarily focused on the management of work-life balance and
particularly work-family conflict in the context of large companies and other orga-
nizations (König & Cesinger, 2015, p. 532; Parasuraman & Simmers, 2001, p. 551;
Stoner, Hartman, & Arora, 1990, p. 30; Loscocco, 1997, p. 205). The effects of self-
employment regarding women’s work-life balance have been only marginally
addressed by the literature. The research need with respect to work-life balance in
the context of women’s entrepreneurship is formulated in greater detail in the
following Sect. 1.2.3. Here, the link between women’s entrepreneurship and work-
life balance, as discussed in the literature, is presented and the specific research need
is derived.
9
1.2.3 Research Need in the Fields of Women’s

Entrepreneurship and Work-Life Balance
Women’s Entrepreneurship In recent years, women’s entrepreneurship has been

increasingly discussed in the academic literature. According to Reynolds and
Renzulli (2005, p. 33) and Parasuraman and Simmers (2001, p. 552), it is sometimes
believed that self-employment is an answer to many workplace problems, particu-
larly to the balancing of work and family roles. Furthermore, many authors highlight
that women are still responsible for a larger share of family and home responsibilities
(see for example Abendroth & Den Dulk, 2011, p. 239; Heilbrunn & Davidovitch,
2011, p. 128; Lewis et al., 2007, p. 364). Therefore, self-employment might provide
an opportunity for women to balance their multiple roles more effectively.
Indeed, the findings by Buttner and Moore (1997, p. 34) suggest that the desire to
balance family and work responsibilities is one of the most important entrepreneurial
motivations for women. When compared to male entrepreneurs, female entrepre-
neurs are much more likely to cite a desire to achieve a better work-life balance as a
motivational factor (Humbert & Drew, 2010, p. 190). In another study, Mattis (2004,
p. 158) identifies the need for more flexibility as one of the most common reasons
female entrepreneurs cite for leaving companies to start their own business. Thébaud
(2016, p. 269) suggests that the decision to pass up a job that lacks flexibility is
associated with women’s self-employment. Entrepreneurship seems to constitute a
“fallback” employment strategy for many working mothers who want greater work-
family balance (Thébaud, 2016, p. 270).
Work-Life Balance The phenomenon of work-life balance has been important to
both practice and research since the beginning of the mid-1960s, and interest in this
phenomenon has greatly increased in recent decades in both academic journals and
the popular press (Hilbrecht et al., 2008, p. 455; Lewis & Cooper, 2005, p. 9; Burke,
2004, p. 1). In the past, few studies about work-family conflict or work-life balance
focused specifically on self-employment. Issues concerning the interface of work
and life have primarily been studied in the context of employment in large organi-
zations (König & Cesinger, 2015, p. 532; Parasuraman & Simmers, 2001, p. 551;
Stoner et al., 1990, p. 30; Loscocco, 1997, p. 205).
In their early study, Stoner et al. (1990) note that little attention has been paid to
the extent of work-home role conflict faced by business owners. The authors state
that, “The existing work-family role conflict literature has a distinctive
non-entrepreneurial slant [. . .]” (Stoner et al., 1990, p. 30). In 1997, Loscocco
(1997, p. 205) argued that the discussion of work-family conflict has been framed
almost completely in terms of the employment system. However, lessons from large
enterprises’ employees are not transferable to the entrepreneurship context. The
reason for this is that entrepreneurs have considerably more control, flexibility and
autonomy regarding their working lives in comparison to organizationally employed
people (Reynolds & Renzulli, 2005, p. 48; Parasuraman & Simmers, 2001, p. 551;
Loscocco, 1997, p. 205). In her study on work-family linkages among self-employed
women and men, Loscocco (1997, p. 205)10 states that “self-employment provides a
unique lens through which to examine gender and the work-family nexus since it is a
context in which people have more control than the average employee to fashion
their own connections between work and family.” Few authors followed the shift
from the organizationally employed person to the self-employed person as the focus
of analysis. In 2001, Parasuraman and Simmers (2001, p. 551) highlighted a
continuing paucity of research on work-family conflict of self-employed people.
Accordingly, research has focused almost exclusively on the experiences of indi-
viduals employed in large businesses and other organizations (Parasuraman &
Simmers, 2001, p. 551). In a recent publication, König and Cesinger (2015,
p. 532) highlight that there is still little research on work-family conflict among
self-employed people.
Summary In sum, it can be stated that the literature on work-life balance of
entrepreneurs is extremely scarce. This is remarkable since there is an abundance
of literature on work-life balance in the context of employment in organizations.
However, self-employment is also a widespread form of work and should therefore
be considered in the discourse on work-life balance. A subsample of entrepreneur-
ship literature discusses the interface of work and life experienced by women
entrepreneurs. There appears to be a large discrepancy between the small volume
of research on work-life balance of women entrepreneurs and the high relevance of
this topic for practice as argued in Sect. 1.1. In part, this discrepancy seems to result
from a missing alignment of the scientific discussion with the needs of the individual
women entrepreneur regarding the work-life balancing act.
Based on the presentation of the problem in Sect. 1.1 and of the research need in
this Sect. 1.2.3, the objective and the central research question of this thesis are
described in the following Sect. 1.3.
1.3 Objective
Although some issues regarding the balancing of work and life by entrepreneurs
have been recognized in research, the existing literature provides only initial answers
regarding the relationship between work-life balance and entrepreneurship—espe-
cially with regard to women’s entrepreneurship. Therefore, the overall objective of
this doctoral thesis is to explore work-life balance in the context of women’s
entrepreneurship to gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influ-
ence the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs.
This central research objective implies the following research problem. The main
problem area includes unresolved questions with respect to the factors that influ-
ence work-life balance of women entrepreneurs. In particular, it is important to
10
1.3 Objective 11
clarify how entrepreneurship affects the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs.

The aim is to determine to what extent self-employment facilitates or hampers the
achievement of a work-life balance. In this context, there is great need for research
regarding the meaning of both flexibility and autonomy. In an early article
concerning this topic, Loscocco (1997, p. 209)11 states that “another clear advan-
tage of self-employment is the control and flexibility it typically brings.” In another
study, Mattis (2004, p. 158) identifies the need for more flexibility as one of the
reasons most frequently cited by women entrepreneurs for leaving companies to start
their own business. However, it is unclear if control over work life and flexibility in
an entrepreneurial setting are still available in today’s globalized and digitalized
world. In addition, it seems to be questionable if self-employed women perceive
such flexibility and autonomy as purely advantageous. In support of this notion,
Sullivan and Smithson (2007, p. 450) warn “[. . .] flexibility should not necessarily
be regarded as intrinsically positive [. . .].” Of all the factors that might influence
work-life balance of women entrepreneurs, flexibility and autonomy should receive
special attention for the reasons mentioned above.
Apart from the described factors, which are directly linked to the entrepreneurial
activities of the women entrepreneurs; other factors might influence the level of
work-life balance as well. Thus, another intent of this thesis is to discover additional
factors that also determine the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs. Research
is needed to explore the challenges women entrepreneurs face in balancing work and
private life. At the same time, the question of which factors can facilitate work-life
balance should be clarified. Such a comprehensive understanding is necessary to
draw conclusions about effective strategies to balance work and life in subsequent
steps.
There is only limited research on strategies for managing the interface between
work and life in the context of women’s entrepreneurship (see Rehman & Azam
Roomi, 2012, Shelton, 2006, Kirkwood & Tootell, 2008 for exceptions). It is still
unclear how women entrepreneurs should set and manage the boundaries between
their work and personal lives. Therefore, this thesis also focuses on strategies that
female entrepreneurs can employ to achieve work-life balance.
The problem areas described in this section have been insufficiently studied. To
close this research need, the following central research question is investigated in
this doctoral thesis:
What factors influence the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs and in which way?
To answer this research question, a comprehensive understanding of women’s

entrepreneurship is needed as a basis. To summarize the current state of research on
women’s entrepreneurship in this thesis a literature review based on the “5 M”
framework developed by Brush et al. (2009) will be conducted. Another topic of
discussion is the current state of literature on work-life balance. In particular, the
11
literature on entrepreneurship and women’s entrepreneurship will be analyzed with

respect to the concept of work-life balance.
Building on the comprehensive literature review on women’s entrepreneurship
and work-life balance, a qualitative expert study will be designed to explore the
factors that influence the extent of women entrepreneurs’ work-life balance. The
objective of this expert study is formulated in more detail in Sect. 4.1. Finally, this
thesis will highlight areas for further research.
Based on the formulated research need in Sect. 1.2.3 and the overall objective of
the thesis described in this section, Sect. 1.4 presents the intended research approach.
1.4 Research Approach
To achieve the objective of this thesis, this section identifies the use of qualitative
research methods as the most advantageous approach. Creswell (2014, p. 3) distin-
guishes three approaches to research: (1) qualitative approach, (2) quantitative
approach and (3) mixed-methods approach. Furthermore, Creswell (2014, p. 3)
argues that qualitative and quantitative approaches should not be seen as “[. . .]
rigid, distinct categories, polar opposites, or dichotomies.” The two approaches
represent different ends on a continuum with mixed methods research positioned in
the middle of this continuum (Creswell, 2014, p. 3). Accordingly, the research
approach of this thesis tends to be more qualitative than quantitative. Creswell
(2014, p. 4) provides the following definition of qualitative research: “Qualitative
research is an approach for exploring and understanding the meaning individuals
or groups ascribe to a social or human problem.” Furthermore, qualitative research
focuses on individual meaning and on describing the complexity of a situation
(Creswell, 2014, p. 4). According to Marshall (1996, p. 524),12 the central aim of
qualitative research is “to explore complex human issues.” A qualitative approach is
useful if a concept “[. . .] needs to be explored and understood because little
research has been done on it [. . .]” (Creswell, 2014, p. 20). Thus far, little research
on work-life balance issues perceived by women entrepreneurs has been conducted
(see Sect. 1.2.3), and the relationship between work-life balance and women’s
entrepreneurship remains unclear. Therefore, a qualitative approach is useful. Fur-
thermore, there is a call for more qualitative research in both research fields—
women’s entrepreneurship and work-life balance. In their article on work-family
research, Shaffer et al. (2011, p. 221) state that “[. . .] more qualitative studies are
needed to clarify the meaning of the work and family domains and the interface
between domains within different cultural contexts.” In their article on gender in
entrepreneurship research, Carrier et al. (2008, p. 60) state that “[. . .] it would
perhaps be more useful to examine the experience, values, meanings and choices
preferred by women entrepreneurs, using qualitative methodologies, in order to find
12
1.4 Research Approach 13
• Women’s entrepreneurship
• Work-life balance
• Work-life balance in the context of entrepreneurship
(1) Theorecal
Research • Work-life balance in the context of women’s entrepreneurship
• Sample: Experts from academia and pracce

• Method of data collect ion: Expert interviews
(2) Qualitave • Method of data analysis: Themac qualitave text analysis
Research
Fig. 1.1 Research process of the thesis (Author’s own figure)
ways of supporting their progress without cutting them off from entrepreneurship in
general.” The previous quotations show that qualitative research is needed in both
research fields.
The philosophical worldview underlying the present study is pragmatism.13
According to Creswell (2014, p. 6), a worldview can be understood as “[. . .] a
general philosophical orientation about the world and the nature of research that a
researcher brings to a study.” Simply put, pragmatism means “[. . .] the methodol-
ogy is adequate if it leads to the solution of the research question” (Mayring, 2014,
p. 8). It is a very problem-centered worldview (Creswell, 2014, p. 6). More precisely,
researchers sharing this worldview first emphasize the research problem and use all
approaches that are available to understand the problem (Creswell, 2014, p. 10). The
researcher is therefore free to integrate both quantitative and qualitative elements
into a study. Moreover, this philosophical worldview is real-world practice oriented
(Creswell, 2014, p. 6). This worldview is thus compatible with one of the problem
areas underlying this thesis—the identification of strategies that help women
improve work-life balance issues. Furthermore, according to Creswell (2014,
p. 11)14 “pragmatists agree that research always occurs in social, historical,
political and other contexts.” The embeddedness and context specificity of women’s
entrepreneurship will receive close attention in the present thesis. Thus, pragmatism
is reflected in a variety of ways in the research process underlying this thesis.
Now that the research approach and the philosophical worldview have been
presented, Fig. 1.1 graphically summarizes the overall research process.
The research process consists of two sequential steps: (1) theoretical research and
(2) qualitative research.
13
Creswell (2014, p. 6) highlights the following four philosophical worldviews that are widely
discussed in the literature: postpositivism, constructivism, transformative and pragmatism.
14
Theoretical Research First, relevant literature regarding the two central concepts
in this thesis—women’s entrepreneurship and work-life balance—is identified. To
be more precise, the literature review begins with the topic “women’s entrepreneur-
ship”. The current state of the art of research on women’s entrepreneurship is
summarized based on the “5 M” framework. Thus, the present thesis continues the
literature review by Brush et al. (2009). Next, the theoretical foundations of “work-
life balance” are worked out. Subsequently, the two topics are considered together.
At first, the literature on work-life balance in the context of entrepreneurship is
presented, after which the focus of the literature review is placed exclusively on the
group of women entrepreneurs. Thus, important articles about work-life balance of
women entrepreneurs are presented, and their findings are compared to each other.
Qualitative Research Second, interviews with experts15 in the field of women’s
entrepreneurship from academia and practice are conducted. In this way, the expert
study ensures an in-depth understanding from a practically oriented perspective as
well as from an academic perspective. A qualitative text analysis is performed to
explore the factors, which influence the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs.
More precisely, a thematic qualitative text analysis following Kuckartz (2016) is
conducted. Based on the identified influencing factors, strategies to achieve more
work-life balance are formulated. Therefore, the qualitative investigation addresses
the problem areas identified in Sect. 1.3.
The research design of the expert study is described in detail in Sect. 4.2. In the
following, only a few essential aspects should be emphasized as the expert study
represents the core element of this thesis. Its method uses semistructured interviews
with experts.16 While there are different forms of interviews, such as narrative
interviews, biographical interviews, deep interviews, focus interviews and
semistructured interviews (Mayring, 2014, p. 43), there are various reasons that
speak for the use of semistructured interviews in this study. The central reason is that
semistructured interviews offer “[. . .] sufficient flexibility to allow the interviewee
an opportunity to shape the flow of information” (Wilkinson & Birmingham, 2003,
p. 45). With semistructured interviews being chosen for this thesis, an interview
guide is developed as an orientation for the interviewer. It allows for flexibility in
(1) investigating new aspects mentioned by the interviewees and (2) exploring
aspects that are of specific importance for the interviewees in more depth (Braun
& Clarke, 2013, p. 78; Flick, 2011b, p. 112). Furthermore, the interviews with the
experts are transcribed to allow for in-depth analysis. After the transcription process,
a systematic analysis using QDA (qualitative data analysis) software is performed. A
multiphase approach of coding is applied to answer the research question.
15
See Sect. 4.1 for the definition of the term ‘expert’ that underlies this thesis. Exemplary experts in
the field of women’s entrepreneurship are start-up advisors, representatives of entrepreneurial
networks and researchers with focus on women’s entrepreneurship.
16
Crotty (1998, p. 3) defines the term methods as follows: “the techniques or procedures used to
gather and analyze data related to some research question or hypothesis.”
1.5 Structure 15
This thesis will primary focus on the individual women entrepreneur as a unit of
analysis. In their previously cited article, Carrier et al. (2008, p. 60) suggest that a
focus on women entrepreneurs is needed in future research: “[. . .] rather than
continuing to debate the differences between male and female entrepreneurs, it
would perhaps be more useful to examine the experience, values, meanings and
choices preferred by women entrepreneurs [. . .].” The exclusive focus on women
entrepreneurs in this thesis will allow the heterogeneity of women entrepreneurs to
be explored in greater detail than a mixed sample of male and female entrepreneurs
would allow.
Based on both the formulated research question and objective, Sect. 1.5 outlines
the structure of this thesis.
1.5 Structure
The first chapter, ‘Introduction: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis of Entrepreneurs’

Work-Life Balance’, discussed self-employment as a potential answer to workplace
problems, particularly to balancing work and family roles. Subsequently, the state of
the art of research on women’s entrepreneurship and work-life balance was briefly
described and the resulting research needs were highlighted. Building on this, the
objective, research approach and structure of this thesis were presented.
In the second chapter, ‘Theoretical Foundations of Women’s Entrepreneur-
ship and Work-Life Balance’, the theoretical underpinnings of women’s entrepre-
neurship and work-life balance are explained. With regard to the theoretical
foundations of women’s entrepreneurship described in Sect. 2.1, the term ‘gender’
and central feminist theories in academic literature are discussed. Building on this,
the “5 M” framework developed by Brush et al. (2009) is introduced. Next, the
original literature review on women’s entrepreneurship by Brush et al. (2009) is
continued and the corresponding findings are presented. With regard to theoretical
foundations of work-life balance explained in Sect. 2.2, the term ‘work-life balance’
first must be defined. Second, prominent theories on boundary maintaining and
transition are introduced—the ‘work-family border theory’ (Clark, 2000) and the
‘boundary theory’ (Ashforth, Kreiner, & Fugate, 2000). Next, current discourses on
work-life balance in the academic literature are explained. Lastly, new technologies
and corresponding changes in the nature of work are explored in more detail.
Section 2.3 summarizes the most important insights from the previous two sections
on the theoretical foundations of women’s entrepreneurship and work-life balance
and describes their implications for subsequent research steps in this thesis.
The third chapter, ‘Research on Women Entrepreneurs’ Work-Life Balance’,
includes a comprehensive literature review. The literature review is carried out in
three steps. As a first step, Sect. 3.1 discusses the literature on work-life balance in
the broader context of entrepreneurship. A summary of the most important findings
concludes this section. In the second step, Sect. 3.2 discusses the literature on work-
life balance in the specific context of women’s entrepreneurship. Again, the section
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He was soon at the head of a large and powerful army. With this
he marched forward, defeated the English troops that advanced to
meet him, and, in three months after his arrival, he took Edinburgh,
the capital of Scotland.—France now sent him aid, and, with a force
of 7000 men, he marched southward into England, and took the
town of Carlisle. At Preston Pans, he defeated an English army of
4000 strong; and such was his success, that the English
government, under King William, of Orange, trembled for their safety.
They therefore made great efforts, and in April, 1746, they sent a
large army against him, under the Duke of Cumberland. At Culloden,
the two armies met, and a terrible battle followed; Prince Edward
was defeated, and his army entirely dispersed. He was scarce able
to save his life by flight; and, indeed, he wandered about, from place
to place, among the wilds of Scotland, being every day in danger of
being seized and given up to the English government, who offered
$150,000 to anybody who would bring him to them. It seems strange
that so large a bribe could be resisted; but, such was the love that
the Scottish people bore him, and such their fidelity, that no one was
found to betray him, though many people were entrusted with the
secret of his being among them. Even the poor mountaineers
refused to give him up, though offered a sum of money that would
have made them very rich.
At last, a faithful Scottish nobleman, by the name of O’Neil, took
him in charge, and after wandering along the sea-shore in a skiff,
flying from island to island, and experiencing the greatest sufferings
and dangers, he was put on board a French frigate, that had been
sent for his rescue. He was now taken to France, and soon after,
giving up all hopes of seeing his family restored to the throne, he
settled in Italy, where he died in 1788, in the 68th year of his age. He
was the last of the Stuart line, and was called the Pretender, on
account of his pretending to set up claims to the throne of England.
Winter.
December has come! Winter is here! These are common-place

words, but they mean more, perhaps, than we are apt to consider.
Winter, then, means that the myriad leaves of the forest are
shrivelled and torn from the trees, and scattered in the valley: it
means that the sap of the trees has ceased to flow, and that these
giants of the vegetable world have passed into a state of stupor, in
which they must remain till spring again returns.
Winter means that the myriad races of annual weeds and plants
are dead, to revive again no more; that myriads of blossoms have
faded forever from the view; that the verdure of the forest has
passed away; that the gemmed garment of the meadow is
exchanged for the thin, brown mantle of leanness and poverty; that
the velvet of the lawn has given place to the scanty covering of dried
and faded grass.
Winter means that the minstrelsy of the birds is gone, and that the
field and forest, so lately cheered by a thousand forms and sounds
of happy existence are now silent, or rendered more dreary and
desolate by the moaning winds. It means that the birds are gone to
their southern retreats; that the myriad races of insects are dead;
that the whole generation of butterflies has perished; that the
grasshoppers have sung their last song; that even the pensive
cricket has gone to his long home. It means that death has breathed
on our portion of the world, and that nature herself, as if weary of her
efforts, has fallen into a cold and fearful slumber.
Winter means all these melancholy things; but it also means
something more. It means that the granary of the farmer is full; that
his barn is supplied; that there is good and ample store for the
beasts that look to man for support, and for man himself. It means,
too, that the comfortable fire will be kindled, around which the family
will assemble, and where, secure from the bitter blast without, there
will still be peace, comfort, and content. It means, too, that there is
such a thing as poverty, shivering, without fire, without food—
perhaps, without sufficient shelter; and it means that charity should
seek and save those who are suffering in such a condition.
And winter means something more than all this: it means, by its
examples of decay and death, to teach us that we, too, must pass
away; and that it is well for us to make preparation for the great
event. Winter also brings us to the end of the year, and suggests a
serious self-inquiry, and self-examination. It would ask us if the last
year has been one of profit or loss? Are we better, and wiser, than
when it began? Are we more kind, more just, more patient, more
faithful, more fond of truth?—Summer is the season for the harvest
of the field; winter is the season for the moral harvest of the heart.
Let it not pass with any of us as a barren and unproductive season,
in which we neither sow nor reap the fruits of wisdom and peace.
The Hand.
Every limb and member of the body is made for some good
purpose.
The eye is made to see with; the ear is made to hear with; the
nose is made to smell with; the mouth is made to eat and speak with.
The feet are made to run and walk with; the hands are made to
work with, to write with, and to do many other things.
But do you think children’s hands were ever made to strike their
brothers, or sisters, or playmates? Were your little hands ever made
to snatch away things from each other?
Who gave you hands? God gave them. Did he give you hands to
steal with? Did God give you hands that you might throw stones at
geese, or dogs, or hens, or cows, or any other innocent animals?
Did God give you hands to injure or wound any of the creatures
he has made?
Take care of your little hands, then, my children! Take care that
the hands God has given, do nothing that God disapproves.
Nuts to Crack.
The Word “Fast.”—This is as great a contradiction as we have in

the language. The river is fast, because the ice is immoveable; and
then the ice disappears fast for the contrary reason—it is loose. A
clock is called fast when it goes quicker than time; but a man is told
to stand fast, when he is desired to remain stationary. People fast
when they have nothing to eat, and eat fast when opportunity offers.
Military Courtesy.—Gen. Meadows, equally renowned for his

wit and bravery, being on a reconnoitring party, in the Mysore
country, a twenty-four pound shot struck the ground at some
distance from the General, and was passing in such a direction as
would have exposed him to danger had he continued on his route;
quick as lightning he stopped his horse, and, pulling off his hat very
gracefully, as the shot rolled on, good-humoredly said: “I beg you to
proceed, sir; I never dispute precedence with any gentleman of your
family.”
A doctor, in Scotland, was employed by a poor man to attend

his wife, who was dangerously ill. The doctor gave a hint, amounting
to the suspicion that he would not be paid. “I have,” says the man,
“five pounds; and if you kill, or cure her, you shall have it.” The
woman died, under the hands of the doctor, and, after a reasonable
time, he called for his five pounds. The man then said: “Did you kill
my wife?—did you cure her?” “No.” “Then,” said the poor man, “you
have no legal demand,” and turned upon his heel.
How to shake off Trouble.—Set about doing good to
somebody: put on your hat, and go and visit the sick and poor—
inquire into their wants, and minister to them; seek out the desolate
and oppressed, and tell them of the consolations of religion. I have
often tried this method, and have always found it the best medicine
for a heavy heart.
A Father’s Impulse.—When Lord Erskine made his debut at the

bar, his agitation almost overpowered him, and he was just going to
sit down: “At that moment,” said he, “I thought I felt my little children
tugging at my gown, and the idea roused me to an exertion, of which
I did not think myself capable.”
The Sublime.—Over the stall of a public writer, in Rue de Bac, at

Paris, is the following inscription: “M. Renard, public writer and
compiler—translates the tongues, explains the language of flowers,
and sells fried potatoes.”
Feeling for Another.—A Quaker, once hearing a person tell

how much he felt for a friend who needed his assistance, dryly
observed: “Friend, hast thou ever felt in thy pocket for him?”
“What are you writing such a thundering big hand for, Patrick?”
“Why, do you see, my grandmother is deaf, and I am writing a loud
lether to her.”
A Knotty Case.—Not many years ago, a man appeared in court,

whether as plaintiff, defendant, or witness, tradition does not inform
us. Be this as it may, the following dialogue ensued:—Court—“What
is your name, sir?” “My name is Knott Martin, your honor.” “Well,
what is it?” “It is Knott Martin.” “Not Martin, again! We do not ask you
what your name is not, but what it is. No contempt of court, sir.” “If
your honor will give me leave, I will spell my name.” “Well, spell it.”
“K-n-o-tt, Knott, M-a-r, Mar, t-i-n, tin—Knott Martin.” “O, well, Mr.
Martin, we see through it now; but it is one of the most knotty cases
we have had before us for some time.”
Good.—It was a judicious resolution of a father, as well as a most

pleasing compliment to his wife, when, on being asked by a friend
what he intended to do with his daughters, he replied: “I intend to
apprentice them to their mother, that they may become like her—
good wives, mothers, heads of families, and useful members of
society.”
A Learned Character.—“Give me ‘Venice Preserved,’” said a

gentleman, last week, on going to a celebrated bookseller’s at the
West-end. “We don’t sell preserves,” said an apprentice, newly-
imported from the country; “but you will get them next door, at Mr.
Brown’s, the confectioner.”
Ten To One.—Strict attention to office hours is a duty incumbent

upon every public officer. We heard of a case of an American consul,
in a foreign country, who was not remarkable for his attention to duty.
A gentleman, calling one day, found his office shut, and a label
sticking upon the door, with these words: “In from ten to one.” Having
called again several times within those hours, without finding him, he
wrote at the bottom of the label—“Ten to one he’s not in.”
To the Black-ey’d and Blue-ey’d Friends of
Robert Merry.
It is now about a twelvemonth since our acquaintance

commenced; and I hope the feeling is such between us, that there is
a mutual desire to continue it. I know that the young, the happy, and
the gay-hearted, are apt to think that we old fellows are sour and sad
—disposed to look with an evil eye upon childhood and its sports;
and more ready to preach than practise charity.
I will not pretend to deny that, now and then, a person gets cross
and crabbed as he grows old, and like cider too long kept, turns to
vinegar: but this is not my case, or, if it be, my ill-humor never
displays itself toward the young. They are to me the buds and
blossoms of life, and their presence ever brings the welcome
feelings that belong to sunshine and summer.
Old age has been often compared to winter—the close of the
year; the season of desolation; the period of storms and tempests;
the funeral-time of the vegetable world; the time when the leaves,
the fruits, and the flowers are laid in their tomb, and covered over
with a winding-sheet of snow. This is a sad picture at first view; and I
believe many a child is led to avoid old people from the habit of
regarding them in this light—from the idea that they are shrivelled,
frost-bitten, bitter, and disagreeable.
Now, I will not deny that there is some resemblance between
winter and old age: an old man has not the warm blood of youth; his
pulses are, perhaps, like the river, chilled and obstructed by ice; his
temper is sometimes capricious and gusty, like the winds of
December; and his head, bald, or covered with a few silvery hairs, is
like the oak, stripped of its covering, and having its boughs
powdered with snow.
All this may be true enough; but it is not good reason why the old
should be deserted by the young. I remember very well, that, when I
was a boy, there was a fine old walnut-tree, upon a hillside, not far
from where I lived. Now, I never thought or cared about this tree, till
the time when winter approached. Then, when the leaves were
scattered, the nuts were all ripe, then it was that the tree became an
object of interest to me. Then it was that I loved to visit it; to climb its
limbs and give it a shake, and hear the fruit rattle down like hail.
Never, in all my boyhood days, did I meet with anything more
delightful than this!
And let me tell you, my black-ey’d and blue-ey’d friends, that this
old walnut-tree was like many an old person you may meet with. You
will remark that, in this case, it was when winter had come, or was
near at hand, that the fruit was ripe, and ready for those who would
climb up for it and gather it. And let me tell you, that old people, like
this tree, have many a good nut to crack, many a good story to tell,
to those who will climb up in the lap and ask for it.
This is my view of the matter; and I hope that young people,
instead of running away from me, as a crusty, crabbed, one-legged
old chap, will treat me as I did the old walnut-tree—give it a shake,
and see if the nuts don’t rattle down!
I am not fond of making great promises; but, as I am anxious to
have my readers, who have set out on a journey with me, still keep
me company—at least for one year more—I am ready to engage to
do my best to please them. I shall, if I live, tell the rest of my own
story, and bring the history of Brusque to a close. The tale of the
Sable-Hunters, the travels of Thomas Trotter, the stories of the
Indians, will be continued and completed; and a variety of other
things are in store.
I can promise one thing more—and that is, some tales from the
pen of Peter Parley. That pleasant, kind-hearted old man is no more;
but I knew him better than anybody else, and all his papers are in my
hands. Among them are several tales, and I intend to publish them in
my magazine. My young readers, perhaps, do not know how
shabbily poor old Peter was treated. The fact was, that several
people in this country, as well as in others, wrote stories, and put his
name to them; thus pretending that they were actually his! Some of
these were very silly, and some were very improper. This cut Peter to
the heart, and it served greatly to shorten his days. I am sorry that,
even now, people are palming off trumpery works of their own as
Peter Parley’s.
But the tales that I propose to give, are genuine; there is no
mistake. They are by the same hand that wrote the tales about
Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; and I hope they may be as
acceptable as those were.
I return a thousand thanks to my many young friends, who have
written me letters, whether of criticism, advice, or commendation. I
am glad to know that so many of them like Bill Keeler: let them be
assured his whole story will come out in due time. I shall be very
glad to get the bear story, which L. S., of Vermont, offers to tell. The
Indiana legend of the Wolf and the Wild-cat, is received, and will
appear soon. Jane R—— will accept my thanks for—she knows
what! If she were not so many hundred miles off, I should ask her to
let me see whether she is a blue-eyed or black-eyed friend. The
basket of chestnuts were duly received from Alice D——, and were
very welcome. Ralph H—— will see that I have done as he
requested; I have given a portrait of the fine gray squirrel he sent
me, in this number. He is well, and as lively as ever.
Robert Merry.
WINTER—A SONG.
the words and music composed for
merry’s museum.
“Tell me what does winter mean!”

’Tis a drea-ry change of scene—
When the meadow yields its bloom,
And the blo-soms seek their tomb.
Winter is the time of storms,
When the cloud in angry forms,
O’er the land in terror sweeps,
And the sighing forest weeps.
’Tis the funeral time of flowers,
Withered in their lovely bowers;
While the zephyr sings in grief,
O’er each shrivelled stem and leaf.
’Tis the dreary time of snow,
Falling chill on all below,
As a winding-sheet it weaves
O’er the graves of myriad leaves.
Winter is a time of tears,

For the poor, in youth or years,—
Where the storm drives keenly in,
And the blanket’s brief and thin.
Winter is the time of wreck,
When the billow cleaves the deck,
And the mariners go down
Where the battling surges frown.
Transcriber’s Note:
This book was written in a period when many words had not
become standardized in their spelling. Words may have multiple
spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in the text. These
have been left unchanged unless indicated below. Obsolete and
alternative spellings were left unchanged. Misspelled words were not
corrected.
One Footnote was moved to the end of the chapter. Obvious
printing errors, such as backwards, upside down, or partially printed
letters and punctuation, were corrected. Final stops missing at the
end of sentences and abbreviations were added. Duplicate letters at
line endings or page breaks were removed. Quotation marks were
adjusted to common usage. Page numbers in the Table of Contents
were corrected to match book pages.
Links to audio files were added for music. The music files are the
music transcriber’s interpretation of the printed notation and are
placed in the public domain. At the time of this writing, music file
links will not work in mobile e-book formats like epub or Kindle/mobi.
Users who are reading the e-book in one of these formats can listen
to the music or download music files in the HTML version. Lyrics to
musical scores are presented as poetry following the illustration of
the music.
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Work Life Balance and Women s

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Claire Sophie Zerwas

Work-Life Balance and

ISSN 1431-1941 ISSN 2197-716X (electronic)

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Interest in the phenomenon of work-life balance has increased drastically among

and macro/meso environment—and guides the study of work-life balance in this

Koblenz, Germany Claire Sophie Zerwas

1 Introduction: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis of Entrepreneurs’

3 Research on Women Entrepreneurs’ Work-Life Balance . . . . . . . . . 77

24/7 Twenty-four seven

Fig. 1.1 Research process of the thesis (Author’s own ﬁgure) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Fig. 4.10 Percentage of transcripts to which a dimension has been

Table 2.1 Classiﬁcation of the articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

1.1 Entrepreneurship as an Advantage or Disadvantage

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1

In the context of women’s entrepreneurship, Jennings and McDougald (2007,

1.2 State of the Art of Research on Women’s

1.2.1 State of the Art of Research on Women’s

The research ﬁeld ‘women’s entrepreneurship’ has gained considerable attention in

1.2.2 State of the Art of Research on Work-Life Balance

1.2.3 Research Need in the Fields of Women’s

Women’s Entrepreneurship In recent years, women’s entrepreneurship has been

clarify how entrepreneurship affects the work-life balance of women entrepreneurs.

To answer this research question, a comprehensive understanding of women’s

literature on entrepreneurship and women’s entrepreneurship will be analyzed with

1.4 Research Approach

• Sample: Experts from academia and pracce

Fig. 1.1 Research process of the thesis (Author’s own ﬁgure)

The ﬁrst chapter, ‘Introduction: A Gender-Sensitive Analysis of Entrepreneurs’

December has come! Winter is here! These are common-place

The Word “Fast.”—This is as great a contradiction as we have in

Military Courtesy.—Gen. Meadows, equally renowned for his

A doctor, in Scotland, was employed by a poor man to attend

A Father’s Impulse.—When Lord Erskine made his debut at the

The Sublime.—Over the stall of a public writer, in Rue de Bac, at

Feeling for Another.—A Quaker, once hearing a person tell

A Knotty Case.—Not many years ago, a man appeared in court,

Good.—It was a judicious resolution of a father, as well as a most

A Learned Character.—“Give me ‘Venice Preserved,’” said a

Ten To One.—Strict attention to office hours is a duty incumbent

It is now about a twelvemonth since our acquaintance

“Tell me what does winter mean!”

Winter is a time of tears,

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