The role of female

entrepreneurs in a changing
society

Investigating a business field that has experienced rapid change during

the past decades.

BACHELOR THESIS WITHIN: Business Administration

NUMBER OF CREDITS: 15

PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Marketing Management

AUTHOR: Fanny Lange Edman & Liisa Punkari

TUTOR: Jasna Pocek

JÖNKÖPING 05/2021
Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration
Title: The role of female entrepreneurs in a changing society - Investigating a business field that
has experienced rapid change during the past decades.

Authors: Fanny Lange Edman & Liisa Punkari

Tutor: Jasna Pocek

Date: 2020-05-23

Keywords: female entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship, development, societal change.

Abstract
Background: Female entrepreneurship has been through a big upswing during the past decades.
More women are deciding to start their own business and engage in the business creation world,
which is proven to be one of the most important and fast-growing aspects of entrepreneurship
worldwide. However, in the past, females who made such decisions have faced many obstacles
and resistance in terms of treatment, financial support and combining working and family life.
Further, previous research regarding female entrepreneurship and its correlation to societal change
proves that the progression is affected by external factors such as governmental institutions,
attitudes and fundamental assets (first developed by Baumol in 1990).

Purpose: By identifying certain rapid changes that society has been through during the past
decades, the purpose of this study is to highlight what these developments mean for female
entrepreneurs and their current role in a changing society.

Method: This is a qualitative research based on an inductive approach where semi-structured

interviews are the foundation of its empirical findings. The method has adopted the Gioia (2012)
method with the purpose of identifying patterns and themes that can generate useful conclusions
on the chosen topic.

Conclusion: The findings show that digitalization and technology have been two of the most
significant changes in society during the past decades. These have generated more role models,
new social networks, better communication and new entrepreneurial fields - all promoting the
growth of female entrepreneurship. Combining work and family life seem to be primarily an
obstacle and it is no longer a huge disadvantage to be a female when starting a new business. Its
developments have resulted in new advantages for investments and gaining opportunities, as well
as new entrepreneurial fields.

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 Acknowledgements

First and foremost, we would like to give our deepest gratitude to our tutor Jasna Pocek for her
many suggestions, implications and encouragement throughout the whole process. Without her
guidance and belief in us and our work, the results would not have been the same.

Secondly, we want to say thank you to all participants for their investments of time to the
interviews. Every single one of you have provided our thesis with the most important content of
all - your personal experiences and opinions.

Lastly, we would like to share our appreciation with everyone involved in the process of the
thesis; opponent groups, tutors, Jönköping University and family, who all have been a part of this
journey.

Fanny Lange Edman Liisa Punkari

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Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................................... 6

1.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

1.2 PROBLEM ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.3 PURPOSE .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.4 DELIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 8
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION .............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
1.6 DEFINITIONS OF MAIN CONCEPTS ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

2. FRAME OF REFERENCE ...................................................................................................................................................... 9

2.1 METHOD ..................................................................................................................................................................................................10

2.2 THE RULES OF THE GAME ....................................................................................................................................................................10
2.3 EVOLUTION OF FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP .................................................................................................................................12
2.4 MOTIVES ..................................................................................................................................................................................................13
2.5 OBSTACLES ..............................................................................................................................................................................................14
2.6 SUCCESS FACTORS..................................................................................................................................................................................15
2.7 FEMALE ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN DIFFERENT CONTEXTS ..............................................................................................................15
2.8 FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS IN SWEDEN .............................................................................................................................................17
2.9 SOCIETAL CHANGE .................................................................................................................................................................................17
2.9.1 Digitalization ............................................................................................................................................................................. 17
2.9.1.1 Social networks ..................................................................................................................................................................... 19
2.9.2 Equal rights ................................................................................................................................................................................ 19
2.9.3 Family structure ....................................................................................................................................................................... 20
2.10 SUMMARY OF FRAME OF REFERENCE .............................................................................................................................................20

3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................................................. 22

3.1 RESEARCH PARADIGM ...........................................................................................................................................................................22

3.2 RESEARCH APPROACH ..........................................................................................................................................................................23
3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................................................................................................23
3.4 METHOD ..................................................................................................................................................................................................25
3.4.1 Data Collection.......................................................................................................................................................................... 25
3.5 DATA ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................................................................................................29
3.6 ETHICS ......................................................................................................................................................................................................30
3.6.1 Anonymity and Confidentiality .......................................................................................................................................... 30
3.6.2 Credibility .................................................................................................................................................................................... 30
3.6.3 Confirmability............................................................................................................................................................................ 31

4. EMPIRICAL FINDINGS ....................................................................................................................................................... 31

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 4.1 SOCIETAL CHANGE .................................................................................................................................................................................32
4.1.1 Technology .................................................................................................................................................................................. 32
4.1.2 Digitalization ............................................................................................................................................................................. 32
4.2 MOTIVATION ...........................................................................................................................................................................................34
4.2.1 Pull-factors ................................................................................................................................................................................. 34
4.2.2 Control .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
4.3 OBSTACLES ..............................................................................................................................................................................................35
4.3.1 External ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 35
4.3.2 Internal ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 36
4.4 FAMILY LIFE ............................................................................................................................................................................................36
4.4.1 Challenge ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 36
4.4.2 Superwoman .............................................................................................................................................................................. 38
4.5 ATTITUDES ..............................................................................................................................................................................................38
4.5.1 Negative ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 38
4.5.2 Advantages ................................................................................................................................................................................. 39

5. ANALYSIS............................................................................................................................................................................... 41

5.1 SOCIETAL CHANGE .................................................................................................................................................................................41

5.2 MOTIVATION ...........................................................................................................................................................................................42
5.3 OBSTACLES ..............................................................................................................................................................................................43
5.4 FAMILY LIFE ............................................................................................................................................................................................44
5.5 ATTITUDES ..............................................................................................................................................................................................44

6. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................................ 45

7. DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................................................................... 47

7.1 CONTRIBUTIONS .....................................................................................................................................................................................47

7.2 PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS ...................................................................................................................................................................47
7.3 LIMITATIONS ...........................................................................................................................................................................................48
7.4 CRITICAL REFLECTION ...........................................................................................................................................................................48
7.5 FUTURE RESEARCH ................................................................................................................................................................................49

9. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................................ 50

10.APPENDICES ....................................................................................................................................................................... 58

10.1 APPENDIX 1 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................58

10.2 APPENDIX 2 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................60

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Tables and Figures

TABLE 1: INTERVIEWS TABLE...........................................................................................................................................................................28

FIGURE 1: DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................................................................32

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1. Introduction

This chapter aims at introducing background knowledge and previous findings on the current
and historical state on the field of female entrepreneurship. It is followed by an outline of the
problem formulation, purpose statement and research question of this study.

1.1 Background

As research shows, female-owned innovations and business are one of the most important and
fast-growing aspects of entrepreneurship worldwide (Brush & Cooper, 2012). It is also one of the
societal elements that creates wealth, economic welfare, employment and change in societies
(Brush & Cooper, 2012). Despite its significance, many argue that the subject is understudied,
and estimations show that only 10% of all research regarding entrepreneurship concerns the
female field (Brush & Cooper, 2012). In Sweden, approximately 23% of all businesses are run
by women and 33% of new start-ups are run by women (Swedish Agency for Economic and
Regional Growth, 2012). Yet, the country - and most other Scandinavian countries - are ranked
in top of the most gender equal countries in the world (Grunfeld et al., 2020).

When looking historically at entrepreneurship and its correlation to societal change, one can find
that societies have had different levels of development when it comes to inventions and
developing processes, especially discussed by William J. Baumol (1990) and his theory
concerning the impact of institutional factors on entrepreneurial development. Therefore, this
research assumes that environmental factors have an impact on entrepreneurship and its
significance. What this paper aims at researching is the angle of societal factors in regard to
female entrepreneurship. The motivation for choosing the given field of study emerged based on
the lack of research (Minniti and Naudé, 2010) as well as the notice of many global developments
during the past decades.

“The role of female entrepreneurs in a changing society”. This question will be investigated
through a qualitative study that has primarily adopted an inductive approach yet has a somewhat
deductive reasoning as well since the research is based on the acceptance of the theory of Baumol
(1990). It will investigate female entrepreneurs and their experience of starting a business during
the past three decades - from 1990 to 2020 - and the data gathered will be analyzed through the
approach of Gioia (2012).

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1.2 Problem

In previous research, a wide range of female entrepreneurial-related topics have been explored;
motivational drivers, personal characteristics and obstacles for starting own businesses to name
a few (Minniti & Naudé, 2010; Lee & Stearns, 2012). However, personal characteristics are
proven not to be the only determining factor in terms of entrepreneurial spread, environmental
factors also play a crucial role (Baumol, 1990; Mustapha & Subramaniam, 2016; Lee & Stearns,
2012). The rate of female entrepreneurs has seen a rise during the past decades (Ferreira dos
Santos et al., 2019), and due to the many global developments in terms of inventions, as well as
social structures, it is interesting to further investigate their relationship to female
entrepreneurship. Hence, if accepting the theory that entrepreneurial activity is dependent on
environmental factors and institutions (Baumol, 1990), then it should be further investigated what
these are at a present state. According to Brush and Cooper (2012), entrepreneurs create social
change with their new inventions and systems, but how does society affect entrepreneurs? And
more specifically, how has it affected the role of female entrepreneurs in a changing society?

1.3 Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate how society and societal change affects female
entrepreneurship on the Swedish market. By doing so, the aim is to gain a deeper understanding
of the conditions for female entrepreneurs and their perceptions of their situation today.
Additionally, this research will put its main focus on Swedish female entrepreneurs who have
either created their own business from scratch or are currently leading and owning a business.

Society today is under constant change and has gone through many phases during the past
decades, such as digitalization, globalization and equal rights movements (Vinopal, 2019).
Therefore, this research is hoping to contribute with new insightful knowledge to a very relevant
problem. Also, the expectation is to open up for further investigations on the subject that up until
today seem to lack a great bit of knowledge (Minniti and Naudé, 2010).

The findings of this study are expected to show personal insights, experiences and knowledge
about the development of female entrepreneurship in Sweden. By interviewing female
entrepreneurs, themselves, the study hopes to gather as specific insights as possible, to be able to
analyze why and how the development of female entrepreneurship has been affected by society.

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1.4 Delimitations

Scope. This research focuses on female entrepreneurship in Sweden and only in Sweden, a choice
based on a need of limited resources, mostly time and capacity. Focusing on one market has been
necessary in order to be able to cope with the timeline of this research. One further limitational
factor is that not all segments and industries of entrepreneurs will be presented, the same goes for
age being represented. Since the selection of the participants was mainly done by “convenience
sampling” according to their availability, the industries they operate in, as well as age range were
random to the authors. Hence, the findings can therefore not be applied to the whole market of
Sweden since it is not fully represented when collecting the data.

Sample. The females chosen to participate in the interviews were selected by taking a subset of
the population, with a convenience sampling method. Applying a convenience sample was made
intentionally, also with the purpose of matching the timeframe and limitations of this research.

Time frame. The research has adopted a limited time frame of approximately 30 years when
referring to societal change. This choice was made based on the motivation of investigating
“recent” change. Also, since the findings are based on interviews with current entrepreneurs,
applying a suitable time frame based on their age was needed.

Findings. What should also be mentioned is the choice of investigating the female field of
entrepreneurship. This research does not state that the findings are only applicable or limited to
females only. However, it was chosen because it is seen as a separate field of entrepreneurship
that can be studied individually. As a suggestion, the reader should have in mind that investigating
entrepreneurship and female entrepreneurs is a complex subject.

Conclusion. Just like previous research suggests, it is not only societal aspects that play a role in
entrepreneurial behavior, also personal character, background and personal conditions have
impact (Grunfeld et al., 2020). Therefore, this research does not imply that the findings are the
only components for explaining how female entrepreneurship function.

1.5 Research Question

Q1: The role of female entrepreneurs in a changing society: Investigating a business field that
has experienced rapid change during the past decades.

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The research question is based on the acceptance that environmental and institutional factors do
have an impact on entrepreneurial activity, which was first developed by Baumol (1990) and later
adopted by several researchers such as Estrin & Mickiewicz (2011), Klyver, Nielsen & Evald
(2013) and Bruin (2014). Hence, it is interesting to investigate what these influential
developments are. Thus, the research gap that is trying to be filled is the relationship between
recent societal developments and the current female conditions. The aim is to investigate what
specific factors that have had a significance on their standpoint in the entrepreneurial market.

1.6 Definitions of Main Concepts

Entrepreneur - An entrepreneur is someone who has the capability to enforce new opportunities.
It is a creator of a new business who faces uncertainty and takes risks (Batool & Ullah, 2017).
“An entrepreneur is a person who starts a business with a goal to perform an income-generating
activity” (Grunfeld et al., 2020).

Societal change - By societal changes, it refers to changes that have happened in society in the
past 30 years. These changes are happenings that have had an impact on the greater part of a
society and not only a few. Examples of such changes are technology, feminism, digitalization
and politics.

Past decades - In this study, “past decade” refers to the time between 1990 and 2020 or close to
it. This timeframe has been chosen due to the timing of changes in society.

2. Frame of Reference

This chapter will introduce relevant concepts, theory, and previous findings in order to develop
a fully conceptual framework that contributes to the foundation for empirical findings and
analysis. First, an explanation of how the framework was conducted will be presented, followed
by an outline of the theory of Baumol (1990), the evolution of female entrepreneurship, motives,
obstacles, success factors, female entrepreneurs in Sweden and lastly a review of the concept of
societal change.

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2.1 Method

With the purpose of introducing previous research and knowledge about the chosen field, a
thoroughly theoretical framework has been adopted. In order to ensure a structured and insightful
exposition, the frame of reference has been divided into subcategories with its own rubrics. The
aim of conducting an extensive body of literature is to capture and prepare the reviewer of what
has already been found on the subject, how it has been researched and what potential gaps there
might be, which can set a foundation for the research purpose (Hart, 2018). Hart (2018) also says
that reviews of applied literature is important because it shows that the authors possess insight on
previous research, its main theories as well as being somewhat critical towards previous findings.

This review has chosen the following key topics: The theory of Baumol, Evolution of female
entrepreneurship, Motives/Obstacles/Success factors for female entrepreneurs and Societal
change and its impact on female entrepreneurship.

The sources chosen for this study have been carefully selected based on publicist, relevance,
credibility and trustworthiness. Primarily, the most essential theories have been selected based
on their appearance in the ABS Journal 2018 which are journals being ranked based on quality
and impact significance. The journals are ranked from 1-4 where 4 is the highest value. Most of
the journals being used in this review lies between 3 and 4 in the ranking list. Two additional
sources for the frame of reference have been Primo and Google Scholar where most articles have
been peer-reviewed to ensure high quality. In terms of relevance of publication, the authors have
tried to find recent published articles, however, in some cases older articles have also been used
since they were considered relevant and not many newer findings have been found in the same
subject. To ensure the slightly older sources were trustworthy, the authors ensured that they had
been cited by several and that the authors were established.

In total, 27 articles were carefully reviewed and analyzed in order to get an overview of the topic
and to identify the research gap. The articles used were published between 1990 to 2020 and with
this timeframe, the authors got a wide overview of the development of female entrepreneurship.

2.2 The Rules of the Game

In research concerning entrepreneurship and its correlation to society, one of the most used and
accepted theories may be the one by William J. Baumol (1990) and his paper on
“Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive, and Destructive”. It has been published many
times by several journals, proving its relevance and importance in the subject. According to
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Baumol (1990), every society has its own share of entrepreneurs. However, the level of their
significance and use of energy depends upon something he calls “rules of the game”, meaning
the institutions of a society. He claims that depending on which society, entrepreneurs are given
certain conditions due to its institutional factors, and he examines why some societies are more
affected by entrepreneurial development than others.

Baumol (1990) proposes that the entrepreneurs always play a certain role for their society,
although the extent of those roles, and the types of roles, may vary. This leads to entrepreneurs'
efforts and contribution may not even be positive, rather destructive to its society and economy.
The name of the paper says “Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive, and Destructive” and
is referring to the different types of entrepreneurs and their contribution to its society. He says
that they are either productive, implying being innovative and contributory. The less contributory
entrepreneurs of a society are referred to as unproductive, meaning that their work is either
positive or negative, he says their activities have “questionable value to society” such as
organized crime or rent seekers. Moreover, the destructive part of entrepreneurs he claims are
those where negative affect is done to society, through their entrepreneurial activities. What
activities they choose to engage in is determined by institutional guidance (Baumol, 1990).

Other researchers (Minniti & Nardone, 2007; Estrin & Mickiewicz, 2011; Klyver, Nielsen &
Evald, 2013; Welter, Brush & De Bruin, 2014) show a strong link to Baumol’s (1990) rules of
the game and female entrepreneurship. Minniti & Nardone (2007) did research about the role of
gender in nascent entrepreneurship. Their research investigated the socio-economic
characteristics, employment status, finance and other determinants which might have an impact
on an individual’s decision to become an entrepreneur. Their study found that employed
individuals, both men and women are more likely to start a business and become an entrepreneur.
In addition, other scholars agreed and found that opportunity recognition, self-confidence and
networking to other entrepreneurs are the most important drivers to entrepreneurship. However,
Minniti & Nardone (2007) rely on Baumol’s (1990) perception about the quality and quantity of
entrepreneurship, and as a final result, they found that the quality and quantity of entrepreneurship
will vary depending on the different levels of per capita income, growth potential, and economic
freedom (Minniti & Nardone, 2007).

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Estrin & Mickiewicz (2011) did research where they compared the impact of institutions on men
and women’s decisions to start a new business. Since the research was built around institutions,
Baumol’s (1990) theory about institutions and female entrepreneurship plays a crucial role. The
results indicate that institutional components of discrimination against women makes it less likely
for women to start a business and jump into entrepreneurial aspirations (Estrin & Mickiewicz,
2011). Klyver, Nielsen & Evald (2013) investigated the scope to which gender equality affects a
female's choice to start a business and if this choice is dependent on the country's development
stage and industries. The study found that self-employment choice is associated with the
country’s development stage and industries. However, Welter, Brush and De Bruin (2014) did a
study about entrepreneurship, when and where it happens, in terms of gender, social networks,
family and household. They found that entrepreneurial behavior is heavily gendered because of
the institutions. Those institutions accept gender norms that force women into a specific industry
or business sizes.

2.3 Evolution of Female Entrepreneurship

The evolution of female entrepreneurship has changed during time, and so has the position of
women in society. The number of female entrepreneurs and their contribution to society are of
high importance, and it will continue to grow (Ramadani, 2015). However, it is vital to understand
the importance of genders in society and especially, to understand the input females bring to
entrepreneurial activities.

Women around the world got a voting right in the early 1900 century (Yuval-Davis, 1997). The
voting right was the first real step towards a gender equal world, yet complete gender equality
has not been reached. In 1905, the world’s first female entrepreneur made her breakthrough in an
entrepreneurial field (Michals, 2015). Attitudes and assumptions towards female entrepreneurs
changed during the following years (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019) and in the early 20th century,
women achieved civil and political rights by providing them access to education (Ferreira dos
Santos et al., 2019). This, and many more happenings were a huge step towards a more gender-
equal world. Female entrepreneurship started to rise in the mid-80s’ when people started to be
more aware of the possibilities women in general and female entrepreneurs could provide. Thus,
they were still viewed differently because of their gender (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019).

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In addition, the relationship between male and female entrepreneurs has been argued a lot and
during the years, feminism and societal standards have shaped the idea of female entrepreneurs
(Lee & Stearns, 2012). Every country has its own ratio for entrepreneurs and the number of
female entrepreneurs differs a lot; depending on the social structure, culture, customs and
technology (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019). As Ferreira dos Santos et al., (2019) stated, the
evolution of female entrepreneurs demonstrates the relationship between females and society as
a whole. The lack of social credibility and acceptance by others, causes a fear to open criticism
and pressure (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019). However, even with the advancement and
development of female entrepreneurship, women will face challenges in their entrepreneurial
career now and in the future.

2.4 Motives

The phenomenon behind women entrepreneurship is complex and besides the general factors like
age, gender and race - there are multiple determinants why people choose to become
entrepreneurs (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019).

Many studies indicate that females are either “pushed” by negative experience or “pulled” by
positive opportunity when starting a business (Lee & Stearns, 2012). Several studies highlight
the importance of freedom of choice (Rey-Marti, Porcar & Mas-Tur, 2015; Gill & Ganesh, 2007),
such as freedom to become your own boss, freedom to decide when to work and freedom to take
risks. Many female entrepreneurs are motivated by the freedom of doing things in their own way
(Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019). In modern working life, people are used to working a nine-to-
five job, where following the schedule and respecting the authority is of high importance.
However, some are instead scared of the freedom that being an entrepreneur will offer (Mustapha
& Subramaniam, 2016). As Stevenson (1990) stated, human beings are driven by social and
cultural dimensions. Those dimensions determine who in society becomes an entrepreneur. Thus,
the entrepreneurial mind is driven by personhood, which emphasizes freedom of choice,
autonomy and responsibility (Gill & Ganesh, 2007). When taking into account the fact that
women will face more interruptions in their career, such as maternity leave e.g., being an
entrepreneur can somewhat offer freedom of flexibility.

Finally, as stated in several studies (Ascher, 2012; Walker & Webster, 2006), push- and pull
factors play an important role when females are starting their entrepreneurial path. In many cases,
females are frustrated or dissatisfied in their current job, which pushes them to start a new venture
by themselves (Walker & Webster, 2006).
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As Ascher (2012) proposed in his study, entrepreneurship is more common in low-income
countries which have a high birth-rate. This creates a contradiction, since the perception is that
the more kids you have, the harder it is to become an entrepreneur. However, many studies
(Kevane & Wydick, 2001; Huarng, Mas-Tur & Hui-Kuang Yu, 2012; Akehurst, Simarro & Mas‐
Tur, 2012) indicate that having a family and kids will have a negative impact on female
entrepreneurship. Hence, having a family in combination with being an entrepreneur is both one
of the main reasons to start your own business as well as one reason for not doing so.

It is said that female entrepreneurs tend to have a higher educational level than males in the same
industry (Huarng, Mas-Tur, & Hui-Kuang Yu, 2012; Rey-Marti, Porcar, & Mas-Tur, 2015). As
Reynolds et al. (2002) proposed, there is a strong connection between education and
entrepreneurial success. When women start their own business, they tend to seek opportunities
and create ones for other females (Gill & Ganesh, 2007). However, in the future, there should be
a strong focus on entrepreneurship education with a mindset that every entrepreneur is a job
creator rather than a job seeker (Mustapha & Subramaniam, 2016).

2.5 Obstacles

As Ascher (2012) stated, every female entrepreneur will face obstacles during their journey to
self-employment and these obstacles are universal and similar regardless of the country. These
obstacles can, for example, be divided into individual factors or business factors based on the
issue (Asli & Nour, 2018). Personal factors like fear of failure, stress and hard work are common
barriers female entrepreneurs face (Mustapha & Subramaniam, 2016).

Financial capital is vital in the entrepreneurial process. Many studies (Gill & Ganesh, 2007;
Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019) indicate that females experience financial discrimination from
the banks and therefore are less likely to get external financing. Both studies connected the lack
of financial support straight to the fact that they are women (Gill & Ganesh, 2007; Ferreira dos
Santos et al., 2019). Besides that, women who start a business alone, tend to have more difficulties
getting financing for their businesses. As Cowling & Taylor (2001) and Anna et al., (2000) found,
it is proven that women tend to face discrimination in wage, thus, also experience discrimination
in their position in the workplace. And as stated, men are more likely to get bigger wages and
stand in a leading position even if a woman has the exact same education (Cowling & Taylor,
2001).

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As Ferreira dos Santos et al., (2019) found in their study, many female entrepreneurs have a
family or run a family-owned business. However, the biggest barrier to start a business is related
to the difficulty in balancing family and working life (Ferreira dos Santos et al. 2019).
Additionally, family is both, the biggest reason for women to start a business, but also, the biggest
obstacle for not starting one. As stated by Ferreira dos Santos et al., (2019) the lack of credibility
by society and the fear of criticism will prevent females from starting their own business.

2.6 Success Factors

Success can be defined in many ways. It can be measured in revenue, profit or by the number of
customers, however, everyone defines the term “success” in their own way but in many cases,
success is connected to wealth and prestige (Dyke & Murphy, 2006). Therefore, measuring
success is controversial because there is no concrete measure for it (Batool & Ullah, 2017). As
Mustapha & Subramaniam (2016) and Lee & Stearns (2012) stated, internal motivations (skills,
good characteristics, education, want or need) and environmental factors (government support,
political demands) play the key role in the success of female entrepreneurs. However, success
can be measured by the factors that lead to success e.g., with motivations and reasons (Batool &
Ullah, 2017). Batool & Ullah (2017) found in their study that motivation played the most
significant factor when measuring the success of female entrepreneurs. Another important aspect
was personality traits such as skills and education as well as creativity and lastly, access to
finance.

Grunfeld et al., (2018) found that females tend to operate in businesses that are directed to the
following sectors: personal service, health care, education, arts, entertainment & recreation,
accommodation and food. However, the industry they operate is not connected straight to the
success of an entrepreneur.

2.7 Female Entrepreneurship in Different Contexts

Research shows that the development rate of ventures created by females is way higher compared
to men in the United States (Minniti & Naudé, 2010). Despite this trend, which can be found in
several places around the world, the total share of entrepreneurs who are female is significantly
lower (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019). The answer has been argued by many. However, it is
safe to say that the answer is multidimensional and complex. Female entrepreneurship should not
be seen as a single concept functioning in the same way all over the world. Culture and societal
rules play a significant role and may look different in different countries. As Minniti and Naudé

15
(2010) also mention in their study, political and social status has changed dramatically for females
across the globe during the past 30 years. This has also contributed to an increase in research
about the subject, even though they refer to it as “vastly understudied”.

According to Ferreira dos Santos et al., (2019), besides certain characteristics that are connected
to female entrepreneurship in different contexts such as public policy, culture, economic- and
technological development, there are some characteristics that are the same no matter the context.
Some of these are risk aversion, preferring small businesses, being capitalized by venture
financing, and starting their business relatively late (in comparison to men). The authors also state
that despite the development and upsloping curve of female entrepreneurship, they are still facing
some challenges when it comes to combining their professional life with the tasks at home that
have traditionally been performed in majority by women. In addition, women also have the need
for improvement in terms of knowledge in finance, science, technology and marketing (Ferreira
dos Santos et al., 2019). Furthermore, the standing obstacle of gender inequality is also something
that has a significant impact on the limitations of female success and access of resources, along
with the insecurity and vulnerability coming from this fact. In the area of personal awareness,
women in some extent lack self-confidence as well as self-esteem (Ferreira dos Santos et al.,
2019). In conclusion, the authors state that there is a real correlation between cultural dimensions
of social awareness, institutional collectivism, gender equality and women’s empowerment.

While female business owners and venture creators are constantly increasing due to higher
equality standards across the globe, historically the entrepreneurial field has always been male
dominated (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019). According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
(GEM) report 2019/2020, the relationship between male and female entrepreneurs varies between
regions and age. The highest rate of female entrepreneurship is found in Saudi Arabia,
Madagascar, Qatar and Brazil. On the contrary, Pakistan, Japan, North Macedonia and Norway
are the countries with lowest rates of female entrepreneurs. As Achtenhagen & Tillmar (2013)
found, female entrepreneurs adjust their businesses according to their family situations and
therefore prioritize their time differently. However, entrepreneurial activities and starting a
business offer flexibility and freedom to combine family life and work (Kovalainen & Arenius,
2006). What has also been noted is that women tend to start business later in life than men,
because it is more reasonable to have a stable job and income while on maternity leave (Yadav
& Unni, 2016).

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2.8 Female Entrepreneurs in Sweden

Female entrepreneurship in Sweden is a phenomenon which raises continuum attention in the

Swedish business environment since it has seen a growth during the past decades (Isaakidis &
Mouresioti, 2020). As stated in the European Institute For Gender Equality (2020) study, Sweden
is ranked as number one in the EU in gender equality, yet, females get notably less recognition
in the entrepreneurial field. However, it is not a surprise that similar patterns emerge in other
gender equal countries. As statistics show, Swedish females stand for 23% of the ones who
manage and run a business and 33% of the ones who start and create ventures and start-ups are
women (Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, 2012). Hence, the female
proportion is still under-represented in society even though it has increased over time.

According to Statistiska Centralbyrån (2017), one fourth of all females who start their own
business are also employed at the same time and this is most likely because it is less economically
risky. The statistics shows that in comparison to men, where less than one fifth had an
employment at the same time, females are more likely to take the risk of starting a business, and
it is also proven that female entrepreneurs in Sweden run small businesses. In 70% of the cases,
they had zero employees, as in comparison to men where the corresponding share was 56%
(Statistiska Centralbyrån, 2017). According to the same study, it was less likely to have a higher
degree education as an entrepreneur compared to being employed, this goes for both men and
women (31% and 47%). Hence, female entrepreneurs are usually more likely to be educated than
male entrepreneurs (Statistiska Centralbyrån, 2017).

2.9 Societal Change

By societal change, the authors refer to the changes that have happened in society during the past
30 years, between 1990 and 2020 (approximately). These changes are happenings that have had
an impact on the greater part of a society. In order to get a realistic overview of what social change
means, referring to the Oxford dictionary, social change means “A change in the customs,
institutions, or culture of a society, especially due to ideological or technological factors; also, as
a mass noun.” In order to get a fair understanding of some social developments that have occurred
during the past decades, some of these will be presented as examples below.

2.9.1 Digitalization

The era of computers, digitization and digital platforms allow a lot of freedom to practice
entrepreneurship (Della Giusta et al., 2019). Both men and females nowadays are benefiting from

17
the flexibility of where, when and how to work. As Autio (2017) stated, digitalization shapes the
entrepreneurial opportunities in the economy, thus, helps to practice those opportunities. Since
the world is turning to be more digital, it opens a lot of opportunities to both entrepreneurs but
also entrepreneurship researchers, and it is important to be aware of those connections and
identify the opportunities (Kraus et al., 2018).

As Kraus et al., (2018) stated, storing, computing, and searching for information is becoming
easier and more flexible because the cloud services are evolving and transforming the internet to
be more Internet Of things (IoT). Digitalization is not only affecting individuals - but rather
human beings also overall and can have a huge impact on business models. Every company that
has entrepreneurial activities in a digital form can be referred to as digital entrepreneurship (Kraus
et al., 2018). While digital entrepreneurship is evolving and technologies like 3D-printing, big
data, social media, and open-source software are arising, new technologies can be seen as job
creators (Sahut et al., 2019). Nevertheless, information and communication technology guides
digital entrepreneurship and therefore plays a big role in digital entrepreneurial activities. As
Sahut et al. (2019) mentioned, information and communication technology work as a facilitator
by helping start-ups to operate; as a mediator for the operation of the new venture; as an outcome
for entrepreneurial activities and lastly, as a ubiquitous tool to enable new business models in a
digital form. Hence, this research is investigating female entrepreneurship between 1990 and
2020, it is important to take into account that digitalization has taken a huge step forward since
1990.

Digitalization and digital technology have shaped working culture - it has given us flexibility,
which blurs the lines between work and free time (Rajahonka & Villman, 2019). It is found that
females who use mobile phones to plan the day also manage and schedule their family affairs
more effectively while working (Rajahonka & Villman, 2019). As Mölsä (2018) stated,
digitization and digital platforms give us a huge advantage when networking.

As digitalization is moving forward, so is communication. We communicate with others with

facial expressions, by talking, with our body language, and, sometimes not saying a word is a
sign of communication (Adejimola, 2008). Nonetheless, we communicate through phone,
internet, letter, email or face-to-face, the ways are limitless. As Adejimola (2008) stated,
entrepreneurs need a form of communication in order to link people together into business
activities, and without doing this, they cannot succeed. However, effective communication in any
business is important especially in decision-making.
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2.9.1.1 Social networks

As Grunfeld et al., (2020) found, social networks play a crucial role when starting a business, and
it is highlighted to be more important in female entrepreneurship. Role models and close
relationships with other females who have started their own business has a positive impact on
starting a new business (Grunfeld et al., 2020) and entrepreneurs constantly seek potential
relations to the same interest or experience in order to get guidance from others (Greve & Salaff,
2003). This is due to the fact that female entrepreneurs need a social network in order to succeed
(Greve & Salaff, 2003).

Social networking can be defined as an individual's ability to gain social resources and benefits
from social structure (Xie & Lv, 2016). As Xie & Lv (2016) stated, with a strong external social
network, female entrepreneurs can obtain valuable recognition and trust from other business
partners. However, social networks are important regardless of gender and are an important asset
when starting a new venture. Social networks work as a guideline for a new beginner, but also
helps to find information and confirmation for what you are doing (Grunfeld et al., 2020).
However, it can be much more than only stakeholders, co-founders or co-partners. Social
networks can refer to family, and especially the strong tie entrepreneurs have to their families.
As Greve & Salaff (2003) pointed out, entrepreneurs are more likely to have parents who are
entrepreneurs and at the beginning of their journey they are most likely to take advantage of this
and get help and feedback straight from the family (Greve & Salaff, 2003).

2.9.2 Equal rights

As many other social developments, equal rights are also something that has not happened over
night. History shows that equality can be construed as a “right to be equal” or “right to be
different” (Guerrina, 2001). However, the rights of being a woman or man should be the same in
the working-life. Nevertheless, it is still a fact that women earn less money than men in the labor
market (Lalive & Stutzer, 2010).

Many big movements - like feminism - have had an impact on the development of society. Many
recent movements have taken a place in society and therefore the attitudes have changed. For
instance, “MeToo” campaign in the world and “Tystnad tagning” in Sweden. Both of the
movements have made people realize that behaviors and attitudes against women need to change
in order to achieve equality.

19
As Grunfeld et al., (2020) stated, Nordic countries are seen as a forerunner on gender equality
with a high percentage of female entrepreneurs taking part in labor markets. Thus, from many
countries, Sweden has been called an equal welfare society (Molina, 2020). Equal rights are at
least almost the same for men and women in Sweden. Nowadays, men can have long parental
leave just like women, and it is not unusual for men to take care of the children and household
while the mom is working. As Bennhold (2010) stated, in order to achieve equality by society,
equality needs to be achieved at home. Despite high rates of equality in a country like Sweden, it
is not applicable on the division of male and female entrepreneurs.

2.9.3 Family structure

The structure and framework of families have evolved based on social conditions and influenced
the family dynamic over time (Gambheera, 2016). In western countries, the occurrence of the
“modern family” has been observed since the beginning of the industrial era which in
combination with modernization has led to a more independent individualistic structure that is
less traditional (Gambheera, 2016). According to the author, a traditional family structure is more
common among developing countries, while the modern family structure has a greater extent in
developed countries. As Bianchi and Milkie (2010) suggest, the family dynamic in terms of child-
care and overall participation has changed during the 21st century. Research by Perry-Jenkins &
Gerstel (2020) shows that the hours women spend on taking care of the home have been reduced
while the time spent in the home by men have increased. However, despite this trend, women -
employed or not - still spend significantly more time on home-related tasks than men (Bianchi &
Milkie, 2010). Therefore, family structure and culture still play an important role even though the
increase of females working full-time jobs is evident. They explain that this pattern has its roots
in early ages with unequal divisions of housework between sons and daughters.

Another important aspect in terms of development in family structure is parental leave. In

Sweden, parents have the right to over a year of parental allowance (compensation) where both
the mom and the dad have the right to 60 days each. This makes Sweden the country in
Scandinavia providing most flexibility and most rights in terms of gender equality between
parents (Valdimarsdóttir, 2005).

2.10 Summary of Frame of Reference

In conclusion, Baumol’s (1990) theory about entrepreneurship and society still plays an important
role when examining female entrepreneurs and their position in society. However, women's place

20
in society has changed during times and decades. In the twentieth century women achieved
political and civil rights and got access to education (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019). This was
a huge step closer to a more gender equal world. However, many internal and external factors
have a significant impact when starting a business as well. As previous research found, (Ascher,
2012; Walker & Webster, 2006; Stevenson, 1990) besides push- and pull factors, humans are
driven by social and cultural dimensions and these dimensions help to determine who in society
is more likely to become an entrepreneur. Different motivations, external and internal, drives the
decision to start a business. However, there are still barriers to start a business, and as previous
studies found, (Kevane & Wydick, 2001; Huarng, Mas-Tur & Hui-Kuang Yu, 2012; Akehurst,
Simarro & Mas‐Tur, 2012) having a family and children will have a negative impact on
entrepreneurship and especially female entrepreneurs tend to prioritize their time differently
when having children (Achtenhagen & Tillmar, 2013). Thus, Batool & Ullah (2017) found that
motivation plays the most significant role when measuring the success of female entrepreneurs.
However, success can be measured in many ways and in most cases, success is connected to
wealth and prestige (Dyke & Murphy, 2006). As stated, previous research (Baumol, 1990;
Ascher, 2012; Walker & Webster, 2006; Stevenson, 1990; Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019;
Kevane & Wydick, 2001; Huarng, Mas-Tur & Hui-Kuang Yu, 2012; Akehurst, Simarro & Mas‐
Tur, 2012) shows that there are many reasons, motivations, barriers, success factors and theories
about female entrepreneurship and how different factors have had an impact on entrepreneurs.

Alexandre & Kharabsheh (2019) suggested for future research; “the attitudes held towards risk
and the balance between family and professional life.” Another interesting suggestion for future
research is made by Brush & Cooper (2012): “An important question is whether women venture
owners face specific challenges as they seek to maintain the entrepreneurial effort of their
ventures. For women in particular, there is a need to reflect the challenges they face in growing
their ventures, in terms of family/work balance issues, human capital development over the life
cycle of their careers and that of their ventures, sector choice and opportunity identification.”
And lastly, Ferreira dos Santos et al., (2019) suggested investigating “Information about the
influence of the environment, culture, economy, religion and other aspects involving female
entrepreneurship.”

Yet, there is little research about how recent societal changes have impacted the conditions for
female entrepreneurs. This research investigates how the conditions have changed for female

21
entrepreneurs due to rapid global changes with the purpose of answering “how” and “why” these
conditions have changed.

3. Methodology

This chapter will introduce the fundamental methodology as well as what method that was chosen
for conducting the research. The first part consists of the research paradigm, followed by the
research approach and the research design. The second part examines the different layers of
method, including data collection, sampling approach, data analysis and ethics.

3.1 Research Paradigm

When considering conducting research, the researcher should settle with the fundamental starting
point of the research and determine several questions that need to be asked in order to adopt an
accurate research philosophy. According to Holden & Lynch (2004), the question of “Why
research?” is perhaps the most significant one. The author continues by explaining that the
research philosophy is based on the researcher’s core assumption of science as well as nature.
Once this fundamental knowledge and acceptance of the stance of reality has been established, a
research paradigm can take form (Lowndes et al., 2018). According to Kothari (2004), the
purpose of doing research is to find answers to questions by the help of scientific procedures. It
is safe to say that each study probably has its own purpose, although the underlying aim of
performing accurate research is to find the truth which is yet to be discovered. Likewise, the
underlying motivation for conducting research may vary, where personal gain, desire to face a
challenge, desire to be of service to society or wanting to gain intellectual joy may be some of
them (Kothari, 2004).

According to Collis & Hussey (2014), two of the main divisions within research paradigm are
positivism and interpretivism. Adopting any of these paradigms require the researcher to make
basic assumptions on social reality, which sets the base for the research framework. Positivism
suggests that reality is independent of us and is verified by scientific testing through empirical
findings such as experiments. This kind of research usually adopts a quantitative method
approach and does not require the researcher to put any personal evaluation on the matter (Collis
& Hussey, 2014). This view has derived from a skepticism based on the other paradigm
22
(interpretivism), which takes on the assumption of social phenomena as being affected by the
person investigating it. Hence, it is subjective and shaped by personal beliefs and perceptions
(Collis & Hussey, 2014). In order to best serve this particular study, an interpretive approach will
be adopted since the purpose of the data collection and its interpretation is to find knowledge that
can not be tested with the assumption that all participants will have the same answers.

3.2 Research Approach

There are several ways how research can be conducted. For qualitative research, Pratt (2017)
suggests either an inductive or a deductive approach, but in some cases, it can be both. As Collis
& Hussey (2014) stated, the inductive approach aims to validate assumptions drawn from the
theory, whereas the deductive approach bases the analysis on pre-existing theory (Azungah,
2018). With regards to the approach, this research will assume an inductive approach. However,
the research will be based on the acceptance of Baumol’s (1990) theory and therefore will
somewhat apply a deductive reasoning as well. As Gehman et al., (2017) stated, qualitative
research covers a heterogeneous set of different approaches. In terms of data analysis, the Gioia
method is used. The Gioia method is well appropriate when there is a grounded theory, and the
theory is rooted in the data (Gehman et al., 2017). The method was used when transferring the
interview data into 1st order concepts, 2nd order themes and later, aggregate dimensions.

This research will assume the theory by William J. Baumol (1990), that entrepreneurial activity,
its spread and development is correlated to institutional factors. Hence, the research accepts the
assumption that these two parameters (entrepreneurs and society) do have an effect on each other.
Therefore, this theory will not be tested, rather it will work as a basis for the layout and
investigation of “what” and “which” aspects of society have had the most significant impact, with
the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the development of female entrepreneurship. With
this in mind, the primary approach of this research will be done inductively. However, since it is
applying the theory of Baumol (1990), the approach can also be seen as deductive reasoning, only
that the research is not testing the theory itself, rather relying on it.

3.3 Research Design

In order to answer the research question in the best way possible, the thesis will adopt an
exploratory research design. By doing so, expectations of gaining in-depth answers can be made,
as well as the possibility of flexibility and adaptiveness. This approach is also appropriate when
the answers are unpredictable or unexpected (Erickson, 2017). Common methods for conducting

23
data within exploratory research design are focus groups, in depth-interviews or both. In depth-
interviews can be done face-to-face or via any type of technological form (phone, internet e.g.)
and the aim is to let the participants have the flexibility of answering without regards to a
structured construction, rather speaking more freely by asking open-ended questions (Erickson,
2017). Due to the purpose of this study, an exploratory design is well-suited in terms of the
possibility it generates when it comes to shedding light on new insight about the field of female
entrepreneurship and its correlation to society.

Since the aim of this study does not intend to measure quantity or a specific amount of any kind,
a quantitative research approach was not relevant. On the contrary, the choice of applying a
qualitative research approach was made on the fact that the purpose of the study is to understand
underlying reasons and behaviors of several components. Kothari (2004) says that this type of
approach is relevant when investigating e.g., human behavior or motivations, and it allows the
researcher to analyze why people behave in certain ways or their motives of liking or disliking
things. Soiferman (2010) explains that the distinction between the two methods lies in the
differences in the view of reality. She portraits the quantitative way of looking at science as “a
single reality that can be measured reliably and validly using scientific principles” (Soiferman,
2010). On the contrary, the term qualitative research “believe in multiple constructed realities
that generate different meanings for different individuals, and whose interpretations depend on
the researcher and the participant that characterizes the disciplines” (Soiferman, 2010). The
author continues by saying that an additional distinction between the two methods is also the
relationship between the researcher and the participants. A qualitative research approach is
benefitting from having a relationship between themselves and the participants since it is a way
of gaining further understanding of the observations (Soiferman, 2010).

In terms of data collection and analysis, the qualitative research approach requires other skills
from the researcher in comparison to quantitative research (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018).
Instead of having to understand the relationship between variables by using either descriptive or
inferential statistics (quantitative), qualitative researchers become part of the data collection and
the understanding of the several variables conducted from that research, such as patterns, themes
and meanings (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). Creswell & Plano Clark (2018) continues by
saying that the purpose of qualitative research is not to test whether a hypothesis is true or not,
rather it is about gathering knowledge from observations that enables the researchers to develop
theories based on the information being found.

24
With the previous knowledge in mind, and in order to answer the research question of how
societal change has affected the development of female entrepreneurship, it is most appropriate
to choose a qualitative research approach and not a quantitative one since it is very difficult to
count or measure the answer to a question of ‘how’.

3.4 Method

3.4.1 Data Collection

3.4.1.1 Primary Data

For research that does not base its findings on previous research, such as a literature review, is
usually done through collecting primary data. Examples of primary data collection approaches
are experiments, surveys, focus groups or interviews and it serves the general research
community by adding new knowledge and literature to the existing one (Hox & Boeije, 2005).
The authors explain that for qualitative research it is most suitable to implement in depth-
interviews, observations or focus groups because it requires a large amount of data being
collected from a quite small sample. According to Hox and Boeije (2005), primary data are “data
that are collected for the specific research problem at hand, using procedures that fit the research
problem best”. This study has implemented primary data collection by conducting semi-
structured interviews with 14 Swedish female entrepreneurs. The interviews were divided and
held in either Swedish or English (with regards to the authors and their native language) in order
to cope with the time and resource limits of this study. Furthermore, most of the primary data
was conducted online (via Teams) and some via phone calls. However, all interviews were also
recorded to facilitate the process of transcribing. The analysis was done both individually and
collectively with the purpose of reducing the risk of subjectivity and/or neglection of information
(Collis & Hussey, 2014). Each finding from the individual transcription was discussed and
analyzed together between the two authors in order to best utilize all information and make
accurate interpretations (Collis & Hussey, 2014).

3.4.1.2 Sampling Approach

According to Vehovar et al., (2016), a sample is a subset of a population and in this study the
population is all female entrepreneurs in Sweden and the sample is a group of 14 chosen female
entrepreneurs. As Kothari (2004) suggests, depending on the representation basis and the
selection technique, there are two main proposed sampling designs; probability sampling or non-
probability sampling, which this research has applied. The first mentioned one is suitable when

25
the purpose of a sample is to be random, and each member of the population has an equal chance
of being selected. However, when the purpose of a sampling method is to select a non-random
sample, it is called non-probability sampling and is usually more suitable for qualitative research.
Acharya et al., (2013) define non-probability sampling as “those in which the probability that a
subject is selected is unknown and results in selection bias in the study”.

This study applied a ‘purposive/convenience approach’, which is one of the most commonly used
when the chosen sample is based on “being in the right place at the right time” (Acharya et al.,
2013). According to Tyrer & Heyman (2016), convenience sampling is also suitable when the
primary way of contacting people is done through email, which was the method chosen for this
study. The motivation for choosing convenience sampling was based on the fact that the only
criteria for the selected sample was a variety of age, hence, seeking diversity to some extent was
therefore accepted. Furthermore, due to the fact that the ones who were chosen for the interviews
were partly based on who answered the emails, ‘convenience sampling’ (mainly ‘availability’
and ‘opportunity’) can be considered as being part of the approach (Vehovar et al., 2016).

The sample selection process for this study was carried out by contacting in total 36 females with
an entrepreneurial background. 16 out of these 36 females were found by searching online,
keywords such as “årets unga entreprenör” (young entrepreneur of the year) and “svenska
kvinnliga entreprenörer” (Swedish female entrepreneurs) were used. The remaining 20 females
were found by contacting an acquaintance at “Almi Invest Göteborg” which is an investment
company with good relationships within the entrepreneurial community in Gothenburg. Vehovar
et al., (2016) also suggest ‘network sampling’ as an appropriate sampling method when a part of
the sample are units being sequentially added from a network, such as this study did by contacting
a source who was known to have additional contacts in the entrepreneurial community. Out of all
36 females being contacted, 14 responded positively and were selected to participate for an
interview.

3.4.1.2.1 Deviation

Vehovar et al., (2016) proposes several ways in which non-probability sampling can cause errors,
such as serious deviations from the total population. Thus, knowing the risks of choosing a non-
probability sampling method, the decision was made on the grounds of knowing the limited
resources such as time and size of the study, as well as being the most suitable sampling approach
for this qualitative study despite the risks of errors.

26
3.4.1.2.2 Sampling Approach Discussion

In terms of improvements and doing the study with greater availability of resources, the authors
of this study suggest having a more covering sample in terms of region and age. Due to
convenience, the majority of the chosen sample was located in the area around Gothenburg (not
everyone though), hence, in order to get a more accurate result, a sample based on several regions
should be considered. Further, in terms of age, the authors noticed that the older generation was
under-represented. This should also be considered as a potential deviation from the whole
population. However, in terms of business area, the members of the sample seem to be quite
distributed in terms of field of business area.

3.4.1.3 Interviews

When the participants were successfully chosen and contacted, 14 interviews were established.
The interviews were divided between the two authors and contacted one more time before the
interviews took place, just to remind them of the time scheduled. The interviews were held on a
platform that best suited them, e.g., in Microsoft Teams, in a phone call or in Zoom. A platform
where the ability to record the interviews was preferred and they all took place in the end of
March 2021 to the beginning of April 2021.

27
Table 1: Interviews table

3.4.1.3.1 Interview Questions

Even though the research design has been chosen, it depends on the purpose of each study to
apply an interview structure that will fit the best, such as structured, unstructured or semi-
structured (Harrell & Bradley, 2009). For the purpose of this study, a semi-structured interview
guide (Appendix 1) was created in the middle of March 2021 and the interviews were conducted
at the end of March 2021. Before the interviews took place, key concepts were introduced to the
participants in order for them to prepare and think about the aspects they want to share with the
authors. However, in order to follow the rules and regulations, a GDPR consent form was sent
(Appendix 2) for everyone who was taking part in the interviews. With the GDPR form, the
authors wanted to make sure that every participant had read and signed it and was aware of the
rights they have, as well as being aware of how the data would be stored and collected. The aim

28
of the interviews was to gather as much information about female entrepreneurs' own perceptions
and opinions as possible, in a way that provided a somewhat guided interview with significant
questions as a base yet opened up for new directions and angles. Therefore, it was created with
many open-ended questions in order to get an in-depth insight of the subject (Collis & Hussey,
2014). The questions were structured from “small questions” (such as their age or what industry
they operate in) to “big questions” (such as their perception of treatment when seeking
investments). The complete list of questions can be found in Appendix 1.

3.5 Data Analysis

With the purpose of presenting a high-quality qualitative analysis, the Gioia (2012) method was
applied in order to utilize the collected data. The Gioia method is “a systematic approach to new
concept development based on grounded theory articulation” (Gioia et al., 2012). The findings
and analysis of this study can be viewed from Figure 1: “Data analysis”, and it was constructed
based on the Gioia (2012) method table. By using collected data from the interviews, 1st order
concepts, 2nd order themes and aggregate dimensions were identified with the purpose of
presenting clear and usable interpretations of the data.

In the beginning of structuring the data, a first order analysis was initiated. The first step was to
identify codes that were drawn straight from the interviews. The codes were words or sentences
that the participants had mentioned, and which was significant for the understanding of the
questions. These codes were later narrowed down and named as “1st order concepts” (Figure 1).
By doing so, “2nd order themes” were identified as the Gioia et al., (2012) suggests. These themes
were narrowed down based on 50-100 first order codes and created representative words for the
concepts. Furthermore, when the work progresses, the process of finding similarities and
differences could start (Gioia et al., 2012). Once similarities and differences were able to be
identified - the process of reducing the number of themes started and after reducing the number
of themes, they had to be grouped and named in order to represent the most significant concepts
of the data. A second order analysis was now firmly in the theoretical realm and critical thinking
about the phenomenon observed was necessary (Gioia et al., 2012). After finding, identifying and
understanding the concepts and themes, a third order analysis took form and aggregate
dimensions could be established in the data set (Figure 1). This phase gave an overview of the
graphic presentation of how the path from raw data transformed from simple codes to actual
themes and aggregate dimensions. By doing such data structure, it gives the researcher the tools
to start thinking about the data theoretically, not just methodologically (Gioia et al., 2012).

29
After the data was finalized and successfully cycled between the emerged concepts, themes and
dimensions, it was important to take a look into the literature whether new concepts were
discovered (Gioia, et al., 2012). Once the Gioia method analysis was done, it was used in order
to finalize the report.

3.6 Ethics

In order to conduct this research, making sure to follow the code of conduct and ethical principles
were of high priority. Collis & Hussey (2014) defines ethics as “the moral principles a person
possesses”. Hence, ethics are of high importance in this study and follows through the whole
process in order to treat all participants with respect to their needs and wants.

3.6.1 Anonymity and Confidentiality

To ensure anonymity and confidentiality in this research, a GDPR consent form was sent to the
participants prior to the interviews. It was important to inform them about the terms and
conditions which each of them had, and to let them know how the data would be stored, as well
as their right to withdraw from the interview at any point without any specific reason. In terms of
anonymity and confidentiality, all the names were kept anonymous, and the data collected stayed
only inside of the authors knowledge. However, the age and industry where the entrepreneur
operates were important and of interest, it was therefore used and exposed in the report. As Bell
& Bryman (2007) stated, confidentiality refers to the protection of information the participant
delivers. All the information gathered was collected and processed with confidentiality and was
shared only between the two authors. To make the interviews as comfortable to the participants
as possible, the authors agreed to delete information that they found wrong or harmful to them.

3.6.2 Credibility

As Shenton (2004) stated, that guaranteeing credibility is the most important factor in terms of
trustworthiness. Credibility refers to the endeavor of giving a truthful picture of the study
(Shenton, 2004), but is also referred to the truth of the data used in a study (Cope, 2014). A
qualitative study can be seen as credible if the participants share and recognize the same
experiences (Cope, 2014). The first step towards trustworthiness has been done when collecting
data from previous literature from reliable, valuable and extensive sources. The authors of this
research made sure that the participants involved were voluntary and able to give as realistic and
honest answers as possible.
30
3.6.3 Confirmability

As Elo et al. (2014) stated, confirmability refers to the objectivity, accuracy and relevance of the
data. Confirmability implies that the data represents information that participants have provided
(Elo et al., 2014). In order to provide confirmability, researchers should be able to demonstrate
how conclusions and interpretations have been established (Cope, 2014). In this study,
confirmability is provided by several factors. The reader is able to follow the steps of this study,
from the very beginning from data gathering to the audit trail where the reader can find the results
and findings.

4. Empirical Findings

In this chapter, findings of collected data from semi-structured interviews will be presented. Five
aggregated dimensions have been identified by using the Gioia method and these are presented
in Figure 1. With the help of relevant citations from the interviews, a representation of the
following aggregate dimensions is presented: societal change, motivations, obstacles, family life
and attitudes.

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Figure 1: Data analysis

4.1 Societal Change

The first aggregate dimension identified in the data was ‘societal change’. It was composed out
of two second order themes: ‘technology’ and ‘digitalization’.

4.1.1 Technology

The participants were asked to mention what social developments or movements they can think
of that have had an impact on society during the past decades. A clear pattern found amongst the
participants was “digitalization” and “technology” as primary societal developments. By
technology, the participants referred to global developments in terms of new technological
inventions such as the Internet, computers, transportation possibilities e.g.

Participant #7: “It is a combination of technological development, environmental movements,

national and global economy, and a wider acceptance of differences in society at large.”

Participant #2: “Technology of course, and the fact that we have created a vicinity to people
globally. It makes us see things and what is really going on, not only what the media is putting
out there. There is an access to information in another way, without intermediaries.”

They also mentioned that as a result of these changes, “social networks”, “communication” and
“social media” have emerged and made a big impact on society as well. Some respondents also
mentioned “environmental movements” and “feminism” as somewhat significant.

In terms of digitalization and technology which were the two most clear patterns regarding
societal change, most participants seemed to agree that these developments have also brought
more change along such as the development of communication and social media.

4.1.2 Digitalization

After answering which societal changes the participants thought have had an impact on society
during the past decades, they were asked which societal changes they think have impacted on
female entrepreneurship. Clear patterns among the participants were “digitalization”, “feminism”
and “equality debate”.

32
Participant #8: “With digitalization, it is possible to push issues in another way. I am young, and
therefore having a hard time seeing a world without the Internet. But I can imagine that if you
were trying to fight for these types of questions before, it must have been much harder to reach
out and spread the message.”

Further, “role models” and “social networks” were also clear patterns and were seen as the output
of mainly digitalization. Having role models and social networks was also mentioned later as two
of the most important tips they would give to women who want to start their own business.

Participant #4: “I would say that digitalization has brought more role models. More females can
see themselves entering this world of entrepreneurship and self-employment.”

It is quite evident that a big majority of the participants agreed that digitalization also has
impacted on female entrepreneurship. With digitalization, a wider spread of role models has
appeared, and it has also enabled women to gain stronger networks which also, according to
previous findings, have appeared to be a positive thing for the promotion of female
entrepreneurship (Grunfeld et al., 2020). What digitalization also has brought is the ability of
communication, spreading messages and the general view of the typical entrepreneur, in a way
that has had an influence on their progression.

Lastly, most of the participants also agreed that equality movements have had a big impact and
it has created feminist movements such as “MeToo”.

During the interviews and the topic of what technology and digitalization have brought to the
entrepreneurial field for women, the term “new entrepreneurial field” came up. What was meant
was particularly the rise of “influencers” and how this has become one of the most female-
dominated fields in today’s business. They referred to influencers as people who work with social
media and earn money on marketing brands e.g., on their personal platforms.

Participant #8: “Digitalization and technology for sure, and with that, I see what is going on with
influencers. [...] I believe, once again, that we are seeing females taking the spotlight, daring to
express their opinions and earning money with all their collaborations etc. [...] These are new
ways of earning money and creating business.”

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4.2 Motivation

The second aggregate dimension found was motivation and was constructed based on two second
order themes: ‘pull-factors’ and ‘control’.

4.2.1 Pull-factors

In terms of what motivates the participants of becoming an entrepreneur, a clear pattern was
relating to so called “pull-factors”. These were factors that inspired them or factors they perceived
as opportunities. Words such as “solving a problem”, “control”, “freedom” and “flexibility” were
frequently used.

Participant #1: “I wanted to take control over my life and decide for myself”. Similar answers
came from the majority of the participants.

Participant #6: “I am driven by doing my own thing and I have always known that I want to earn
my own money”.

Something that was quite evident from the interviews was that close to none of them mentioned
they had become an entrepreneur because they felt a need to do so, or that they felt forced to do
so based on what the type of job offers. The main reasons seemed to be motivational factors based
on attractiveness or opportunities. Hence, in terms of “push” and “pull” factors, this research
seems to have found that “pull” factors are more common motivational reasons for starting a
business compared to “push” factors.

4.2.2 Control

The majority of the participants argued that it was primarily a choice of lifestyle to become an
entrepreneur and that it was due to the many possibilities it results in.

Participant #3: “It was a choice of lifestyle [...] It was also due to the flexibility which was suited
in combination with the life I wanted to live”.

In respect of being flexible, it was mentioned that flexibility is something that is a common
characteristic for an entrepreneur, and that it makes women good at coping with a digitalized
society since women have always needed to balance many things simultaneously.

34
Participant #5: “You need to be able to work flexibly and I think women are good at that. We
have been forced to do many things at the same time, so working on different places for instance
works very well.

4.3 Obstacles

The third aggregated dimension found was ‘obstacles’ and was constructed based on two second
order themes: ‘internal’ and ‘external’ factors.

4.3.1 External

The majority of the participants agreed that one big obstacle can be found in the resistance of
investing in women.

Participant #4: “The big challenge is that most investors are men, and they most commonly
entrust in someone with the same age and sex, which makes it difficult for woman (and
particularly young woman) to gain their trust”.

Another external factor that was found to be a repetitive obstacle is a type of attitude among older
men. It was evident that these attitudes were offensive and that they expressed both downgrading
and sometimes even sexist comments.

According to Participant #3: “When we started, we were considering hiring a man only because
there were preconceptions and resistance when meeting with buyers. [...] We faced many “little-
sweetie”-attitudes and a man said “Oh, wow you have gotten breasts now””.

Besides facing external resistance in terms of getting investors and downgrading attitudes,
another factor seemed to be a general repellent attitude of not having the same starting point as
men.

Participant #7: “I need to prove myself as a woman, especially as a young woman. I have to prove
that I know what I am doing, and, in my experience, it is enough for men to have their title, and
that is that”.

This type of treatment was mentioned by several participants and many of them agreed that
simply being skilled does not always cut it. As a woman, many of the participants felt a need of
proving themselves both in terms of knowledge and experience, as well as appearance.

35
Lastly, what also appeared to be a significant aspect of external obstacles was networks, and
especially penetrating existing networks run by men. Participants expressed a clear difficulty to
penetrate social networks of men because they already have built strong ties to each other and
have a way of not including women.

Participant #5: “It is a very man-dominated area”. [...] They have such strong networks, and it is
very difficult to penetrate those networks.”

They perceive that female entrepreneurs also have their own networks and that it is something
most care to join, however, since the extent of female entrepreneurs is significantly lower
compared to men, it does not work all the way, especially not in terms of finding investors e.g.,
since female investors are perceived to be more or less non-existing.

4.3.2 Internal

However, there were several significant aspects in terms of internal obstacles that were clearly
recurrent, such as “self-doubt”, “circumstances” and “family”.

The participants perceived self-doubt to be the number one internal obstacle. Believing in
yourself and daring to try was also one of the most important advice they would give to anyone
who is considering starting their own business.

Participant #1: “Self-doubt is the biggest obstacle and thinking that you need to know
everything.”

The other recurrent internal obstacle was thinking too much about circumstances.

Participant #1: “I think women tend to evaluate many aspects of life; is it a good time now? Do I
have the right resources? Will I be able to combine it with family?”

4.4 Family Life

The fourth aggregate dimension was ‘family life’ and was constructed based on two second order
themes: ‘challenge’ and ‘superwoman’.

4.4.1 Challenge

Previous findings have shown that having a family is both one of the biggest reasons for starting
your own business as well one of the biggest obstacles. What was found in this research was an
almost unanimous answer; it is an obstacle.
36
Participant #3: “The reason why I have not started a family before is because it has been an
obstacle to be an entrepreneur and run my own business, it is not a safety”.

Participant #7: “In the beginning I told my husband “Of course we are going to have children, I
am just going to finish this first”. Then I realized it is never going to happen, because you are
never finished.”

It is quite clear that the view of combining family life is seen as an obstacle due to the fact that
there seems to never be a “good timing” when it comes to being an entrepreneur. Compared to
being “normally” employed where you can pause and find a replacement, being the one in charge
of everything makes it a lot more difficult and they risk losing certain aspects of the business.

Participant #4: “There is a risk that you lose both clients and networks and then you get very
vulnerable, while men might not even have to go on parental leave.”

Participant #2: “This is not a 100-meter race - it is like a never-ending road in the desert without
a compass”.

Also, the importance of parental leave was mentioned as significant.

Participant #1: “The advantage with a “normal” job is the parental leave. As an entrepreneur
you can’t just leave if you have a child. It is especially hard if you are in the start of building your
business”.

However, a positive aspect of combining family life and being an entrepreneur was paternity
leave for dads who are now experiencing more what it is like being home with children and it has
given new opportunities for female entrepreneurs to prioritize their jobs instead.

Participant #2: “The introduction of paternity leave has been really important; it is first when
you are home with your child that you realize what it is like to be home with the children and
manage a family.”

What this research shows is that almost everyone sees flexibility in terms of combining work life
with having a family as difficult (in comparison to being "normal" employed). Some respondents
said it is doable, it only needs more work. However, the majority perceived that it is not an
advantage, rather the opposite.

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4.4.2 Superwoman

Some of the participants mentioned a conception of wanting to be - or being expected to be - a

person who manages to run several aspects of life simultaneously - like a superwoman. It was
mentioned several times that many of the biggest female role models in the industry are known
for being exceptional at everything they do and were described as

“Women who only stays at home for a few weeks after giving birth to their child” - Participant
#3.

Someone said these women are super cool but that they do not want to be like that. However, it
is still what many female entrepreneurs strive for and perhaps believes is what is expected from
them.

“To think that you should start working a week after you have given birth to your child, it is
actually quite bizarre” - Participant #6

Participant #6: “I have changed my view a lot since I started. Back then I thought I would be one
of those women who runs her own business, runs a marathon, is a mom and is emailing at the
same time. In my opinion that was really cool, because it is how many women are portrayed -
being a superwoman and being physically fit. But then I figured out it is not possible.”

4.5 Attitudes

The fifth aggregate dimension found in the data was ‘attitudes’ and was based on two second
order themes: ‘negative’ and ‘advantages’.

4.5.1 Negative

During the interviews, the participants were asked questions regarding their treatment as female
entrepreneurs - if they have faced any certain resistance or other deviating treatment. The answers
on these questions were quite different. Many of the participants expressed a neutral perception
of their treatment, meaning that they have not experienced much or no special treatment or
resistance at all. Though, a big portion of the participants expressed situations where their
treatment was clearly affected by the fact that they are women.

Participant #3 said “We had some situations during a period of time where men gave us
downgrading comments”. Participant #3 continued by explaining that this was more common in

38
the beginning of their career and that the change, at least how they handle situations now, is due
to their age and experience in the industry

Participant #4: “Contexts where I have noticed that I have been treated most unfairly was during
a pitch event where we were two young women and the remaining eight were men. It was very
clear that the men barely got any questions after the event and those who held the event almost
had to squeeze in a few questions just to have something to ask. Me and the other woman were
more or less attacked with questions until the time was up. We became much more questioned by
the investors.”

Participant #11: “Most of the time I’m being taken seriously. But actually, when I started my
company with a coworker who is a man, we met with the bank and they were talking and making
decisions with my coworker even if I was carrying the title of the CEO.”

Lastly, one negative aspect that was mentioned was the early habits of child behavior and how to
treat children in school.

Participant #2: “I am thinking about when I was a kid. As a girl in a school class, you were
supposed to be good all the time while boys were allowed to make mistakes and be sloppy. I think
there is something dangerous with being too “good” and being an entrepreneur because it
prevents you from trying and failing. […] You must dare to be difficult and ask for things, and
these things do not come to us women from an early age.”

4.5.2 Advantages

As mentioned before, not everyone agreed upon getting different treatment due to gender. Rather,
many expressed that they had experienced advantages of being females in their fields.

Even if it entails difference in treatment, some participants expressed experiencing some benefits
for being a woman. Some mentioned being recognized in magazines or in other public relations.
Others said that they have experienced special treatment by men who engage or invest in them
with a certain intention.

Participant #3: “Yes, sometimes it has been an advantage to be a woman, it is almost trendy to
highlight women. In the media it can be an advantage, and there are also men who want to “help”
us because it looks good to support female entrepreneurs.”
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In some interviews, being a woman helped them to gain recognition due to the industry having
very few females for instance. “Sometimes we have been treated even better or gained
opportunities because we stand out as women in the tech-industry.” - Participant #1.

It was recognized that getting special treatment for being a woman in some industries is a fact,
and it was also realized by some as being negative.

Participant #8: “No, I would actually say that it has been an advantage many times to be a woman.
But it is also tragic that it can be an advantage only to the fact of being a woman.”

Furthermore, an advantage is that the perception of who is an entrepreneur is starting to change.

Participant #6: “I remember when we were younger and was asked what the first thing you
thought of when someone said the word "entrepreneur", then everyone answered a middle-aged
man in a blue suit and a briefcase. I think there are quite a few who still have that view, but now
in recent years I think it has exploded, and people have begun to realize that anyone can be an
entrepreneur. And there, digitalization and social media have contributed to seeing so many
different types of role models now.”

Another aspect of treatment being mentioned was in relation to their own mind-set. Some of the
participants who mentioned that they have not experienced much special treatment or faced
disadvantages of being a female entrepreneur said that they simply do not define themselves as
female entrepreneurs

“I do not define myself as a "female entrepreneur", I see myself as an entrepreneur only, like
anyone. And I think that is important, it should not be female entrepreneurship. Everyone is an
entrepreneur, and we are in the same market.” - Participant #6.

The participant’s experiences of treatment by others and their own perceptions of the industry are
quite divided. Many of them had experienced evident negative attitudes and these were primarily
from older men. However, almost as many of the participants said that they had not faced negative
attitudes, rather the opposite - they expressed that being a female entrepreneur has actually given
them advantages and opportunities. Words such as “standing out” and “trendy” were used.

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5. Analysis

In this chapter, a thorough analysis of empirical findings - in light of its own significance and
previous theories - will be discussed and presented.

Previous research has shown that entrepreneurial activity in a society is affected by its institutions
and external conditions (Baumol, 1990). What is also evident is the significant importance of
female-owned businesses and creators on societies and economic growth worldwide (Brush &
Cooper, 2012). With this in mind, a qualitative study has been done on female entrepreneurs and
their perception on their development during a time of many societal changes. The aim is to find
parts of the current society that have an impact on their conditions, motivations, obstacles and
future positions.

5.1 Societal Change

Based on this research, digitalization and technology were clearly perceived as the most
significant aspects of societal change during the past decades. As a result of these developments,
this research has also found social media, communication and social networks to be of high
importance to these developments. The digital era is evident, and it is not only the entrepreneurial
field of business that has been affected. What digitalization has brought is providing the business
world with uncountable new tools to share knowledge, improve processes, facilitate growth and
enable flexibility (Della Giusta et al., 2019).

As being the most significant aspect of social change, digitalization was also found to be one of
the most evident factors that has impacted on female entrepreneurship, according to this study.
What the research shows is that digitalization has not only provided more efficient processes, but
it has also opened up a new world of sharing information, which in its turn has generated more
role models, social networks, social media and a bigger general space for the equality debate. As
Grunfeld et al., (2020) said, having role models is inspiring and can have a positive impact on
females who are considering starting their own business. Moreover, many of the participants
mentioned role models as an important aspect of female entrepreneurship and their personal
growth process. It seems to have an effect on pushing women over the edge of “daring” to invest
in their own business. Despite its relevance, what this research found is that there are too few role
models that are “attainable”, meaning females who have a career that seem realistic and inspiring.

41
Furthermore, digitalization has enabled networking and more efficient communication among
female entrepreneurs. If female entrepreneurs can build stronger ties to each other and reach out,
perhaps it can contribute to the future establishment of more female entrepreneurs in the market.
Perhaps the most favorable scenario would be to integrate male and female networks. Even if
having social networks between women is a good start, the chance of minimizing the diversity
between male and female entrepreneurs is to merge these networks and base them on qualification
and competence rather than gender.

Another aspect this research found to be a concrete consequence of digitalization is the rise of
new entrepreneurial fields, such as “influencers”. Influencers are individuals who post content on
social media platforms, paid by brands or companies, and gain consumers' trust by being a trusted
source. This type of new industry is fast growing and has an estimated value of $2.3 billion in
2020 (Kim & Kim, 2020). Brush and Cooper (2012) say that the increase of female-owned
businesses is one of the main contributors to entrepreneurial development as well as economic
welfare and growth. Hence, seeing new entrepreneurial fields, such as the rise of influencers,
could have a positive impact on society since it contributes with new employment, raising new
markets as well as contributing to market competition. In conclusion, what societal change, in
terms of new technology, has generated towards female entrepreneurs is not only facilitating their
situation and creating equality awareness - it has also created new entrepreneurial fields that so
far are female-dominated. This is an interesting correlation and should be considered for future
research.

5.2 Motivation

In terms of what most motivates females to start their own business and becoming entrepreneurs
is well-researched and shows that freedom of choice, being your own boss and being in control
(Rey-Marti, Porcar & Mas-Tur, 2015; Gill & Ganesh, 2007) are some of the most significant
ones. The participant’s view on motivation and obstacles, factors concerning motivation were
clear and can be applied to what previous research has shown as well, such as “freedom” and
“being your own boss”. Lee and Staerns (2012) talks about “push” and “pull” factors, meaning
that females who decide to engage in entrepreneurial activities usually do so because they feel
the need to, or they see certain opportunities by doing so.

What this research has found is more aligned with what is referred to as “pull” factors. The main
motivations were to solve a problem, gain freedom and flexibility. These are reasons that offer

42
some type of opportunity and do not have much to do with the feeling of being forced to do so.
It is quite interesting to see that these factors are starting to be more and more about seeing
entrepreneurship as a way of attaining opportunities rather than a way of combining working life
with family life for instance, which research has shown before (Kovalainen & Arenius, 2006).
Previous research (GEM report 2019/2020) also shows that the rate of female entrepreneurship
varies across regions and cultures and in fact the countries with highest rates are usually not
developed countries - it is rather developing countries. This might have to do with flexibility, the
correlation between business and family life for females. Hence, applying this on a country like
Sweden, whose rate on female entrepreneurs is only around 33% (Swedish Agency for Economic
and Regional Growth, 2012), the motivational factors may be seeing a new pattern of moving
towards the “pull” side since flexibility and combining family and working life does not seem to
be the most important factor anymore. This new insight is also highly interesting to further
investigate since it indicates a new direction of motivation for females in developed countries
such as Sweden.

5.3 Obstacles

In terms of obstacles in establishing own businesses, previous research shows that the fear of
failing is one of the main internal factors (Mustapha & Subramaniam, 2016), as well as financial
barriers or discrimination being one of the main external factors (Gill & Ganesh, 2007; Ferreira
dos Santos et al., 2019). What this research shows is that self-doubt is still one of the main internal
obstacles and they feel like they need to consider many aspects of life that might not be aligned
with what it means to have their own business.

The external part of the findings shows that there is a clear resistance in getting investors. In
raising financial support, many of the participants expressed that they have been rejected or been
treated differently due to gender. Even if many of the participants agreed that the division of
females in a company or a board is starting to move towards “50/50”, the free will of investing
money in start-ups still seems to be highly affected by gender. It was expressed that a common
obstacle with regards to getting finance is that investors tend to invest in people who are similar
to themselves, which makes it difficult for young women to raise money since most investors are
middle-aged or older men. They also talked about networks and how men usually have very
strong networks, and that they feel it is extremely difficult to penetrate these networks. Grunfeld
et al., (2020) says that having social networks while establishing a new business is crucial.
Perhaps a solution is to facilitate the process for women to become investors themselves, or at

43
least make the possibilities of investing in men and women the same. However, what has also
been found in this research is the theme of female entrepreneurs being “trendy” to invest in. If
this is true, it is possible to think that a new theory of female conditions is about to rise.

5.4 Family Life

Within female entrepreneurship, having children and family life has always been a decisive
factor, as being one of the main reasons for starting own businesses as well as one of the main
obstacles for not doing so (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019). While flexibility in terms of working
hours and own decision-making has been a motivation for becoming an entrepreneur, this
research shows that the majority of the respondents feel that combining family while being an
entrepreneur is harder than doing so while being “normal” employed. They said that they think
the average age of becoming a mom is way higher than in other industries, and that it is because
of the complicated situation of never being truly “off” work. The authors of this research believe
that this has to do with type of industry as well as being a developed or developing country. Like
(GEM report 2019/2020) showed, the rate of female owned businesses is often higher in
developing countries, it might be possible to think that there is a correlation between type of
business and attitudes towards combining work and family life.

The fact that this research showed that combining work and family life is mostly an obstacle,
could also have to do with new standpoints for females within the industry. The authors believe
that women in countries like Sweden (where the study was executed) have started to reconsider
their priorities in life - going from being primarily a mom - to being careerist. It could be one
explanation to why it is viewed as an obstacle rather than an advantage.

5.5 Attitudes

Like previous research shows (Ferreira dos Santos et al., 2019; Swedish Agency for Economic
and Regional Growth, 2012), the share of female entrepreneurs has been underrepresented and
suffered in most markets. In Sweden, this is still the case (Swedish Agency for Economic and
Regional Growth, 2012). However, the perceptions and views of equal treatment seem to have
split meanings, according to the findings of this research. A significant proportion of the
participants have some experience of being mistreated due to gender. They expressed a clear
division between women and men when it comes to attitudes and willingness of investing e.g.
Though, an at least equal share of the participants expressed that they never have encountered
resistance or bad treatment due to gender. Some simply have not experienced it at all, and some

44
said they might have recognized it but have chosen to adopt a certain mind-set and attitude that
does not allow them to absorb being treated differently and that it has been a significant factor
for their appearance as females in the industry.

What might be the most surprising with the findings is a pattern of uplifting treatment where
participants described it as a phenomenon where, especially men, want to help them due to the
fact that they are women and by doing so gaining positive recognition. Some participants said
they experienced being a female entrepreneur as “trendy” on some occasions. It is difficult to say
what this exactly means, but it might imply that the perception of female entrepreneurs is
changing. Some of the participants said they have experienced they are “standing out” because
they are women, this was mostly common within industries such as medical and technology.

Moreover, female entrepreneurs are gaining more and more recognition, and, as according to
what this research has shown, they are sometimes even getting advantages because they gain
attraction for being the only female in the room. That the division is slowly reducing between
male and female entrepreneurs is positive, however, it should not be forgotten that it also implies
that gender is still playing a significant role. It was expressed by some participants that they view
themselves as an entrepreneur and not as a female entrepreneur - that there should not be such a
thing as female entrepreneurs. While this might be a desirable future vision - is it a fact that
females are getting advantages and is it perhaps what has to be done in order to reach the goal of
zero gender discrimination?

6. Conclusion

In this chapter, a distinct conclusion based on empirical findings, analysis and theoretical
framework will be presented.

To conclude a research topic that has investigated a contemporary period of time of global change
and its effects on female entrepreneurs, new interesting insights have been identified. First of all,
some aspects have not changed too much compared to previous findings, such as the main
obstacles of starting a new business. Self-doubt, getting finance and family life still seem to be
clearly significant factors. However, family life, which according to previous research

45
(Kovalainen & Arenius, 2006) has been seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage, is now
seen as primarily an obstacle in combination with being an entrepreneur. This insight might have
to do with the fact that females are starting to take on a new role, going from primarily being
mothers to sharing the family responsibility with the men, as well as gaining more recognition on
the working market. In terms of motivation, the “pull” factors seem to have a stronger impact on
females today, going from being forced by different factors such as the need of flexibility, to
being entrepreneurs due to factors based on desires and opportunities. However, some
motivational factors, such as freedom of choice and being in control, still seem to be of relevance.

What was also found was that digitalization along with technology was considered as the two
most significant developments of society. They were also recognized as being significant for the
development of female entrepreneurship as they have contributed with more role models, social
networks, communications and the promotion of the general equality debate. It was also noted
that digitalization has generated a positive impact on female entrepreneurs in terms of creating
new entrepreneurial fields, such as “influencers”.

That many developments have affected society, and that some of these developments are
affecting female entrepreneurs is clear. Women are attaining more recognition and slowly
changing their conditions in society, fighting for an equal share of being business owners and
creators. Some old attitudes and behaviors are still evident though (such as getting downgrading
comments or having a harder time getting financing), however, change is obvious in some areas.
The question is how these developments will continue having an impact on female entrepreneurs
and whether a gender equal market can be reached without being treated differently - as a new
“trend” for men to invest in. Finally, there seems to be a correlation between the role of female
entrepreneurs and current change in society. By shedding even more light, and by further
investigating the connection, it would generate a deeper understanding of the future of female
entrepreneurs.

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7. Discussion

In this chapter, a discussion of both theoretical and practical implications as well as

contributions will be presented. Further comes an outline of the limitations of this study, a critical
reflection as well as suggestions for future research.

7.1 Contributions

Firstly, this research makes an important contribution to the knowledge and theoretical
contributions about female entrepreneurship and especially to its current conditions in correlation
to rapid societal change. Previous research on female entrepreneurship provides a significant base
in order to understand the structure and underlying factors of their situation. However, what this
study contributes with, is shifting the view on female entrepreneurs from existing as an individual
entity to coexisting with external influences such as social structures and societal developments
in order to get a deeper understanding of its complexity. The aim of the research has been to
explore the how and why of what in society that has had a significant impact on the conditions
during the past decades, this because several major developments have occurred during this time.
Besides an interesting topic, this study aims at providing a deeper understanding of female
entrepreneurship, the conditions of female entrepreneurs and societal changes that have shaped
the world of female entrepreneurs during the past decades.

7.2 Practical Implications

This research and the results of it may work as a helping tool for other female entrepreneurs.
Sharing attitudes and views might enlighten new insights of ways of going forwards or can
provide support in daring to make decisions of pushing forward. Not only has the intention been
to share the insight of female entrepreneurs, it is also of importance to keep shedding light on a
topic that contributes with such important information in the understanding of social and equality
development. Research about female entrepreneurship has had an upswing, yes, but it is still
evident that the subject is lacking in covering several aspects, such as its correlation to societal
change and developments.

47
7.3 Limitations

Scope. This study was limited to the scope of Sweden due to obvious reasons such as time and
size. The findings of the research can therefore not be applied as general facts to all female
entrepreneurs or all markets. It is important to pinpoint that what has been found was only
conducted based on interviews with fourteen participants, all located in the south of Sweden.

Sample. Another important point to mention is the selection of participants and in which fields
they operate. The fact that type of industry was not a criterion when choosing the sample can
impact the application of the findings as well. However, the main points of the findings were not
based on field or industry and were therefore not considered as crucial.

Language. A limitation for this work was also language barrier. The two authors come from two
different nationalities and speak different languages. It has not been a significant obstacle
however but is worth mentioning in terms of efficiency and time-management. Language can
also be seen as a limitation in terms of conducting interviews and transcribing the findings. Half
of the interviews were held in Swedish for rational reasons and the rest were held in English since
the two authors divided the interviews between them. After the interviews were done, the authors
transcribed and translated the ones who were held in Swedish into English. Hence, due to the fact
of language-difference between the authors, the time spent on translating half of the interviews
took more resources than it would otherwise. Also, transcribing took more time than expected
due to the same reason.

Circumstances. When taking into account the current situation in the world, it is inevitable to not
mention the impact of Covid-19. The two authors of this research were during the whole process
in separate countries, which made planning and structuring extra important. Due to the pandemic,
all meetings and interviews in this research were held online to ensure safe interaction between
all participants.

7.4 Critical reflection

Every research has room for improvements. During this process from deciding the topic to data
gathering to summarizing and analyzing the data, the researchers of this study realized how
important it is to choose a topic that is narrow enough. In some circumstances, the authors were
considering whether the topic was too broad. However, due to the results of the findings, and its
insightful information, the authors are still pleased with the overall outcome and chosen topic.

48
Hence, a broader topic is sometimes useful because it can generate extensive findings and make
the exploratory process richer.

7.5 Future research

As a result of conducting new and insightful information regarding the topic on female
entrepreneurs and their role in a changing society, fields for future research have emerged. Firstly,
as one of the findings indicated a strong correlation between female entrepreneurship and
digitalization, a future topic could be to go deeper and explore what potential effects digitalization
could have in the promotion of female entrepreneurship or female networks.

Another aspect for future research could be to investigate the rise of influencers as the “modern
entrepreneur” and as a new entrepreneurial field. How will it impact the future business market?
It is interesting since the field is heavily female-dominated and is also generating enormous
amounts of money. Perhaps it could also be of interest to see how this new industry will impact
“normal” marketing agencies since many companies are dedicating big amounts of their budgets
on influencer marketing.

Lastly, going deeper into the process of reaching truly gender equality within entrepreneurship.
What has been revealed in this research is that females are both experiencing negative special
treatment as well as positive special treatment in terms of “standing out” and being “trendy”. Are
females getting advantages the only way to gender equality? If not, how do we reach gender
equality where gender does simply not play a role at all?

49
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10.Appendices
10.1 Appendix 1

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10.2 Appendix 2

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