Gender Differences in Acquiring Business Support from Online Social Networks
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Jun 12, 2020
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Abstract
Social Networks have always been an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs attempting to engage in venture creation and growth. While differences in gender and its effect on traditional social networks have been explored, it is worth examining the gender effect when using the internet to create online network connections that supply useful resources. This study investigates the difference between male and female entrepreneurs’ social networks, the resources obtained from those networks, and the evolution of the ever-valuable weak tie. Hypotheses are tested using analysis of variance and analyses reveal women that female entrepreneurs and male entrepreneurs use the online network connections very differently in terms of the type of relationship and the type of resource acquired. The findings create implications for organizations that support female, minority or disadvantaged business development as these ventures increase in number and success.
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References
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[30] Redd, T. C., Abebe, M. A., & Wu, S. 2016. Entrepreneurial network composition and the venture creation process: an empirical investigation. In Entrepreneurial Process and Social Networks. Edward Elgar Publishing.
[31] Renzulli, L., Alrdrich, H.E., & Moody, J. 2000. Family matters: Gender, networks, and entrepreneurial outcomes. Social Forces,79, 523-546.
[32] Rho, E., & Lee, K. 2018. Gendered Networking: Gender, Environment, and Managerial Networking. Public Administration Review, 78(3), 409-421.
[33] Ritter, T., Wilkinson, I., and Johnston, W. 2004. Managing in complex business networks. Industrial Marketing Management, 33: 175-183.
[34] Sadowski, B. M., Maitland, C., & van Dongen, J. 2002. Strategic use of the Internet by small-and medium-sized companies: an exploratory study. Information Economics and Policy, 14(1), 75-93.
[35] Salaff, J. W., & Greve, A. 2004, July. Can women's social networks migrate? In Women's Studies International Forum (Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 149-162). Pergamon.
[36] Semrau, T., & Sigmund, S. 2012. Networking ability and the financial performance of new ventures: A mediation analysis among younger and more mature firms. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 6(4), 335-354.
[37] Semrau, T., & Werner, A. 2014. How Exactly Do Network Relationships Pay Off? The Effects of Network Size and Relationship Quality on Access to Start‐Up Resources. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 38(3), 501-525.
[38] Simonova, V., Popov, E., & Komarova, O. 2020, January. Social Networks as a Tool for Leadership in Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. In 5th International Conference on Social, Economic, and Academic Leadership (ICSEALV 2019) (pp. 58-62). Atlantis Press.
[39] Smith, K., Wilson, J., Strough, J., Parker, A., & de Bruin, W. B. 2018. Social support network size, and gender composition across the adulty life span. Innovation in Aging, 2(Suppl 1), 999.
[40] Stoloff, J. A., Glanville, J. L., & Bienenstock, E. J. 1999. Women's participation in the labor force: the role of social networks. Social networks, 21(1), 91-108.
[41] Shane, S. & Venkataraman, S. 2000. The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25: 217-226.
[42] Thelwall, M. 2008. Social networks, gender, and friending: An analysis of MySpace member profiles. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(8), 1321-1330.
[43] Tocher, N., Oswald, S. L., Shook, C. L., & Adams, G. 2012. Entrepreneur political skill and new venture performance: Extending the social competence perspective. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(5-6), 283-305.
[44] Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. 1994. Social network analysis: Methods and applications (Vol. 8). Cambridge university press.
[45] Yang, Y., Chawla, N. V., & Uzzi, B. 2019. A network’s gender composition and communication pattern predict women’s leadership success. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(6), 2033-2038.
[2] Aldrich, H., Reese, P. R., & Dubini, P. 1989. Women on the verge of a breakthrough: Networking among entrepreneurs in the United States and Italy. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 1(4), 339-356.
[3] Aldrich, H., & Zimmer, C. 1986. Entrepreneurship through social networks. In D. Sexton and R. Smilor (Eds.), The art of science of entrepreneurship (pp. 1-23). Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
[4] Burt, R.S. 1992. Structural holes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
[5] Burt, R. S. 2017. Structural holes versus network closure as social capital. In Social capital (pp. 31-56). Routledge.
[6] Burt, R. S., Kilduff, M., & Tasselli, S. 2013. Social network analysis: Foundations and frontiers on advantage. Annual review of psychology, 64, 527-547.
[7] Bruni, A., Gherardi, S., & Poggio, B. 2004. Entrepreneur-mentality, gender and the study of women entrepreneurs. Journal of International Change Management, 17(3), 256-268.
[8] Campbell, K. E., Marsden, P. V., & Hurlbert, J. S. 1986. Social resources and socioeconomic status. Social networks, 8(1), 97-117.
[9] Carter, N., Brush, C., Greene, P., Gatewood, E., & Hart, M. 2003. Women entrepreneurs who break through to equity financing: the influence of human, social and financial capital. Venture Capital: an international journal of entrepreneurial finance, 5(1), 1-28.
[10] DeCarolis, D. M. & Saparito, P. 2006. Social capital, cognition, and entrepreneurial opportunities: a theoretical framework. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(1):41-56.
[11] Dong, W., Ehrlich, K., Macy, M. M., & Muller, M. 2016, February. Embracing cultural diversity: Online social ties in distributed workgroups. In Proceedings of the 19th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing (pp. 274-287).
[12] Ellison, N. B., Vitak, J., Gray, R., & Lampe, C. 2014. Cultivating social resources on social network sites: Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors and their role in social capital processes. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 19(4), 855-870.
[13] Fairlie, R.W. and Robb, A.M. 2008. Race and entrepreneurial success. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
[14] Fallows, D. 2005. How women and men use the Internet. Pew Internet & American Life Project, 28.
[15] Ferris, G. R., Treadway, D. C., Kolodinsky, R. W., Hochwarter, W. A., Kacmar, C. J., Douglas, C., & Frink, D. D. 2005. Development and validation of the political skill inventory. Journal of Management, 31(1), 126-152.
[16] Fischer, E., & Reuber, A. R. 2011. Social interaction via new social media:(How) can interactions on Twitter affect effectual thinking and behavior?. Journal of business venturing, 26(1), 1-18.
[17] Foley, D., & O'Connor, A. J. 2013. Social capital and the networking practices of indigenous entrepreneurs. Journal of Small Business Management, 51(2), 276-296.
[18] Gartner, W. and Carter, N.M. 2004. “Overview: The startup process.” Handbook of Entrepreneurial Dynamics, In William B. Gartner, Kelley G. Shaver, Nancy M. Carter, and Paul D. Reynolds, (Eds.). Sage Publications.
[19] Geho, P. R., & Dangelo, J. 2012. The evolution of social media as a marketing tool for entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneurial Executive, 17, 61.
[20] Granovetter, M.S. 1973. The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78: 1360-1380.
[21] Greve, A., & Salaff, J. W. 2003. Social networks and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 28(1), 1-22.
[22] Goetz, S. J., & Freshwater, D. 2001. State-level determinants of entrepreneurship and a preliminary measure of entrepreneurial climate. Economic Development Quarterly, 15(1), 58-70.
[23] Johnson, J. S. 2016. Improving online panel data usage in sales research. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 36(1), 74-85.
[24] Lin, N. 2001. Building a network theory of social capital. In N. Lin, K. Cook & R.S. Burt (Eds.), Social Captial: 3-31. New York: Gruyter, Inc.
[25] Manolova, T. S., Carter, N. M., Manev, I. M., & Gyoshev, B. S. 2007. The differential effect of men and women entrepreneurs' human capital and networking on growth expectancies in Bulgaria. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 31(3), 407-426.
[26] Marsden, P. V. and Campbell, K. E. 1984. Measuring tie strength. Social Forces, 63: 482-501.
[27] Mena, B., José, M., Alarcón, R., Arnau Gras, J., Bono Cabré, R., & Bendayan, R. 2017. Non-normal data: Is ANOVA still a valid option? Psicothema, 2017, vol. 29, num. 4, p. 552-557.
[28] Moore, G. 1990. Structural determinants of men’s and women’s social networks. American Sociological Review, 55: 726-735.
[29] Redd, T.C. 2014. The Influence of Social Network Dynamism on Business Start-up Activity: A Longitudinal Examination of Female Nascent Entrepreneurs. Journal of Women’s Entrepreneurship and Education, 2014 (3-4): 23-35.
[30] Redd, T. C., Abebe, M. A., & Wu, S. 2016. Entrepreneurial network composition and the venture creation process: an empirical investigation. In Entrepreneurial Process and Social Networks. Edward Elgar Publishing.
[31] Renzulli, L., Alrdrich, H.E., & Moody, J. 2000. Family matters: Gender, networks, and entrepreneurial outcomes. Social Forces,79, 523-546.
[32] Rho, E., & Lee, K. 2018. Gendered Networking: Gender, Environment, and Managerial Networking. Public Administration Review, 78(3), 409-421.
[33] Ritter, T., Wilkinson, I., and Johnston, W. 2004. Managing in complex business networks. Industrial Marketing Management, 33: 175-183.
[34] Sadowski, B. M., Maitland, C., & van Dongen, J. 2002. Strategic use of the Internet by small-and medium-sized companies: an exploratory study. Information Economics and Policy, 14(1), 75-93.
[35] Salaff, J. W., & Greve, A. 2004, July. Can women's social networks migrate? In Women's Studies International Forum (Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 149-162). Pergamon.
[36] Semrau, T., & Sigmund, S. 2012. Networking ability and the financial performance of new ventures: A mediation analysis among younger and more mature firms. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 6(4), 335-354.
[37] Semrau, T., & Werner, A. 2014. How Exactly Do Network Relationships Pay Off? The Effects of Network Size and Relationship Quality on Access to Start‐Up Resources. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 38(3), 501-525.
[38] Simonova, V., Popov, E., & Komarova, O. 2020, January. Social Networks as a Tool for Leadership in Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. In 5th International Conference on Social, Economic, and Academic Leadership (ICSEALV 2019) (pp. 58-62). Atlantis Press.
[39] Smith, K., Wilson, J., Strough, J., Parker, A., & de Bruin, W. B. 2018. Social support network size, and gender composition across the adulty life span. Innovation in Aging, 2(Suppl 1), 999.
[40] Stoloff, J. A., Glanville, J. L., & Bienenstock, E. J. 1999. Women's participation in the labor force: the role of social networks. Social networks, 21(1), 91-108.
[41] Shane, S. & Venkataraman, S. 2000. The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Academy of Management Review, 25: 217-226.
[42] Thelwall, M. 2008. Social networks, gender, and friending: An analysis of MySpace member profiles. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(8), 1321-1330.
[43] Tocher, N., Oswald, S. L., Shook, C. L., & Adams, G. 2012. Entrepreneur political skill and new venture performance: Extending the social competence perspective. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 24(5-6), 283-305.
[44] Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. 1994. Social network analysis: Methods and applications (Vol. 8). Cambridge university press.
[45] Yang, Y., Chawla, N. V., & Uzzi, B. 2019. A network’s gender composition and communication pattern predict women’s leadership success. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(6), 2033-2038.