Advancing a Framework for Coherent Research on Women's Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Most would agree that the dramatic growth and participation of women in entrepreneurship and the expanding body of research creates a need for both generic and specific theoretical perspectives and research approaches to better understand this phenomenon. To address this need, we consider issues relevant to advancing a framework for women’s entrepreneurship research. However, it is not our intention to establish some reduced parameters for the study of women’s entrepreneurship; rather, we concur with Gartner that “. . . entrepreneurship research espouses a diverse range of theories applied to various kinds of phenomena. . . . There is no elephant in entrepreneurship. The various topics in the entrepreneurship field do not constitute a congruous whole” (Gartner, 2001, p. 34). As such, we take into consideration the need to bridge the practice of entrepreneurship with this body of theory as it applies to the large and growing population of women entrepreneurs, and for policy makers to be aware of research results that have implications for fostering women’s entrepreneurship. This second volume of the special issue on women’s entrepreneurship marks the end of our guest editorial responsibilities for Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. However, we are not able to easily let go of our thinking, and consistent with the theme, we wish to consider the dialogue. And so, before introducing the articles for this volume on women’s entrepreneurship, it made sense for us to analyze current and future themes in women’s entrepreneurship, then to outline some methodological concerns we observed in our discussions during the review process for this two-volume special issue on women’s entrepreneurship. This analysis has led us to consider whether we need a separate theory on women’s entrepreneurship. This expanded introduction offers an overview of elements for a proposed framework that we hope will inspire more dialogue and research on women’s entrepreneurship.