MORRIS et al 221

Journal of Small Business Management 2006 44(2) pp 221ndash244

The Dilemma of Growth UnderstandingVenture Size Choices of Women Entrepreneursby Michael H Morris Nola N Miyasaki Craig E Watters and Susan M Coombes

In recent years the number of women-owned firms with employees has expandedat three times the rate of all employer firms Yet women remain underrepresented intheir proportion of high-growth firms A number of plausible explanations exist Todevelop richer insights a two-stage research project was undertaken A mail surveywas sent to a sample of female entrepreneurs to assess motives obstacles goals andaspirations needs and business identity Based on the survey results follow-up in-depth interviews were conducted with entrepreneurs selecting equally from modest-growth and high-growth ventures In terms of quantitative findings growthorientation was associated with whether a woman was ldquopushedrdquo or ldquopulledrdquo intoentrepreneurship was motivated by wealth or achievement factors had a strongwomenrsquos identity in the venture had equity partners and believed women facedunique selling obstacles The qualitative research made clear that modest- and high-growth entrepreneurs differ in how they view themselves their families their ven-tures and the larger environment The results of both stages suggest that growth is adeliberate choice and that women have a clear sense of the costs and benefits ofgrowth and make careful trade-off decisions

Michael H Morris is professor Chris J Witting Chairholder and head Department of Entre-

preneurship amp Emerging Enterprises Whitman School of Management Syracuse University

Nola N Miyasaki is executive director of Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at the

Syracuse University

Craig E Watters is Whitman Professor of Entrepreneurial Practice in the Department of

Entrepreneurship amp Emerging Enterprises at the Syracuse University

Susan M Coombes is a PhD student in the Department of Entrepreneurship amp Emerging

Enterprises at the Syracuse University

Gender-based research on entrepre-neurs has generally indicated that simi-larities between the two sexes outweighthe differences (Brush 1992) One might imply from such findings thatcommonalities between male and femaleentrepreneurs would result in similar

performance outcomes for their ven-tures Yet Rietz and Henrekson (2000)note performance differences betweenventures started by men versus womenin terms of revenue growth Others (forexample Menzies Diochon and Gasse2004 Sexton 1989a 1989b) have sug-

gested a lower propensity towardsgrowth among female entrepreneursGovernment statistics indicate that inrecent years the number of women-owned firms with employees hasexpanded at three times the rate of allemployer firms and as a group thesebusinesses have experienced growth(Fairlie 2004) Yet women remain under-represented in terms of their proportionof high-growth firms

In their efforts to debunk a number ofthe derogatory myths concerning womenentrepreneurs (cf Brush et al 2004)Menzies Diochon and Gasse (2004)point to some underlying patterns thatmay help explain growth limitations inwomen-owned ventures Their findingssuggested that women were less likely to have educational backgrounds in engi-neering and computing and tended notto take classes on how to start a busi-ness Conversely men tended to take onpartners who were not family memberswere more predisposed to start high-techbusinesses and more likely to focus onintellectual property issues when startinga venture These tendencies may result inventures of greater scale and higher riskat the time of start-up enhancing theirgrowth prospects

Other explanations exist Quality-of-life considerations may find womenresisting growth as they seek greaterbalance among the demands of workfamily and their personal lives Alterna-tively it may be that women who adopta stronger ldquofemale imagerdquo superimpose aparticular bounded rationality upon theirentrepreneurial ventures and approachesto business start-up In doing so theymay also potentially transfer the stigmaof societal myths regarding womenentrepreneurs onto the organizationaffecting the attitude and ways in whichgrowth is pursued (Brush et al 2004)Socialization processes throughoutwomenrsquos lives may critically affect theirself-assessments about being ill-preparedwith regard to firm creationmdasheven when

outsiders evaluate skills and needs asbeing equal to those of men (Jones andTullous 2002) Bird and Brush (2002)note ldquo the gendered perspective ofthe founder influences the organizingprocess and resultant new organizationrdquowhether it be for high growth or notThis perspective creates unconsciousbiases regarding capabilities and poten-tial thereby potentially creating aharmful feedback cycle that is difficult toovercome

The purpose of the current research isto develop richer insights into thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs and the underlying causes of theseaspirations Of particular importance areinsights into the question ldquodo womenmake the growth decision or is it effec-tively made for them based on environ-mental conditions and the types ofventures they pursuerdquo Toward this enda two-stage research project was under-taken In Stage I a cross-sectional mailsurvey was sent to a random sample of500 female entrepreneurs located inupstate New York Based on the analysisof the survey results Stage II of theresearch involved follow-up in-depthpersonal interviews with 50 female entrepreneurs selected equally fromldquolifestylerdquo and ldquohigh growthrdquo venturesUnderlying explanations of the factorsidentified as significant determinants ofgrowth orientation in Stage I wereexplored at length Implications aredrawn from the findings of the tworesearch stages for theory and practiceand suggestions are made for ongoingresearch

Literature ReviewWomenrsquos Growth Performance

Since the seminal work by Hisrich andBrush (1983) in which they profiled distinguishing characteristics of femaleentrepreneurs the past 25 years haveseen a steady increase in the number ofstudies on women entrepreneurs Keyissues addressed have included educa-

222 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

tional and work background psy-chological characteristics motivationperceptions of career efficacy trainingand skill development comparative earn-ings levels management practices exter-nal networking desire to succeed andobstacles encountered (Dumas 2001Robinson 2001 Greene et al 1999 Brush1992 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990 Birley 1989 Stevenson 1986)At the same time only limited attentionhas been devoted to understanding the growth aspirations of women entrepreneurs

It has long been recognized thatwomen start ventures that grow at aslower rate than those owned by men(Hisrich and Brush 1984) Cliff (1998)notes that compared to males femaleentrepreneurs tend to set lower business-size thresholds beyond which they prefernot to expand and to be more concernedwith risks attached to fast growth Theseconclusions are reinforced by more re-cent statistical evidence

Women are starting and acquiringbusinesses at a faster rate than any othersegment in the United States Between1997 and 2002 women started anaverage of 424 new ventures each dayor 775000 new businesses per yearcomprising 55 percent of all new venturestart-ups (NWBC 2005) As of 2004 67million privately held businesses weremajority-owned by women accountingfor 30 percent of all businesses in thecountry Between 1997 and 2004women-owned businesses employmentand revenues grew and increased by 2339 and 46 percent compared to 9 12and 34 percent in all businesses respec-tively Yet these numbers are somewhatmisleading as most of the increaseappears to have come from a very smallsegment of large ventures Despiteimpressive numbers of new starts andpositive indicators for survival rates alarge majority of women-owned busi-nesses start and stay small neveremploying more than 10 people (NWBC

2005 CWBR 2001a 2001b) In factwomen are creating sole proprietorshipsat a faster rate than men (CWBR 2001a)and the percentage of women-ownedfirms with employees is lower than thatfor all firms (NWBC 2004) In 1997 onlyan estimated 1 percent of all women-owned businesses had more than 500employees (CWBR 2001b) and evenaccounting for increased numbers oflarge women-owned firms in the pasteight years this percentage has notmeaningfully changed

Women in general do not appear tohave aggressive growth objectives withevidence from one representative sampleindicating that although many womenbusiness owners prioritize increasingtheir client base and profits most ofthem have five-year revenue goals ofunder $1 million (NWBC 2003) In addi-tion the fact that the geographic con-centration of previously venture-fundedwomen-owned businesses is in the Westand East regions of the United States(CWBR 2004) while the fastest growingareas for women-owned businesses arein the Midwest and Southwest regions(CWBR Fact Sheet 2004) implies a geo-graphic disparity whereby most women-owned start-ups are not likely to belocated in an environment that encour-ages high growth

Key Factors Impacting Growth Aspirations

Various researchers have noted fun-damental similarities between male andfemale entrepreneurs most notably interms of key motives such as the desirefor independence or self-achievement orthe tendency to have an internal locus of control (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005Orhan 2001 Littunen 2000 Birley 1989Scott 1986) However key differencesexist as well and these may have impor-tant growth implications

Female entrepreneurs tend to be olderand have children in more instances thantheir male counterparts when starting a

MORRIS et al 223

business (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005)Women-owned businesses tend to besmaller with less capital have lower rev-enues and fewer employees and reside inlower-profit industries (Bird 1989)Women tend to be sole owners and haveless managerial experience (Hisrich andBrush 1984) In terms of personal char-acteristics women demonstrate lowerlevels of self-confidence (Birley 1989Chaganti 1986)

Arguably woman-owned ventures areespecially affected by conflicts betweenhome and family demands and these con-flicts may have deliberate or inadvertentimplications for growth (Stoner Hartmanand Arora 1990) Although both sexesmust deal with conflicting demands thatinclude marriage and family concerns thefact that women often maintain traditionalduties in the household and rear childrenwhile also managing their ventures hassignificant implications regardingchoices priorities and aspirations(Stevenson 1986) As explained by Stilland Timms (2000) there is a gender-basedcircumstance of ldquodomestic division oflabor and time povertyrdquo that women musteffectively deal with in order to maintainbalance between conducting a businessand maintaining a family Thresholdswhere growth is suspended or cappedmay well represent maintenance ofcontrol (Still and Timms 2000 Cliff 1998)especially in situations where a womanrsquoslife cycle is closely associated with child-care and family responsibilities BainesWheelock and Abrams (1997) note thatemployment growth is not greatly valuedat key life-cycle stages Nongrowth be-comes a deliberate and legitimate choiceof these women (see also Mitra 2002)

Occupational flexibility is a significantmotivator in female entrepreneurship(Taylor and Kosarek 1995 Zellner 1994Olson and Currie 1992) It is a more crit-ical factor for women compared to maleventure owners (Stevenson 1986) Thisflexibility assists with the desire and need

to both work and raise families (Orhanand Scott 2001 Ducheneaut and Orhan1997 Birley 1989 Cromie 1987) Forfemale entrepreneurs with children theirventure choice offers more flexibility toaccommodate both their businessfinan-cial and family responsibilities Corre-spondingly the prominent reasons statedby both men and women for starting busi-nesses include the need for achievementautonomy and flexibility (Bowen andHisrich 1986) However women entre-preneurs also value the ability to pursuecareer goals in tandem with family obli-gations Studies have shown that forfemale entrepreneurs time with family isprimary and ventures were sometimesspecifically founded to allow for morequality time with family (Gundry andWelsch 2001 Starr and Yudkin 1996) Inaddition they attempt to maintain equi-librium between economic goals such asprofit and growth and noneconomicgoals such as personal fulfillment andhelping others (Brush 1992) Brush et al(2004) suggest that the broader statedaspirations of women business ownersactually create a detrimental perceptionthat women are less focused and drivento succeed in their businesses than menresulting in difficulties obtaining institu-tional- or venture-capital financing

Women entrepreneurs also encounterproblems not typically experienced bymales (Scott 1986 Hisrich and Brush1984) Gender stereotypes along withlimited access to networks and mentor-ing may create barriers to effectivelyrunning a business (Still and Timms2000) Culturally imposed attitudesregarding gender remain barriers towomen in achieving higher financialrewards and status in the business world(Calas and Smirnich 1992 Gutek Naka-mura and Nieva 1986) Cultural consid-erations may also influence the types ofrole models embraced by women Previ-ous or current exposure to entrepreneur-ial or highly achieving role models has

224 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

been identified as a factor in growth ori-entation for many women entrepreneurs(Orhan and Scott 2001 Matthews andMoser 1996 Hisrich and Brush 1984)Although some obstacles can be attrib-uted to the complexity of the small busi-ness itself rather than to gender-basedfactors women face specific hindrancesto enterprise growth (whether self-imposed or cultural) They experienceimpediments such as the inability to effec-tively manage both business and familythe possible inability to emotionally breakaway from their businesses when at homewith family and a greatly reduced sociallife (Stevenson 1986 Goffee and Scase1983)

It has been suggested that a primaryhurdle faced by women aspiring todevelop high-growth ventures is theinability to obtain financing This is evi-denced by the disparity of venture capitalfunding for women-owned businessesIn the 1990s a peak investment periodonly a fraction of all venture capitalfunding went to women in 1996 only25 percent of women-led venturesreceived venture capital between 1988and 1998 only 35 percent of all ventureinvestments made were invested inwomen-led businesses and in 2004women attracted about 40 percent ofventure capital (Brush et al 2004 NWBCReport 2001) Such disparity is likelybecause of the perception that women-owned ventures are not serious aboutgrowth that women are not as good inleadership and management of largescale ventures and other generalizedgender-based perceptions that make itdifficult for women-owned ventures toobtain growth capital These perceptionsare due in theory to the way that dataabout women-owned ventures is pre-sented and the fact that women are laterentrants to the entrepreneurial game(Brush et al 2004)

Yet some researchers maintain thatthere is a lack of significant evidence

regarding discriminatory barriers finan-cial or otherwise to venture develop-ment by women (Catley and Hamilton1998 Chrisman et al 1990 Buttner andRosen 1989) These researchers arguethat women do not obviously experiencesignificant barriers to the formation ofventures but they do tend to rely moreon personal equity than men (Birley1989 Pellegrino and Reece 1982)

Another distinction is that men tend tohave stronger business backgrounds andexperience whereas women typically aremore highly educated but their educationis less related to business management(Clifford 1996 Scott 1986 Stevenson1986 Watkins and Watkins 1984) FischerReuber and Dyke (1993) explainedsmaller size and slower growth of incomein women-owned ventures as a lack ofexperience working in similar firms andstarting up previous businessesHowevertheir study did indicate that similarity ofproductivity rates and returns might beexplained by the ability of these womento compensate for their lack of certainexperiences and skills The entrepre-neurrsquos sex is neither a setback nor advan-tage Male- and female-run businessesmay be managed differently but in waysthat are similar in their overall effective-ness Different strengths may be utilizedin equally proficient ways allowing forsimilar business performance

The businesses traditionally started byfemale entrepreneurs (for example retailand service) may very well influence thelack of (or slower) growth and smallnessof the ventures (Catley and Hamilton1998 Hisrich et al 1996 Fischer Reuberand Dyke 1993 Kalleberg and Leicht1991 Charboneau 1981 Hisrich andOrsquoBrien 1981) However recent findingsand statistics indicate that while womenhistorically chose female-oriented busi-nesses that were not scalable such asbeauty parlors and flower shops in thelast decade more women chose to startventures in growth sectors such as tech-

MORRIS et al 225

nology manufacturing communicationsand transportation (SBA 2001)

A Feminist PerspectiveAlternative perspectives on the growth

of women-owned ventures can be derivedby considering the feminist literatureFeminist theory is focused around theconcept of change change in organiza-tions society and the transformation ofunderstanding While quite distinct fromeach other the various feminist theoriesshare commonality in their emphasis onhistorical domination of women by menand male-oriented societal policies (Flax1990 Ferguson 1989) Liberal feminismdiscusses how sex and gender are inti-mately related to socialization (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993)The theory in thisarea addresses the disadvantages thatwomen face because of discrimination orlack of resources such as educationalbackground Social feminism regardspower relations as central to defininggender and concludes that socializationexperienced throughout life creates inher-ent differences between genders Radicalfeminism explores the role of culture ingiving greater worth to the male experi-ence and suggests that if anything thefemale experience warrants the greateremphasis (Scott 1986)

As noted researchers have providedsupport for the notion that differencesboth do and do not exist between maleand female entrepreneurs The method-ologies arguably based in male traditionand standards may help explain the con-trariness in findings Historical eventsaccepted as truth have not necessarilyincluded feminist issues and points ofviewmdashuse of different values may resultin large variations in results (Hurley1999 Kuhn 1970) Studies attempt toascertain how men and women conformto male institutional standards whilefailing to investigate uniquely femaleperspectives and contexts

A core precept of the feminist per-spective is that women and by extension

women entrepreneurs should not be gen-eralized as they are a complicated andvaried collection with multiple character-istics and motivations (Sarri and Tri-hopoulou 2005) Women have many rolesto play in their lives so may not follownormal expected growth cycles based onstereotypical male-owned business cycles(Still and Timms 2000) Women areunique in that they have the skills andcompetencies that help them to mergeboth business and family lives managingboth effectively and intentionally (Sarriand Trihopoulou 2005) They rely (con-sciously or not) on their experiences ashomemakers for types of managerialexperiences even without professionalexperience and networks (Birley 1989)The skills involved in managing house-holds may significantly add to womenrsquoscapabilities in business (Stevenson 1986)Sources of culture behavioral norms pro-fessional networks and family relation-ships all affect the attitudes of womenentrepreneurs (Birley 1989) For instancethe desire to have a positive influence(and the inability to have had opportunityto do so beforehand) is also a motiva-tional factor for many women in begin-ning a venture (Orhan and Scott 2001 Stilland Timms 2000 McKenna 1997) Somealso feel they have superior abilities com-pared with men in human relations andcatering to people (Scott 1986) There-fore society and culture may very wellplay an important role in how womenexperience entrepreneurship (Orhan andScott 2001)

Feminist theory requires that entre-preneurship researchers try to preventmolding women in the form of menFriedan (1995) argues that rather thanmerely changing the plight of womenrsquosinterests entire definitions of concepts(such as how we characterize ldquosuccessrdquo)should be restructured into a collectivevision that includes both genders Inorder to revise the male-based researchinto an inclusive field theories must notbe gender-free (for there is pertinence

226 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

in the differences between genders)Rather they should strongly considerfrom where the knowledge base evolvedso that gender can be investigated appro-priately and so theorists can accuratelydelineate what values they will utilize intheir studies (Hurley 1999)

Feminist theory has often emphasizedthe impact of a male-dominated patri-archy assuming a socially constructedcondition of gender relations (Hurley1999 Martin 1993) Hurley (1999) notesvariables such as political factors and statepolicies culture spatial location and theprofessionalization of entrepreneurshipas affecting rates of organizational found-ing Domination of lower-status groupsmay cause creation of businesses in orderto surmount control and social inequality(Martin 1990 Woodul 1978) Studiesexamining the discrimination and social-ization aspects of male- and female-owned business performance are lackingin the field of entrepreneurship andexplore very restricted ranges of differ-ences (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993) Ina recent analysis of the venture-financinggap facing women entrepreneurs Brushet al (2004) theorized that women experi-ence occupational segregation caused bythe socialization of career paths Statisticsshow that women still occupy the vastmajority of support and administrative-support positions such as secretariesnurses domestic services and clericalworkers At the top levels of Fortune 500companies women represent a smallminority in terms of board seats and topmanagerial positions heldAll of this leadsto the perception or misperception thatwomen are less capable of and interestedin running growth businesses than theirmale counterparts The authors argue thatthis perception fails to recognize orreward a generation of women who arehighly educated experienced capableand motivated to grow scalable businesses(Brush et al 2004)

Further the feminist movement itselfmay have catalyzed the formation of ven-

tures with specific intentions to overcomethe typical masculine organization and thecapitalist society that supports it (Martin1993)Radical change is encouraged but isdirected not simply towards the creationof economic independence and ostensi-bly sexual equality Instead the objectiveis to topple masculine economic and political influencesmdashassuming that thestrong presence of feminine influence will change the nature of business itself(Woodul 1978) Because feminism pro-motes the creation of organizations thatmeet the needs of women (Calas and Smir-nich 1992) it is not illogical to proposethat this may play prominently in the significant increase of female-ownedentrepreneurial ventures (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005 Davidson and Burke2004 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990) These self-created feminine-gendered businesses may as Koen (1984)suggested contribute to the feministcause

Observations of women in entrepre-neurship can potentially be related tovarious aspects of feminist theory Theinstilled valuesmdashand feminine perspec-tivesmdashof venture founders can have per-tinent impacts on creation and operationof the organization The attributes andoutcomes (including tendency towardsgrowth) will be strongly affected by thegender perspective of the entrepreneur(Bird and Brush 2002 Shaver and Scott1991 Bird 1989) Perhaps because of theinherent feminine perspective a moremanaged (versus high) growth approachis seen with women entrepreneurs (Cliff1998)

Research Model andMethodology

Based on the extant literature the con-ceptual model illustrated in Figure 1 wascreated to guide the empirical researchIn the model company performance isposited to be a function of the growth orientation of the entrepreneur Growth

MORRIS et al 227

orientation in turn is a function ofmotives perceived obstacles female iden-tity personal descriptors and businessdescriptors Motives for starting theventure would seem an important deter-minant of growth aspirations as thosewho are motivated by the desire to getrich or to meet a challenge would seemmore interested in growth than thosemotivated by discrimination or a desirefor personal expression With regard toobstacles the hypothesis is that thosewho perceive obstacles to be significantwill be less growth-oriented Female iden-tity is a variable intended to capture therelative emphasis of the entrepreneur onfemale target audiences suppliers andinvestors and the extent to which thebusiness is promoted or positioned asldquowoman-ownedrdquo It is hypothesized that

identity will be negatively associated withgrowth orientation as the concern withaddressing womenrsquos issues might takepriority over growth and profit The per-sonal descriptors included age and educa-tion with the hypotheses that growthorientation would be stronger amongyounger and more educated women Interms of business descriptors it washypothesized that growth orientationwould be higher among ventures that had lasted longer had more employeeswith equity held by larger numbers ofinvestors and where sales revenue andrevenue growth were higher Lastlygrowth orientation is hypothesized toresult in higher levels of realized growth

To develop richer insights into the ele-ments in the model a two-stage processinvolving both quantitative and qualita-

228 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Figure 1The Conceptual Model

Motives

Obstacles

Goals and Aspirations

WomenrsquosIdentity

Type of Venture

Personal Characteristics

Life Stage

GrowthOrientation

VentureGrowth

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

gested a lower propensity towardsgrowth among female entrepreneursGovernment statistics indicate that inrecent years the number of women-owned firms with employees hasexpanded at three times the rate of allemployer firms and as a group thesebusinesses have experienced growth(Fairlie 2004) Yet women remain under-represented in terms of their proportionof high-growth firms

In their efforts to debunk a number ofthe derogatory myths concerning womenentrepreneurs (cf Brush et al 2004)Menzies Diochon and Gasse (2004)point to some underlying patterns thatmay help explain growth limitations inwomen-owned ventures Their findingssuggested that women were less likely to have educational backgrounds in engi-neering and computing and tended notto take classes on how to start a busi-ness Conversely men tended to take onpartners who were not family memberswere more predisposed to start high-techbusinesses and more likely to focus onintellectual property issues when startinga venture These tendencies may result inventures of greater scale and higher riskat the time of start-up enhancing theirgrowth prospects

Other explanations exist Quality-of-life considerations may find womenresisting growth as they seek greaterbalance among the demands of workfamily and their personal lives Alterna-tively it may be that women who adopta stronger ldquofemale imagerdquo superimpose aparticular bounded rationality upon theirentrepreneurial ventures and approachesto business start-up In doing so theymay also potentially transfer the stigmaof societal myths regarding womenentrepreneurs onto the organizationaffecting the attitude and ways in whichgrowth is pursued (Brush et al 2004)Socialization processes throughoutwomenrsquos lives may critically affect theirself-assessments about being ill-preparedwith regard to firm creationmdasheven when

outsiders evaluate skills and needs asbeing equal to those of men (Jones andTullous 2002) Bird and Brush (2002)note ldquo the gendered perspective ofthe founder influences the organizingprocess and resultant new organizationrdquowhether it be for high growth or notThis perspective creates unconsciousbiases regarding capabilities and poten-tial thereby potentially creating aharmful feedback cycle that is difficult toovercome

The purpose of the current research isto develop richer insights into thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs and the underlying causes of theseaspirations Of particular importance areinsights into the question ldquodo womenmake the growth decision or is it effec-tively made for them based on environ-mental conditions and the types ofventures they pursuerdquo Toward this enda two-stage research project was under-taken In Stage I a cross-sectional mailsurvey was sent to a random sample of500 female entrepreneurs located inupstate New York Based on the analysisof the survey results Stage II of theresearch involved follow-up in-depthpersonal interviews with 50 female entrepreneurs selected equally fromldquolifestylerdquo and ldquohigh growthrdquo venturesUnderlying explanations of the factorsidentified as significant determinants ofgrowth orientation in Stage I wereexplored at length Implications aredrawn from the findings of the tworesearch stages for theory and practiceand suggestions are made for ongoingresearch

Literature ReviewWomenrsquos Growth Performance

Since the seminal work by Hisrich andBrush (1983) in which they profiled distinguishing characteristics of femaleentrepreneurs the past 25 years haveseen a steady increase in the number ofstudies on women entrepreneurs Keyissues addressed have included educa-

222 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

tional and work background psy-chological characteristics motivationperceptions of career efficacy trainingand skill development comparative earn-ings levels management practices exter-nal networking desire to succeed andobstacles encountered (Dumas 2001Robinson 2001 Greene et al 1999 Brush1992 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990 Birley 1989 Stevenson 1986)At the same time only limited attentionhas been devoted to understanding the growth aspirations of women entrepreneurs

It has long been recognized thatwomen start ventures that grow at aslower rate than those owned by men(Hisrich and Brush 1984) Cliff (1998)notes that compared to males femaleentrepreneurs tend to set lower business-size thresholds beyond which they prefernot to expand and to be more concernedwith risks attached to fast growth Theseconclusions are reinforced by more re-cent statistical evidence

Women are starting and acquiringbusinesses at a faster rate than any othersegment in the United States Between1997 and 2002 women started anaverage of 424 new ventures each dayor 775000 new businesses per yearcomprising 55 percent of all new venturestart-ups (NWBC 2005) As of 2004 67million privately held businesses weremajority-owned by women accountingfor 30 percent of all businesses in thecountry Between 1997 and 2004women-owned businesses employmentand revenues grew and increased by 2339 and 46 percent compared to 9 12and 34 percent in all businesses respec-tively Yet these numbers are somewhatmisleading as most of the increaseappears to have come from a very smallsegment of large ventures Despiteimpressive numbers of new starts andpositive indicators for survival rates alarge majority of women-owned busi-nesses start and stay small neveremploying more than 10 people (NWBC

2005 CWBR 2001a 2001b) In factwomen are creating sole proprietorshipsat a faster rate than men (CWBR 2001a)and the percentage of women-ownedfirms with employees is lower than thatfor all firms (NWBC 2004) In 1997 onlyan estimated 1 percent of all women-owned businesses had more than 500employees (CWBR 2001b) and evenaccounting for increased numbers oflarge women-owned firms in the pasteight years this percentage has notmeaningfully changed

Women in general do not appear tohave aggressive growth objectives withevidence from one representative sampleindicating that although many womenbusiness owners prioritize increasingtheir client base and profits most ofthem have five-year revenue goals ofunder $1 million (NWBC 2003) In addi-tion the fact that the geographic con-centration of previously venture-fundedwomen-owned businesses is in the Westand East regions of the United States(CWBR 2004) while the fastest growingareas for women-owned businesses arein the Midwest and Southwest regions(CWBR Fact Sheet 2004) implies a geo-graphic disparity whereby most women-owned start-ups are not likely to belocated in an environment that encour-ages high growth

Key Factors Impacting Growth Aspirations

Various researchers have noted fun-damental similarities between male andfemale entrepreneurs most notably interms of key motives such as the desirefor independence or self-achievement orthe tendency to have an internal locus of control (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005Orhan 2001 Littunen 2000 Birley 1989Scott 1986) However key differencesexist as well and these may have impor-tant growth implications

Female entrepreneurs tend to be olderand have children in more instances thantheir male counterparts when starting a

MORRIS et al 223

business (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005)Women-owned businesses tend to besmaller with less capital have lower rev-enues and fewer employees and reside inlower-profit industries (Bird 1989)Women tend to be sole owners and haveless managerial experience (Hisrich andBrush 1984) In terms of personal char-acteristics women demonstrate lowerlevels of self-confidence (Birley 1989Chaganti 1986)

Arguably woman-owned ventures areespecially affected by conflicts betweenhome and family demands and these con-flicts may have deliberate or inadvertentimplications for growth (Stoner Hartmanand Arora 1990) Although both sexesmust deal with conflicting demands thatinclude marriage and family concerns thefact that women often maintain traditionalduties in the household and rear childrenwhile also managing their ventures hassignificant implications regardingchoices priorities and aspirations(Stevenson 1986) As explained by Stilland Timms (2000) there is a gender-basedcircumstance of ldquodomestic division oflabor and time povertyrdquo that women musteffectively deal with in order to maintainbalance between conducting a businessand maintaining a family Thresholdswhere growth is suspended or cappedmay well represent maintenance ofcontrol (Still and Timms 2000 Cliff 1998)especially in situations where a womanrsquoslife cycle is closely associated with child-care and family responsibilities BainesWheelock and Abrams (1997) note thatemployment growth is not greatly valuedat key life-cycle stages Nongrowth be-comes a deliberate and legitimate choiceof these women (see also Mitra 2002)

Occupational flexibility is a significantmotivator in female entrepreneurship(Taylor and Kosarek 1995 Zellner 1994Olson and Currie 1992) It is a more crit-ical factor for women compared to maleventure owners (Stevenson 1986) Thisflexibility assists with the desire and need

to both work and raise families (Orhanand Scott 2001 Ducheneaut and Orhan1997 Birley 1989 Cromie 1987) Forfemale entrepreneurs with children theirventure choice offers more flexibility toaccommodate both their businessfinan-cial and family responsibilities Corre-spondingly the prominent reasons statedby both men and women for starting busi-nesses include the need for achievementautonomy and flexibility (Bowen andHisrich 1986) However women entre-preneurs also value the ability to pursuecareer goals in tandem with family obli-gations Studies have shown that forfemale entrepreneurs time with family isprimary and ventures were sometimesspecifically founded to allow for morequality time with family (Gundry andWelsch 2001 Starr and Yudkin 1996) Inaddition they attempt to maintain equi-librium between economic goals such asprofit and growth and noneconomicgoals such as personal fulfillment andhelping others (Brush 1992) Brush et al(2004) suggest that the broader statedaspirations of women business ownersactually create a detrimental perceptionthat women are less focused and drivento succeed in their businesses than menresulting in difficulties obtaining institu-tional- or venture-capital financing

Women entrepreneurs also encounterproblems not typically experienced bymales (Scott 1986 Hisrich and Brush1984) Gender stereotypes along withlimited access to networks and mentor-ing may create barriers to effectivelyrunning a business (Still and Timms2000) Culturally imposed attitudesregarding gender remain barriers towomen in achieving higher financialrewards and status in the business world(Calas and Smirnich 1992 Gutek Naka-mura and Nieva 1986) Cultural consid-erations may also influence the types ofrole models embraced by women Previ-ous or current exposure to entrepreneur-ial or highly achieving role models has

224 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

been identified as a factor in growth ori-entation for many women entrepreneurs(Orhan and Scott 2001 Matthews andMoser 1996 Hisrich and Brush 1984)Although some obstacles can be attrib-uted to the complexity of the small busi-ness itself rather than to gender-basedfactors women face specific hindrancesto enterprise growth (whether self-imposed or cultural) They experienceimpediments such as the inability to effec-tively manage both business and familythe possible inability to emotionally breakaway from their businesses when at homewith family and a greatly reduced sociallife (Stevenson 1986 Goffee and Scase1983)

It has been suggested that a primaryhurdle faced by women aspiring todevelop high-growth ventures is theinability to obtain financing This is evi-denced by the disparity of venture capitalfunding for women-owned businessesIn the 1990s a peak investment periodonly a fraction of all venture capitalfunding went to women in 1996 only25 percent of women-led venturesreceived venture capital between 1988and 1998 only 35 percent of all ventureinvestments made were invested inwomen-led businesses and in 2004women attracted about 40 percent ofventure capital (Brush et al 2004 NWBCReport 2001) Such disparity is likelybecause of the perception that women-owned ventures are not serious aboutgrowth that women are not as good inleadership and management of largescale ventures and other generalizedgender-based perceptions that make itdifficult for women-owned ventures toobtain growth capital These perceptionsare due in theory to the way that dataabout women-owned ventures is pre-sented and the fact that women are laterentrants to the entrepreneurial game(Brush et al 2004)

Yet some researchers maintain thatthere is a lack of significant evidence

regarding discriminatory barriers finan-cial or otherwise to venture develop-ment by women (Catley and Hamilton1998 Chrisman et al 1990 Buttner andRosen 1989) These researchers arguethat women do not obviously experiencesignificant barriers to the formation ofventures but they do tend to rely moreon personal equity than men (Birley1989 Pellegrino and Reece 1982)

Another distinction is that men tend tohave stronger business backgrounds andexperience whereas women typically aremore highly educated but their educationis less related to business management(Clifford 1996 Scott 1986 Stevenson1986 Watkins and Watkins 1984) FischerReuber and Dyke (1993) explainedsmaller size and slower growth of incomein women-owned ventures as a lack ofexperience working in similar firms andstarting up previous businessesHowevertheir study did indicate that similarity ofproductivity rates and returns might beexplained by the ability of these womento compensate for their lack of certainexperiences and skills The entrepre-neurrsquos sex is neither a setback nor advan-tage Male- and female-run businessesmay be managed differently but in waysthat are similar in their overall effective-ness Different strengths may be utilizedin equally proficient ways allowing forsimilar business performance

The businesses traditionally started byfemale entrepreneurs (for example retailand service) may very well influence thelack of (or slower) growth and smallnessof the ventures (Catley and Hamilton1998 Hisrich et al 1996 Fischer Reuberand Dyke 1993 Kalleberg and Leicht1991 Charboneau 1981 Hisrich andOrsquoBrien 1981) However recent findingsand statistics indicate that while womenhistorically chose female-oriented busi-nesses that were not scalable such asbeauty parlors and flower shops in thelast decade more women chose to startventures in growth sectors such as tech-

MORRIS et al 225

nology manufacturing communicationsand transportation (SBA 2001)

A Feminist PerspectiveAlternative perspectives on the growth

of women-owned ventures can be derivedby considering the feminist literatureFeminist theory is focused around theconcept of change change in organiza-tions society and the transformation ofunderstanding While quite distinct fromeach other the various feminist theoriesshare commonality in their emphasis onhistorical domination of women by menand male-oriented societal policies (Flax1990 Ferguson 1989) Liberal feminismdiscusses how sex and gender are inti-mately related to socialization (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993)The theory in thisarea addresses the disadvantages thatwomen face because of discrimination orlack of resources such as educationalbackground Social feminism regardspower relations as central to defininggender and concludes that socializationexperienced throughout life creates inher-ent differences between genders Radicalfeminism explores the role of culture ingiving greater worth to the male experi-ence and suggests that if anything thefemale experience warrants the greateremphasis (Scott 1986)

As noted researchers have providedsupport for the notion that differencesboth do and do not exist between maleand female entrepreneurs The method-ologies arguably based in male traditionand standards may help explain the con-trariness in findings Historical eventsaccepted as truth have not necessarilyincluded feminist issues and points ofviewmdashuse of different values may resultin large variations in results (Hurley1999 Kuhn 1970) Studies attempt toascertain how men and women conformto male institutional standards whilefailing to investigate uniquely femaleperspectives and contexts

A core precept of the feminist per-spective is that women and by extension

women entrepreneurs should not be gen-eralized as they are a complicated andvaried collection with multiple character-istics and motivations (Sarri and Tri-hopoulou 2005) Women have many rolesto play in their lives so may not follownormal expected growth cycles based onstereotypical male-owned business cycles(Still and Timms 2000) Women areunique in that they have the skills andcompetencies that help them to mergeboth business and family lives managingboth effectively and intentionally (Sarriand Trihopoulou 2005) They rely (con-sciously or not) on their experiences ashomemakers for types of managerialexperiences even without professionalexperience and networks (Birley 1989)The skills involved in managing house-holds may significantly add to womenrsquoscapabilities in business (Stevenson 1986)Sources of culture behavioral norms pro-fessional networks and family relation-ships all affect the attitudes of womenentrepreneurs (Birley 1989) For instancethe desire to have a positive influence(and the inability to have had opportunityto do so beforehand) is also a motiva-tional factor for many women in begin-ning a venture (Orhan and Scott 2001 Stilland Timms 2000 McKenna 1997) Somealso feel they have superior abilities com-pared with men in human relations andcatering to people (Scott 1986) There-fore society and culture may very wellplay an important role in how womenexperience entrepreneurship (Orhan andScott 2001)

Feminist theory requires that entre-preneurship researchers try to preventmolding women in the form of menFriedan (1995) argues that rather thanmerely changing the plight of womenrsquosinterests entire definitions of concepts(such as how we characterize ldquosuccessrdquo)should be restructured into a collectivevision that includes both genders Inorder to revise the male-based researchinto an inclusive field theories must notbe gender-free (for there is pertinence

226 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

in the differences between genders)Rather they should strongly considerfrom where the knowledge base evolvedso that gender can be investigated appro-priately and so theorists can accuratelydelineate what values they will utilize intheir studies (Hurley 1999)

Feminist theory has often emphasizedthe impact of a male-dominated patri-archy assuming a socially constructedcondition of gender relations (Hurley1999 Martin 1993) Hurley (1999) notesvariables such as political factors and statepolicies culture spatial location and theprofessionalization of entrepreneurshipas affecting rates of organizational found-ing Domination of lower-status groupsmay cause creation of businesses in orderto surmount control and social inequality(Martin 1990 Woodul 1978) Studiesexamining the discrimination and social-ization aspects of male- and female-owned business performance are lackingin the field of entrepreneurship andexplore very restricted ranges of differ-ences (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993) Ina recent analysis of the venture-financinggap facing women entrepreneurs Brushet al (2004) theorized that women experi-ence occupational segregation caused bythe socialization of career paths Statisticsshow that women still occupy the vastmajority of support and administrative-support positions such as secretariesnurses domestic services and clericalworkers At the top levels of Fortune 500companies women represent a smallminority in terms of board seats and topmanagerial positions heldAll of this leadsto the perception or misperception thatwomen are less capable of and interestedin running growth businesses than theirmale counterparts The authors argue thatthis perception fails to recognize orreward a generation of women who arehighly educated experienced capableand motivated to grow scalable businesses(Brush et al 2004)

Further the feminist movement itselfmay have catalyzed the formation of ven-

tures with specific intentions to overcomethe typical masculine organization and thecapitalist society that supports it (Martin1993)Radical change is encouraged but isdirected not simply towards the creationof economic independence and ostensi-bly sexual equality Instead the objectiveis to topple masculine economic and political influencesmdashassuming that thestrong presence of feminine influence will change the nature of business itself(Woodul 1978) Because feminism pro-motes the creation of organizations thatmeet the needs of women (Calas and Smir-nich 1992) it is not illogical to proposethat this may play prominently in the significant increase of female-ownedentrepreneurial ventures (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005 Davidson and Burke2004 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990) These self-created feminine-gendered businesses may as Koen (1984)suggested contribute to the feministcause

Observations of women in entrepre-neurship can potentially be related tovarious aspects of feminist theory Theinstilled valuesmdashand feminine perspec-tivesmdashof venture founders can have per-tinent impacts on creation and operationof the organization The attributes andoutcomes (including tendency towardsgrowth) will be strongly affected by thegender perspective of the entrepreneur(Bird and Brush 2002 Shaver and Scott1991 Bird 1989) Perhaps because of theinherent feminine perspective a moremanaged (versus high) growth approachis seen with women entrepreneurs (Cliff1998)

Research Model andMethodology

Based on the extant literature the con-ceptual model illustrated in Figure 1 wascreated to guide the empirical researchIn the model company performance isposited to be a function of the growth orientation of the entrepreneur Growth

MORRIS et al 227

orientation in turn is a function ofmotives perceived obstacles female iden-tity personal descriptors and businessdescriptors Motives for starting theventure would seem an important deter-minant of growth aspirations as thosewho are motivated by the desire to getrich or to meet a challenge would seemmore interested in growth than thosemotivated by discrimination or a desirefor personal expression With regard toobstacles the hypothesis is that thosewho perceive obstacles to be significantwill be less growth-oriented Female iden-tity is a variable intended to capture therelative emphasis of the entrepreneur onfemale target audiences suppliers andinvestors and the extent to which thebusiness is promoted or positioned asldquowoman-ownedrdquo It is hypothesized that

identity will be negatively associated withgrowth orientation as the concern withaddressing womenrsquos issues might takepriority over growth and profit The per-sonal descriptors included age and educa-tion with the hypotheses that growthorientation would be stronger amongyounger and more educated women Interms of business descriptors it washypothesized that growth orientationwould be higher among ventures that had lasted longer had more employeeswith equity held by larger numbers ofinvestors and where sales revenue andrevenue growth were higher Lastlygrowth orientation is hypothesized toresult in higher levels of realized growth

To develop richer insights into the ele-ments in the model a two-stage processinvolving both quantitative and qualita-

228 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Figure 1The Conceptual Model

Motives

Obstacles

Goals and Aspirations

WomenrsquosIdentity

Type of Venture

Personal Characteristics

Life Stage

GrowthOrientation

VentureGrowth

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

tional and work background psy-chological characteristics motivationperceptions of career efficacy trainingand skill development comparative earn-ings levels management practices exter-nal networking desire to succeed andobstacles encountered (Dumas 2001Robinson 2001 Greene et al 1999 Brush1992 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990 Birley 1989 Stevenson 1986)At the same time only limited attentionhas been devoted to understanding the growth aspirations of women entrepreneurs

It has long been recognized thatwomen start ventures that grow at aslower rate than those owned by men(Hisrich and Brush 1984) Cliff (1998)notes that compared to males femaleentrepreneurs tend to set lower business-size thresholds beyond which they prefernot to expand and to be more concernedwith risks attached to fast growth Theseconclusions are reinforced by more re-cent statistical evidence

Women are starting and acquiringbusinesses at a faster rate than any othersegment in the United States Between1997 and 2002 women started anaverage of 424 new ventures each dayor 775000 new businesses per yearcomprising 55 percent of all new venturestart-ups (NWBC 2005) As of 2004 67million privately held businesses weremajority-owned by women accountingfor 30 percent of all businesses in thecountry Between 1997 and 2004women-owned businesses employmentand revenues grew and increased by 2339 and 46 percent compared to 9 12and 34 percent in all businesses respec-tively Yet these numbers are somewhatmisleading as most of the increaseappears to have come from a very smallsegment of large ventures Despiteimpressive numbers of new starts andpositive indicators for survival rates alarge majority of women-owned busi-nesses start and stay small neveremploying more than 10 people (NWBC

2005 CWBR 2001a 2001b) In factwomen are creating sole proprietorshipsat a faster rate than men (CWBR 2001a)and the percentage of women-ownedfirms with employees is lower than thatfor all firms (NWBC 2004) In 1997 onlyan estimated 1 percent of all women-owned businesses had more than 500employees (CWBR 2001b) and evenaccounting for increased numbers oflarge women-owned firms in the pasteight years this percentage has notmeaningfully changed

Women in general do not appear tohave aggressive growth objectives withevidence from one representative sampleindicating that although many womenbusiness owners prioritize increasingtheir client base and profits most ofthem have five-year revenue goals ofunder $1 million (NWBC 2003) In addi-tion the fact that the geographic con-centration of previously venture-fundedwomen-owned businesses is in the Westand East regions of the United States(CWBR 2004) while the fastest growingareas for women-owned businesses arein the Midwest and Southwest regions(CWBR Fact Sheet 2004) implies a geo-graphic disparity whereby most women-owned start-ups are not likely to belocated in an environment that encour-ages high growth

Key Factors Impacting Growth Aspirations

Various researchers have noted fun-damental similarities between male andfemale entrepreneurs most notably interms of key motives such as the desirefor independence or self-achievement orthe tendency to have an internal locus of control (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005Orhan 2001 Littunen 2000 Birley 1989Scott 1986) However key differencesexist as well and these may have impor-tant growth implications

Female entrepreneurs tend to be olderand have children in more instances thantheir male counterparts when starting a

MORRIS et al 223

business (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005)Women-owned businesses tend to besmaller with less capital have lower rev-enues and fewer employees and reside inlower-profit industries (Bird 1989)Women tend to be sole owners and haveless managerial experience (Hisrich andBrush 1984) In terms of personal char-acteristics women demonstrate lowerlevels of self-confidence (Birley 1989Chaganti 1986)

Arguably woman-owned ventures areespecially affected by conflicts betweenhome and family demands and these con-flicts may have deliberate or inadvertentimplications for growth (Stoner Hartmanand Arora 1990) Although both sexesmust deal with conflicting demands thatinclude marriage and family concerns thefact that women often maintain traditionalduties in the household and rear childrenwhile also managing their ventures hassignificant implications regardingchoices priorities and aspirations(Stevenson 1986) As explained by Stilland Timms (2000) there is a gender-basedcircumstance of ldquodomestic division oflabor and time povertyrdquo that women musteffectively deal with in order to maintainbalance between conducting a businessand maintaining a family Thresholdswhere growth is suspended or cappedmay well represent maintenance ofcontrol (Still and Timms 2000 Cliff 1998)especially in situations where a womanrsquoslife cycle is closely associated with child-care and family responsibilities BainesWheelock and Abrams (1997) note thatemployment growth is not greatly valuedat key life-cycle stages Nongrowth be-comes a deliberate and legitimate choiceof these women (see also Mitra 2002)

Occupational flexibility is a significantmotivator in female entrepreneurship(Taylor and Kosarek 1995 Zellner 1994Olson and Currie 1992) It is a more crit-ical factor for women compared to maleventure owners (Stevenson 1986) Thisflexibility assists with the desire and need

to both work and raise families (Orhanand Scott 2001 Ducheneaut and Orhan1997 Birley 1989 Cromie 1987) Forfemale entrepreneurs with children theirventure choice offers more flexibility toaccommodate both their businessfinan-cial and family responsibilities Corre-spondingly the prominent reasons statedby both men and women for starting busi-nesses include the need for achievementautonomy and flexibility (Bowen andHisrich 1986) However women entre-preneurs also value the ability to pursuecareer goals in tandem with family obli-gations Studies have shown that forfemale entrepreneurs time with family isprimary and ventures were sometimesspecifically founded to allow for morequality time with family (Gundry andWelsch 2001 Starr and Yudkin 1996) Inaddition they attempt to maintain equi-librium between economic goals such asprofit and growth and noneconomicgoals such as personal fulfillment andhelping others (Brush 1992) Brush et al(2004) suggest that the broader statedaspirations of women business ownersactually create a detrimental perceptionthat women are less focused and drivento succeed in their businesses than menresulting in difficulties obtaining institu-tional- or venture-capital financing

Women entrepreneurs also encounterproblems not typically experienced bymales (Scott 1986 Hisrich and Brush1984) Gender stereotypes along withlimited access to networks and mentor-ing may create barriers to effectivelyrunning a business (Still and Timms2000) Culturally imposed attitudesregarding gender remain barriers towomen in achieving higher financialrewards and status in the business world(Calas and Smirnich 1992 Gutek Naka-mura and Nieva 1986) Cultural consid-erations may also influence the types ofrole models embraced by women Previ-ous or current exposure to entrepreneur-ial or highly achieving role models has

224 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

been identified as a factor in growth ori-entation for many women entrepreneurs(Orhan and Scott 2001 Matthews andMoser 1996 Hisrich and Brush 1984)Although some obstacles can be attrib-uted to the complexity of the small busi-ness itself rather than to gender-basedfactors women face specific hindrancesto enterprise growth (whether self-imposed or cultural) They experienceimpediments such as the inability to effec-tively manage both business and familythe possible inability to emotionally breakaway from their businesses when at homewith family and a greatly reduced sociallife (Stevenson 1986 Goffee and Scase1983)

It has been suggested that a primaryhurdle faced by women aspiring todevelop high-growth ventures is theinability to obtain financing This is evi-denced by the disparity of venture capitalfunding for women-owned businessesIn the 1990s a peak investment periodonly a fraction of all venture capitalfunding went to women in 1996 only25 percent of women-led venturesreceived venture capital between 1988and 1998 only 35 percent of all ventureinvestments made were invested inwomen-led businesses and in 2004women attracted about 40 percent ofventure capital (Brush et al 2004 NWBCReport 2001) Such disparity is likelybecause of the perception that women-owned ventures are not serious aboutgrowth that women are not as good inleadership and management of largescale ventures and other generalizedgender-based perceptions that make itdifficult for women-owned ventures toobtain growth capital These perceptionsare due in theory to the way that dataabout women-owned ventures is pre-sented and the fact that women are laterentrants to the entrepreneurial game(Brush et al 2004)

Yet some researchers maintain thatthere is a lack of significant evidence

regarding discriminatory barriers finan-cial or otherwise to venture develop-ment by women (Catley and Hamilton1998 Chrisman et al 1990 Buttner andRosen 1989) These researchers arguethat women do not obviously experiencesignificant barriers to the formation ofventures but they do tend to rely moreon personal equity than men (Birley1989 Pellegrino and Reece 1982)

Another distinction is that men tend tohave stronger business backgrounds andexperience whereas women typically aremore highly educated but their educationis less related to business management(Clifford 1996 Scott 1986 Stevenson1986 Watkins and Watkins 1984) FischerReuber and Dyke (1993) explainedsmaller size and slower growth of incomein women-owned ventures as a lack ofexperience working in similar firms andstarting up previous businessesHowevertheir study did indicate that similarity ofproductivity rates and returns might beexplained by the ability of these womento compensate for their lack of certainexperiences and skills The entrepre-neurrsquos sex is neither a setback nor advan-tage Male- and female-run businessesmay be managed differently but in waysthat are similar in their overall effective-ness Different strengths may be utilizedin equally proficient ways allowing forsimilar business performance

The businesses traditionally started byfemale entrepreneurs (for example retailand service) may very well influence thelack of (or slower) growth and smallnessof the ventures (Catley and Hamilton1998 Hisrich et al 1996 Fischer Reuberand Dyke 1993 Kalleberg and Leicht1991 Charboneau 1981 Hisrich andOrsquoBrien 1981) However recent findingsand statistics indicate that while womenhistorically chose female-oriented busi-nesses that were not scalable such asbeauty parlors and flower shops in thelast decade more women chose to startventures in growth sectors such as tech-

MORRIS et al 225

nology manufacturing communicationsand transportation (SBA 2001)

A Feminist PerspectiveAlternative perspectives on the growth

of women-owned ventures can be derivedby considering the feminist literatureFeminist theory is focused around theconcept of change change in organiza-tions society and the transformation ofunderstanding While quite distinct fromeach other the various feminist theoriesshare commonality in their emphasis onhistorical domination of women by menand male-oriented societal policies (Flax1990 Ferguson 1989) Liberal feminismdiscusses how sex and gender are inti-mately related to socialization (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993)The theory in thisarea addresses the disadvantages thatwomen face because of discrimination orlack of resources such as educationalbackground Social feminism regardspower relations as central to defininggender and concludes that socializationexperienced throughout life creates inher-ent differences between genders Radicalfeminism explores the role of culture ingiving greater worth to the male experi-ence and suggests that if anything thefemale experience warrants the greateremphasis (Scott 1986)

As noted researchers have providedsupport for the notion that differencesboth do and do not exist between maleand female entrepreneurs The method-ologies arguably based in male traditionand standards may help explain the con-trariness in findings Historical eventsaccepted as truth have not necessarilyincluded feminist issues and points ofviewmdashuse of different values may resultin large variations in results (Hurley1999 Kuhn 1970) Studies attempt toascertain how men and women conformto male institutional standards whilefailing to investigate uniquely femaleperspectives and contexts

A core precept of the feminist per-spective is that women and by extension

women entrepreneurs should not be gen-eralized as they are a complicated andvaried collection with multiple character-istics and motivations (Sarri and Tri-hopoulou 2005) Women have many rolesto play in their lives so may not follownormal expected growth cycles based onstereotypical male-owned business cycles(Still and Timms 2000) Women areunique in that they have the skills andcompetencies that help them to mergeboth business and family lives managingboth effectively and intentionally (Sarriand Trihopoulou 2005) They rely (con-sciously or not) on their experiences ashomemakers for types of managerialexperiences even without professionalexperience and networks (Birley 1989)The skills involved in managing house-holds may significantly add to womenrsquoscapabilities in business (Stevenson 1986)Sources of culture behavioral norms pro-fessional networks and family relation-ships all affect the attitudes of womenentrepreneurs (Birley 1989) For instancethe desire to have a positive influence(and the inability to have had opportunityto do so beforehand) is also a motiva-tional factor for many women in begin-ning a venture (Orhan and Scott 2001 Stilland Timms 2000 McKenna 1997) Somealso feel they have superior abilities com-pared with men in human relations andcatering to people (Scott 1986) There-fore society and culture may very wellplay an important role in how womenexperience entrepreneurship (Orhan andScott 2001)

Feminist theory requires that entre-preneurship researchers try to preventmolding women in the form of menFriedan (1995) argues that rather thanmerely changing the plight of womenrsquosinterests entire definitions of concepts(such as how we characterize ldquosuccessrdquo)should be restructured into a collectivevision that includes both genders Inorder to revise the male-based researchinto an inclusive field theories must notbe gender-free (for there is pertinence

226 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

in the differences between genders)Rather they should strongly considerfrom where the knowledge base evolvedso that gender can be investigated appro-priately and so theorists can accuratelydelineate what values they will utilize intheir studies (Hurley 1999)

Feminist theory has often emphasizedthe impact of a male-dominated patri-archy assuming a socially constructedcondition of gender relations (Hurley1999 Martin 1993) Hurley (1999) notesvariables such as political factors and statepolicies culture spatial location and theprofessionalization of entrepreneurshipas affecting rates of organizational found-ing Domination of lower-status groupsmay cause creation of businesses in orderto surmount control and social inequality(Martin 1990 Woodul 1978) Studiesexamining the discrimination and social-ization aspects of male- and female-owned business performance are lackingin the field of entrepreneurship andexplore very restricted ranges of differ-ences (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993) Ina recent analysis of the venture-financinggap facing women entrepreneurs Brushet al (2004) theorized that women experi-ence occupational segregation caused bythe socialization of career paths Statisticsshow that women still occupy the vastmajority of support and administrative-support positions such as secretariesnurses domestic services and clericalworkers At the top levels of Fortune 500companies women represent a smallminority in terms of board seats and topmanagerial positions heldAll of this leadsto the perception or misperception thatwomen are less capable of and interestedin running growth businesses than theirmale counterparts The authors argue thatthis perception fails to recognize orreward a generation of women who arehighly educated experienced capableand motivated to grow scalable businesses(Brush et al 2004)

Further the feminist movement itselfmay have catalyzed the formation of ven-

tures with specific intentions to overcomethe typical masculine organization and thecapitalist society that supports it (Martin1993)Radical change is encouraged but isdirected not simply towards the creationof economic independence and ostensi-bly sexual equality Instead the objectiveis to topple masculine economic and political influencesmdashassuming that thestrong presence of feminine influence will change the nature of business itself(Woodul 1978) Because feminism pro-motes the creation of organizations thatmeet the needs of women (Calas and Smir-nich 1992) it is not illogical to proposethat this may play prominently in the significant increase of female-ownedentrepreneurial ventures (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005 Davidson and Burke2004 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990) These self-created feminine-gendered businesses may as Koen (1984)suggested contribute to the feministcause

Observations of women in entrepre-neurship can potentially be related tovarious aspects of feminist theory Theinstilled valuesmdashand feminine perspec-tivesmdashof venture founders can have per-tinent impacts on creation and operationof the organization The attributes andoutcomes (including tendency towardsgrowth) will be strongly affected by thegender perspective of the entrepreneur(Bird and Brush 2002 Shaver and Scott1991 Bird 1989) Perhaps because of theinherent feminine perspective a moremanaged (versus high) growth approachis seen with women entrepreneurs (Cliff1998)

Research Model andMethodology

Based on the extant literature the con-ceptual model illustrated in Figure 1 wascreated to guide the empirical researchIn the model company performance isposited to be a function of the growth orientation of the entrepreneur Growth

MORRIS et al 227

orientation in turn is a function ofmotives perceived obstacles female iden-tity personal descriptors and businessdescriptors Motives for starting theventure would seem an important deter-minant of growth aspirations as thosewho are motivated by the desire to getrich or to meet a challenge would seemmore interested in growth than thosemotivated by discrimination or a desirefor personal expression With regard toobstacles the hypothesis is that thosewho perceive obstacles to be significantwill be less growth-oriented Female iden-tity is a variable intended to capture therelative emphasis of the entrepreneur onfemale target audiences suppliers andinvestors and the extent to which thebusiness is promoted or positioned asldquowoman-ownedrdquo It is hypothesized that

identity will be negatively associated withgrowth orientation as the concern withaddressing womenrsquos issues might takepriority over growth and profit The per-sonal descriptors included age and educa-tion with the hypotheses that growthorientation would be stronger amongyounger and more educated women Interms of business descriptors it washypothesized that growth orientationwould be higher among ventures that had lasted longer had more employeeswith equity held by larger numbers ofinvestors and where sales revenue andrevenue growth were higher Lastlygrowth orientation is hypothesized toresult in higher levels of realized growth

To develop richer insights into the ele-ments in the model a two-stage processinvolving both quantitative and qualita-

228 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Figure 1The Conceptual Model

Motives

Obstacles

Goals and Aspirations

WomenrsquosIdentity

Type of Venture

Personal Characteristics

Life Stage

GrowthOrientation

VentureGrowth

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

business (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005)Women-owned businesses tend to besmaller with less capital have lower rev-enues and fewer employees and reside inlower-profit industries (Bird 1989)Women tend to be sole owners and haveless managerial experience (Hisrich andBrush 1984) In terms of personal char-acteristics women demonstrate lowerlevels of self-confidence (Birley 1989Chaganti 1986)

Arguably woman-owned ventures areespecially affected by conflicts betweenhome and family demands and these con-flicts may have deliberate or inadvertentimplications for growth (Stoner Hartmanand Arora 1990) Although both sexesmust deal with conflicting demands thatinclude marriage and family concerns thefact that women often maintain traditionalduties in the household and rear childrenwhile also managing their ventures hassignificant implications regardingchoices priorities and aspirations(Stevenson 1986) As explained by Stilland Timms (2000) there is a gender-basedcircumstance of ldquodomestic division oflabor and time povertyrdquo that women musteffectively deal with in order to maintainbalance between conducting a businessand maintaining a family Thresholdswhere growth is suspended or cappedmay well represent maintenance ofcontrol (Still and Timms 2000 Cliff 1998)especially in situations where a womanrsquoslife cycle is closely associated with child-care and family responsibilities BainesWheelock and Abrams (1997) note thatemployment growth is not greatly valuedat key life-cycle stages Nongrowth be-comes a deliberate and legitimate choiceof these women (see also Mitra 2002)

Occupational flexibility is a significantmotivator in female entrepreneurship(Taylor and Kosarek 1995 Zellner 1994Olson and Currie 1992) It is a more crit-ical factor for women compared to maleventure owners (Stevenson 1986) Thisflexibility assists with the desire and need

to both work and raise families (Orhanand Scott 2001 Ducheneaut and Orhan1997 Birley 1989 Cromie 1987) Forfemale entrepreneurs with children theirventure choice offers more flexibility toaccommodate both their businessfinan-cial and family responsibilities Corre-spondingly the prominent reasons statedby both men and women for starting busi-nesses include the need for achievementautonomy and flexibility (Bowen andHisrich 1986) However women entre-preneurs also value the ability to pursuecareer goals in tandem with family obli-gations Studies have shown that forfemale entrepreneurs time with family isprimary and ventures were sometimesspecifically founded to allow for morequality time with family (Gundry andWelsch 2001 Starr and Yudkin 1996) Inaddition they attempt to maintain equi-librium between economic goals such asprofit and growth and noneconomicgoals such as personal fulfillment andhelping others (Brush 1992) Brush et al(2004) suggest that the broader statedaspirations of women business ownersactually create a detrimental perceptionthat women are less focused and drivento succeed in their businesses than menresulting in difficulties obtaining institu-tional- or venture-capital financing

Women entrepreneurs also encounterproblems not typically experienced bymales (Scott 1986 Hisrich and Brush1984) Gender stereotypes along withlimited access to networks and mentor-ing may create barriers to effectivelyrunning a business (Still and Timms2000) Culturally imposed attitudesregarding gender remain barriers towomen in achieving higher financialrewards and status in the business world(Calas and Smirnich 1992 Gutek Naka-mura and Nieva 1986) Cultural consid-erations may also influence the types ofrole models embraced by women Previ-ous or current exposure to entrepreneur-ial or highly achieving role models has

224 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

been identified as a factor in growth ori-entation for many women entrepreneurs(Orhan and Scott 2001 Matthews andMoser 1996 Hisrich and Brush 1984)Although some obstacles can be attrib-uted to the complexity of the small busi-ness itself rather than to gender-basedfactors women face specific hindrancesto enterprise growth (whether self-imposed or cultural) They experienceimpediments such as the inability to effec-tively manage both business and familythe possible inability to emotionally breakaway from their businesses when at homewith family and a greatly reduced sociallife (Stevenson 1986 Goffee and Scase1983)

It has been suggested that a primaryhurdle faced by women aspiring todevelop high-growth ventures is theinability to obtain financing This is evi-denced by the disparity of venture capitalfunding for women-owned businessesIn the 1990s a peak investment periodonly a fraction of all venture capitalfunding went to women in 1996 only25 percent of women-led venturesreceived venture capital between 1988and 1998 only 35 percent of all ventureinvestments made were invested inwomen-led businesses and in 2004women attracted about 40 percent ofventure capital (Brush et al 2004 NWBCReport 2001) Such disparity is likelybecause of the perception that women-owned ventures are not serious aboutgrowth that women are not as good inleadership and management of largescale ventures and other generalizedgender-based perceptions that make itdifficult for women-owned ventures toobtain growth capital These perceptionsare due in theory to the way that dataabout women-owned ventures is pre-sented and the fact that women are laterentrants to the entrepreneurial game(Brush et al 2004)

Yet some researchers maintain thatthere is a lack of significant evidence

regarding discriminatory barriers finan-cial or otherwise to venture develop-ment by women (Catley and Hamilton1998 Chrisman et al 1990 Buttner andRosen 1989) These researchers arguethat women do not obviously experiencesignificant barriers to the formation ofventures but they do tend to rely moreon personal equity than men (Birley1989 Pellegrino and Reece 1982)

Another distinction is that men tend tohave stronger business backgrounds andexperience whereas women typically aremore highly educated but their educationis less related to business management(Clifford 1996 Scott 1986 Stevenson1986 Watkins and Watkins 1984) FischerReuber and Dyke (1993) explainedsmaller size and slower growth of incomein women-owned ventures as a lack ofexperience working in similar firms andstarting up previous businessesHowevertheir study did indicate that similarity ofproductivity rates and returns might beexplained by the ability of these womento compensate for their lack of certainexperiences and skills The entrepre-neurrsquos sex is neither a setback nor advan-tage Male- and female-run businessesmay be managed differently but in waysthat are similar in their overall effective-ness Different strengths may be utilizedin equally proficient ways allowing forsimilar business performance

The businesses traditionally started byfemale entrepreneurs (for example retailand service) may very well influence thelack of (or slower) growth and smallnessof the ventures (Catley and Hamilton1998 Hisrich et al 1996 Fischer Reuberand Dyke 1993 Kalleberg and Leicht1991 Charboneau 1981 Hisrich andOrsquoBrien 1981) However recent findingsand statistics indicate that while womenhistorically chose female-oriented busi-nesses that were not scalable such asbeauty parlors and flower shops in thelast decade more women chose to startventures in growth sectors such as tech-

MORRIS et al 225

nology manufacturing communicationsand transportation (SBA 2001)

A Feminist PerspectiveAlternative perspectives on the growth

of women-owned ventures can be derivedby considering the feminist literatureFeminist theory is focused around theconcept of change change in organiza-tions society and the transformation ofunderstanding While quite distinct fromeach other the various feminist theoriesshare commonality in their emphasis onhistorical domination of women by menand male-oriented societal policies (Flax1990 Ferguson 1989) Liberal feminismdiscusses how sex and gender are inti-mately related to socialization (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993)The theory in thisarea addresses the disadvantages thatwomen face because of discrimination orlack of resources such as educationalbackground Social feminism regardspower relations as central to defininggender and concludes that socializationexperienced throughout life creates inher-ent differences between genders Radicalfeminism explores the role of culture ingiving greater worth to the male experi-ence and suggests that if anything thefemale experience warrants the greateremphasis (Scott 1986)

As noted researchers have providedsupport for the notion that differencesboth do and do not exist between maleand female entrepreneurs The method-ologies arguably based in male traditionand standards may help explain the con-trariness in findings Historical eventsaccepted as truth have not necessarilyincluded feminist issues and points ofviewmdashuse of different values may resultin large variations in results (Hurley1999 Kuhn 1970) Studies attempt toascertain how men and women conformto male institutional standards whilefailing to investigate uniquely femaleperspectives and contexts

A core precept of the feminist per-spective is that women and by extension

women entrepreneurs should not be gen-eralized as they are a complicated andvaried collection with multiple character-istics and motivations (Sarri and Tri-hopoulou 2005) Women have many rolesto play in their lives so may not follownormal expected growth cycles based onstereotypical male-owned business cycles(Still and Timms 2000) Women areunique in that they have the skills andcompetencies that help them to mergeboth business and family lives managingboth effectively and intentionally (Sarriand Trihopoulou 2005) They rely (con-sciously or not) on their experiences ashomemakers for types of managerialexperiences even without professionalexperience and networks (Birley 1989)The skills involved in managing house-holds may significantly add to womenrsquoscapabilities in business (Stevenson 1986)Sources of culture behavioral norms pro-fessional networks and family relation-ships all affect the attitudes of womenentrepreneurs (Birley 1989) For instancethe desire to have a positive influence(and the inability to have had opportunityto do so beforehand) is also a motiva-tional factor for many women in begin-ning a venture (Orhan and Scott 2001 Stilland Timms 2000 McKenna 1997) Somealso feel they have superior abilities com-pared with men in human relations andcatering to people (Scott 1986) There-fore society and culture may very wellplay an important role in how womenexperience entrepreneurship (Orhan andScott 2001)

Feminist theory requires that entre-preneurship researchers try to preventmolding women in the form of menFriedan (1995) argues that rather thanmerely changing the plight of womenrsquosinterests entire definitions of concepts(such as how we characterize ldquosuccessrdquo)should be restructured into a collectivevision that includes both genders Inorder to revise the male-based researchinto an inclusive field theories must notbe gender-free (for there is pertinence

226 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

in the differences between genders)Rather they should strongly considerfrom where the knowledge base evolvedso that gender can be investigated appro-priately and so theorists can accuratelydelineate what values they will utilize intheir studies (Hurley 1999)

Feminist theory has often emphasizedthe impact of a male-dominated patri-archy assuming a socially constructedcondition of gender relations (Hurley1999 Martin 1993) Hurley (1999) notesvariables such as political factors and statepolicies culture spatial location and theprofessionalization of entrepreneurshipas affecting rates of organizational found-ing Domination of lower-status groupsmay cause creation of businesses in orderto surmount control and social inequality(Martin 1990 Woodul 1978) Studiesexamining the discrimination and social-ization aspects of male- and female-owned business performance are lackingin the field of entrepreneurship andexplore very restricted ranges of differ-ences (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993) Ina recent analysis of the venture-financinggap facing women entrepreneurs Brushet al (2004) theorized that women experi-ence occupational segregation caused bythe socialization of career paths Statisticsshow that women still occupy the vastmajority of support and administrative-support positions such as secretariesnurses domestic services and clericalworkers At the top levels of Fortune 500companies women represent a smallminority in terms of board seats and topmanagerial positions heldAll of this leadsto the perception or misperception thatwomen are less capable of and interestedin running growth businesses than theirmale counterparts The authors argue thatthis perception fails to recognize orreward a generation of women who arehighly educated experienced capableand motivated to grow scalable businesses(Brush et al 2004)

Further the feminist movement itselfmay have catalyzed the formation of ven-

tures with specific intentions to overcomethe typical masculine organization and thecapitalist society that supports it (Martin1993)Radical change is encouraged but isdirected not simply towards the creationof economic independence and ostensi-bly sexual equality Instead the objectiveis to topple masculine economic and political influencesmdashassuming that thestrong presence of feminine influence will change the nature of business itself(Woodul 1978) Because feminism pro-motes the creation of organizations thatmeet the needs of women (Calas and Smir-nich 1992) it is not illogical to proposethat this may play prominently in the significant increase of female-ownedentrepreneurial ventures (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005 Davidson and Burke2004 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990) These self-created feminine-gendered businesses may as Koen (1984)suggested contribute to the feministcause

Observations of women in entrepre-neurship can potentially be related tovarious aspects of feminist theory Theinstilled valuesmdashand feminine perspec-tivesmdashof venture founders can have per-tinent impacts on creation and operationof the organization The attributes andoutcomes (including tendency towardsgrowth) will be strongly affected by thegender perspective of the entrepreneur(Bird and Brush 2002 Shaver and Scott1991 Bird 1989) Perhaps because of theinherent feminine perspective a moremanaged (versus high) growth approachis seen with women entrepreneurs (Cliff1998)

Research Model andMethodology

Based on the extant literature the con-ceptual model illustrated in Figure 1 wascreated to guide the empirical researchIn the model company performance isposited to be a function of the growth orientation of the entrepreneur Growth

MORRIS et al 227

orientation in turn is a function ofmotives perceived obstacles female iden-tity personal descriptors and businessdescriptors Motives for starting theventure would seem an important deter-minant of growth aspirations as thosewho are motivated by the desire to getrich or to meet a challenge would seemmore interested in growth than thosemotivated by discrimination or a desirefor personal expression With regard toobstacles the hypothesis is that thosewho perceive obstacles to be significantwill be less growth-oriented Female iden-tity is a variable intended to capture therelative emphasis of the entrepreneur onfemale target audiences suppliers andinvestors and the extent to which thebusiness is promoted or positioned asldquowoman-ownedrdquo It is hypothesized that

identity will be negatively associated withgrowth orientation as the concern withaddressing womenrsquos issues might takepriority over growth and profit The per-sonal descriptors included age and educa-tion with the hypotheses that growthorientation would be stronger amongyounger and more educated women Interms of business descriptors it washypothesized that growth orientationwould be higher among ventures that had lasted longer had more employeeswith equity held by larger numbers ofinvestors and where sales revenue andrevenue growth were higher Lastlygrowth orientation is hypothesized toresult in higher levels of realized growth

To develop richer insights into the ele-ments in the model a two-stage processinvolving both quantitative and qualita-

228 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Figure 1The Conceptual Model

Motives

Obstacles

Goals and Aspirations

WomenrsquosIdentity

Type of Venture

Personal Characteristics

Life Stage

GrowthOrientation

VentureGrowth

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

been identified as a factor in growth ori-entation for many women entrepreneurs(Orhan and Scott 2001 Matthews andMoser 1996 Hisrich and Brush 1984)Although some obstacles can be attrib-uted to the complexity of the small busi-ness itself rather than to gender-basedfactors women face specific hindrancesto enterprise growth (whether self-imposed or cultural) They experienceimpediments such as the inability to effec-tively manage both business and familythe possible inability to emotionally breakaway from their businesses when at homewith family and a greatly reduced sociallife (Stevenson 1986 Goffee and Scase1983)

It has been suggested that a primaryhurdle faced by women aspiring todevelop high-growth ventures is theinability to obtain financing This is evi-denced by the disparity of venture capitalfunding for women-owned businessesIn the 1990s a peak investment periodonly a fraction of all venture capitalfunding went to women in 1996 only25 percent of women-led venturesreceived venture capital between 1988and 1998 only 35 percent of all ventureinvestments made were invested inwomen-led businesses and in 2004women attracted about 40 percent ofventure capital (Brush et al 2004 NWBCReport 2001) Such disparity is likelybecause of the perception that women-owned ventures are not serious aboutgrowth that women are not as good inleadership and management of largescale ventures and other generalizedgender-based perceptions that make itdifficult for women-owned ventures toobtain growth capital These perceptionsare due in theory to the way that dataabout women-owned ventures is pre-sented and the fact that women are laterentrants to the entrepreneurial game(Brush et al 2004)

Yet some researchers maintain thatthere is a lack of significant evidence

regarding discriminatory barriers finan-cial or otherwise to venture develop-ment by women (Catley and Hamilton1998 Chrisman et al 1990 Buttner andRosen 1989) These researchers arguethat women do not obviously experiencesignificant barriers to the formation ofventures but they do tend to rely moreon personal equity than men (Birley1989 Pellegrino and Reece 1982)

Another distinction is that men tend tohave stronger business backgrounds andexperience whereas women typically aremore highly educated but their educationis less related to business management(Clifford 1996 Scott 1986 Stevenson1986 Watkins and Watkins 1984) FischerReuber and Dyke (1993) explainedsmaller size and slower growth of incomein women-owned ventures as a lack ofexperience working in similar firms andstarting up previous businessesHowevertheir study did indicate that similarity ofproductivity rates and returns might beexplained by the ability of these womento compensate for their lack of certainexperiences and skills The entrepre-neurrsquos sex is neither a setback nor advan-tage Male- and female-run businessesmay be managed differently but in waysthat are similar in their overall effective-ness Different strengths may be utilizedin equally proficient ways allowing forsimilar business performance

The businesses traditionally started byfemale entrepreneurs (for example retailand service) may very well influence thelack of (or slower) growth and smallnessof the ventures (Catley and Hamilton1998 Hisrich et al 1996 Fischer Reuberand Dyke 1993 Kalleberg and Leicht1991 Charboneau 1981 Hisrich andOrsquoBrien 1981) However recent findingsand statistics indicate that while womenhistorically chose female-oriented busi-nesses that were not scalable such asbeauty parlors and flower shops in thelast decade more women chose to startventures in growth sectors such as tech-

MORRIS et al 225

nology manufacturing communicationsand transportation (SBA 2001)

A Feminist PerspectiveAlternative perspectives on the growth

of women-owned ventures can be derivedby considering the feminist literatureFeminist theory is focused around theconcept of change change in organiza-tions society and the transformation ofunderstanding While quite distinct fromeach other the various feminist theoriesshare commonality in their emphasis onhistorical domination of women by menand male-oriented societal policies (Flax1990 Ferguson 1989) Liberal feminismdiscusses how sex and gender are inti-mately related to socialization (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993)The theory in thisarea addresses the disadvantages thatwomen face because of discrimination orlack of resources such as educationalbackground Social feminism regardspower relations as central to defininggender and concludes that socializationexperienced throughout life creates inher-ent differences between genders Radicalfeminism explores the role of culture ingiving greater worth to the male experi-ence and suggests that if anything thefemale experience warrants the greateremphasis (Scott 1986)

As noted researchers have providedsupport for the notion that differencesboth do and do not exist between maleand female entrepreneurs The method-ologies arguably based in male traditionand standards may help explain the con-trariness in findings Historical eventsaccepted as truth have not necessarilyincluded feminist issues and points ofviewmdashuse of different values may resultin large variations in results (Hurley1999 Kuhn 1970) Studies attempt toascertain how men and women conformto male institutional standards whilefailing to investigate uniquely femaleperspectives and contexts

A core precept of the feminist per-spective is that women and by extension

women entrepreneurs should not be gen-eralized as they are a complicated andvaried collection with multiple character-istics and motivations (Sarri and Tri-hopoulou 2005) Women have many rolesto play in their lives so may not follownormal expected growth cycles based onstereotypical male-owned business cycles(Still and Timms 2000) Women areunique in that they have the skills andcompetencies that help them to mergeboth business and family lives managingboth effectively and intentionally (Sarriand Trihopoulou 2005) They rely (con-sciously or not) on their experiences ashomemakers for types of managerialexperiences even without professionalexperience and networks (Birley 1989)The skills involved in managing house-holds may significantly add to womenrsquoscapabilities in business (Stevenson 1986)Sources of culture behavioral norms pro-fessional networks and family relation-ships all affect the attitudes of womenentrepreneurs (Birley 1989) For instancethe desire to have a positive influence(and the inability to have had opportunityto do so beforehand) is also a motiva-tional factor for many women in begin-ning a venture (Orhan and Scott 2001 Stilland Timms 2000 McKenna 1997) Somealso feel they have superior abilities com-pared with men in human relations andcatering to people (Scott 1986) There-fore society and culture may very wellplay an important role in how womenexperience entrepreneurship (Orhan andScott 2001)

Feminist theory requires that entre-preneurship researchers try to preventmolding women in the form of menFriedan (1995) argues that rather thanmerely changing the plight of womenrsquosinterests entire definitions of concepts(such as how we characterize ldquosuccessrdquo)should be restructured into a collectivevision that includes both genders Inorder to revise the male-based researchinto an inclusive field theories must notbe gender-free (for there is pertinence

226 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

in the differences between genders)Rather they should strongly considerfrom where the knowledge base evolvedso that gender can be investigated appro-priately and so theorists can accuratelydelineate what values they will utilize intheir studies (Hurley 1999)

Feminist theory has often emphasizedthe impact of a male-dominated patri-archy assuming a socially constructedcondition of gender relations (Hurley1999 Martin 1993) Hurley (1999) notesvariables such as political factors and statepolicies culture spatial location and theprofessionalization of entrepreneurshipas affecting rates of organizational found-ing Domination of lower-status groupsmay cause creation of businesses in orderto surmount control and social inequality(Martin 1990 Woodul 1978) Studiesexamining the discrimination and social-ization aspects of male- and female-owned business performance are lackingin the field of entrepreneurship andexplore very restricted ranges of differ-ences (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993) Ina recent analysis of the venture-financinggap facing women entrepreneurs Brushet al (2004) theorized that women experi-ence occupational segregation caused bythe socialization of career paths Statisticsshow that women still occupy the vastmajority of support and administrative-support positions such as secretariesnurses domestic services and clericalworkers At the top levels of Fortune 500companies women represent a smallminority in terms of board seats and topmanagerial positions heldAll of this leadsto the perception or misperception thatwomen are less capable of and interestedin running growth businesses than theirmale counterparts The authors argue thatthis perception fails to recognize orreward a generation of women who arehighly educated experienced capableand motivated to grow scalable businesses(Brush et al 2004)

Further the feminist movement itselfmay have catalyzed the formation of ven-

tures with specific intentions to overcomethe typical masculine organization and thecapitalist society that supports it (Martin1993)Radical change is encouraged but isdirected not simply towards the creationof economic independence and ostensi-bly sexual equality Instead the objectiveis to topple masculine economic and political influencesmdashassuming that thestrong presence of feminine influence will change the nature of business itself(Woodul 1978) Because feminism pro-motes the creation of organizations thatmeet the needs of women (Calas and Smir-nich 1992) it is not illogical to proposethat this may play prominently in the significant increase of female-ownedentrepreneurial ventures (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005 Davidson and Burke2004 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990) These self-created feminine-gendered businesses may as Koen (1984)suggested contribute to the feministcause

Observations of women in entrepre-neurship can potentially be related tovarious aspects of feminist theory Theinstilled valuesmdashand feminine perspec-tivesmdashof venture founders can have per-tinent impacts on creation and operationof the organization The attributes andoutcomes (including tendency towardsgrowth) will be strongly affected by thegender perspective of the entrepreneur(Bird and Brush 2002 Shaver and Scott1991 Bird 1989) Perhaps because of theinherent feminine perspective a moremanaged (versus high) growth approachis seen with women entrepreneurs (Cliff1998)

Research Model andMethodology

Based on the extant literature the con-ceptual model illustrated in Figure 1 wascreated to guide the empirical researchIn the model company performance isposited to be a function of the growth orientation of the entrepreneur Growth

MORRIS et al 227

orientation in turn is a function ofmotives perceived obstacles female iden-tity personal descriptors and businessdescriptors Motives for starting theventure would seem an important deter-minant of growth aspirations as thosewho are motivated by the desire to getrich or to meet a challenge would seemmore interested in growth than thosemotivated by discrimination or a desirefor personal expression With regard toobstacles the hypothesis is that thosewho perceive obstacles to be significantwill be less growth-oriented Female iden-tity is a variable intended to capture therelative emphasis of the entrepreneur onfemale target audiences suppliers andinvestors and the extent to which thebusiness is promoted or positioned asldquowoman-ownedrdquo It is hypothesized that

identity will be negatively associated withgrowth orientation as the concern withaddressing womenrsquos issues might takepriority over growth and profit The per-sonal descriptors included age and educa-tion with the hypotheses that growthorientation would be stronger amongyounger and more educated women Interms of business descriptors it washypothesized that growth orientationwould be higher among ventures that had lasted longer had more employeeswith equity held by larger numbers ofinvestors and where sales revenue andrevenue growth were higher Lastlygrowth orientation is hypothesized toresult in higher levels of realized growth

To develop richer insights into the ele-ments in the model a two-stage processinvolving both quantitative and qualita-

228 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Figure 1The Conceptual Model

Motives

Obstacles

Goals and Aspirations

WomenrsquosIdentity

Type of Venture

Personal Characteristics

Life Stage

GrowthOrientation

VentureGrowth

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

nology manufacturing communicationsand transportation (SBA 2001)

A Feminist PerspectiveAlternative perspectives on the growth

of women-owned ventures can be derivedby considering the feminist literatureFeminist theory is focused around theconcept of change change in organiza-tions society and the transformation ofunderstanding While quite distinct fromeach other the various feminist theoriesshare commonality in their emphasis onhistorical domination of women by menand male-oriented societal policies (Flax1990 Ferguson 1989) Liberal feminismdiscusses how sex and gender are inti-mately related to socialization (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993)The theory in thisarea addresses the disadvantages thatwomen face because of discrimination orlack of resources such as educationalbackground Social feminism regardspower relations as central to defininggender and concludes that socializationexperienced throughout life creates inher-ent differences between genders Radicalfeminism explores the role of culture ingiving greater worth to the male experi-ence and suggests that if anything thefemale experience warrants the greateremphasis (Scott 1986)

As noted researchers have providedsupport for the notion that differencesboth do and do not exist between maleand female entrepreneurs The method-ologies arguably based in male traditionand standards may help explain the con-trariness in findings Historical eventsaccepted as truth have not necessarilyincluded feminist issues and points ofviewmdashuse of different values may resultin large variations in results (Hurley1999 Kuhn 1970) Studies attempt toascertain how men and women conformto male institutional standards whilefailing to investigate uniquely femaleperspectives and contexts

A core precept of the feminist per-spective is that women and by extension

women entrepreneurs should not be gen-eralized as they are a complicated andvaried collection with multiple character-istics and motivations (Sarri and Tri-hopoulou 2005) Women have many rolesto play in their lives so may not follownormal expected growth cycles based onstereotypical male-owned business cycles(Still and Timms 2000) Women areunique in that they have the skills andcompetencies that help them to mergeboth business and family lives managingboth effectively and intentionally (Sarriand Trihopoulou 2005) They rely (con-sciously or not) on their experiences ashomemakers for types of managerialexperiences even without professionalexperience and networks (Birley 1989)The skills involved in managing house-holds may significantly add to womenrsquoscapabilities in business (Stevenson 1986)Sources of culture behavioral norms pro-fessional networks and family relation-ships all affect the attitudes of womenentrepreneurs (Birley 1989) For instancethe desire to have a positive influence(and the inability to have had opportunityto do so beforehand) is also a motiva-tional factor for many women in begin-ning a venture (Orhan and Scott 2001 Stilland Timms 2000 McKenna 1997) Somealso feel they have superior abilities com-pared with men in human relations andcatering to people (Scott 1986) There-fore society and culture may very wellplay an important role in how womenexperience entrepreneurship (Orhan andScott 2001)

Feminist theory requires that entre-preneurship researchers try to preventmolding women in the form of menFriedan (1995) argues that rather thanmerely changing the plight of womenrsquosinterests entire definitions of concepts(such as how we characterize ldquosuccessrdquo)should be restructured into a collectivevision that includes both genders Inorder to revise the male-based researchinto an inclusive field theories must notbe gender-free (for there is pertinence

226 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

in the differences between genders)Rather they should strongly considerfrom where the knowledge base evolvedso that gender can be investigated appro-priately and so theorists can accuratelydelineate what values they will utilize intheir studies (Hurley 1999)

Feminist theory has often emphasizedthe impact of a male-dominated patri-archy assuming a socially constructedcondition of gender relations (Hurley1999 Martin 1993) Hurley (1999) notesvariables such as political factors and statepolicies culture spatial location and theprofessionalization of entrepreneurshipas affecting rates of organizational found-ing Domination of lower-status groupsmay cause creation of businesses in orderto surmount control and social inequality(Martin 1990 Woodul 1978) Studiesexamining the discrimination and social-ization aspects of male- and female-owned business performance are lackingin the field of entrepreneurship andexplore very restricted ranges of differ-ences (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993) Ina recent analysis of the venture-financinggap facing women entrepreneurs Brushet al (2004) theorized that women experi-ence occupational segregation caused bythe socialization of career paths Statisticsshow that women still occupy the vastmajority of support and administrative-support positions such as secretariesnurses domestic services and clericalworkers At the top levels of Fortune 500companies women represent a smallminority in terms of board seats and topmanagerial positions heldAll of this leadsto the perception or misperception thatwomen are less capable of and interestedin running growth businesses than theirmale counterparts The authors argue thatthis perception fails to recognize orreward a generation of women who arehighly educated experienced capableand motivated to grow scalable businesses(Brush et al 2004)

Further the feminist movement itselfmay have catalyzed the formation of ven-

tures with specific intentions to overcomethe typical masculine organization and thecapitalist society that supports it (Martin1993)Radical change is encouraged but isdirected not simply towards the creationof economic independence and ostensi-bly sexual equality Instead the objectiveis to topple masculine economic and political influencesmdashassuming that thestrong presence of feminine influence will change the nature of business itself(Woodul 1978) Because feminism pro-motes the creation of organizations thatmeet the needs of women (Calas and Smir-nich 1992) it is not illogical to proposethat this may play prominently in the significant increase of female-ownedentrepreneurial ventures (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005 Davidson and Burke2004 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990) These self-created feminine-gendered businesses may as Koen (1984)suggested contribute to the feministcause

Observations of women in entrepre-neurship can potentially be related tovarious aspects of feminist theory Theinstilled valuesmdashand feminine perspec-tivesmdashof venture founders can have per-tinent impacts on creation and operationof the organization The attributes andoutcomes (including tendency towardsgrowth) will be strongly affected by thegender perspective of the entrepreneur(Bird and Brush 2002 Shaver and Scott1991 Bird 1989) Perhaps because of theinherent feminine perspective a moremanaged (versus high) growth approachis seen with women entrepreneurs (Cliff1998)

Research Model andMethodology

Based on the extant literature the con-ceptual model illustrated in Figure 1 wascreated to guide the empirical researchIn the model company performance isposited to be a function of the growth orientation of the entrepreneur Growth

MORRIS et al 227

orientation in turn is a function ofmotives perceived obstacles female iden-tity personal descriptors and businessdescriptors Motives for starting theventure would seem an important deter-minant of growth aspirations as thosewho are motivated by the desire to getrich or to meet a challenge would seemmore interested in growth than thosemotivated by discrimination or a desirefor personal expression With regard toobstacles the hypothesis is that thosewho perceive obstacles to be significantwill be less growth-oriented Female iden-tity is a variable intended to capture therelative emphasis of the entrepreneur onfemale target audiences suppliers andinvestors and the extent to which thebusiness is promoted or positioned asldquowoman-ownedrdquo It is hypothesized that

identity will be negatively associated withgrowth orientation as the concern withaddressing womenrsquos issues might takepriority over growth and profit The per-sonal descriptors included age and educa-tion with the hypotheses that growthorientation would be stronger amongyounger and more educated women Interms of business descriptors it washypothesized that growth orientationwould be higher among ventures that had lasted longer had more employeeswith equity held by larger numbers ofinvestors and where sales revenue andrevenue growth were higher Lastlygrowth orientation is hypothesized toresult in higher levels of realized growth

To develop richer insights into the ele-ments in the model a two-stage processinvolving both quantitative and qualita-

228 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Figure 1The Conceptual Model

Motives

Obstacles

Goals and Aspirations

WomenrsquosIdentity

Type of Venture

Personal Characteristics

Life Stage

GrowthOrientation

VentureGrowth

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

in the differences between genders)Rather they should strongly considerfrom where the knowledge base evolvedso that gender can be investigated appro-priately and so theorists can accuratelydelineate what values they will utilize intheir studies (Hurley 1999)

Feminist theory has often emphasizedthe impact of a male-dominated patri-archy assuming a socially constructedcondition of gender relations (Hurley1999 Martin 1993) Hurley (1999) notesvariables such as political factors and statepolicies culture spatial location and theprofessionalization of entrepreneurshipas affecting rates of organizational found-ing Domination of lower-status groupsmay cause creation of businesses in orderto surmount control and social inequality(Martin 1990 Woodul 1978) Studiesexamining the discrimination and social-ization aspects of male- and female-owned business performance are lackingin the field of entrepreneurship andexplore very restricted ranges of differ-ences (FischerReuber and Dyke 1993) Ina recent analysis of the venture-financinggap facing women entrepreneurs Brushet al (2004) theorized that women experi-ence occupational segregation caused bythe socialization of career paths Statisticsshow that women still occupy the vastmajority of support and administrative-support positions such as secretariesnurses domestic services and clericalworkers At the top levels of Fortune 500companies women represent a smallminority in terms of board seats and topmanagerial positions heldAll of this leadsto the perception or misperception thatwomen are less capable of and interestedin running growth businesses than theirmale counterparts The authors argue thatthis perception fails to recognize orreward a generation of women who arehighly educated experienced capableand motivated to grow scalable businesses(Brush et al 2004)

Further the feminist movement itselfmay have catalyzed the formation of ven-

tures with specific intentions to overcomethe typical masculine organization and thecapitalist society that supports it (Martin1993)Radical change is encouraged but isdirected not simply towards the creationof economic independence and ostensi-bly sexual equality Instead the objectiveis to topple masculine economic and political influencesmdashassuming that thestrong presence of feminine influence will change the nature of business itself(Woodul 1978) Because feminism pro-motes the creation of organizations thatmeet the needs of women (Calas and Smir-nich 1992) it is not illogical to proposethat this may play prominently in the significant increase of female-ownedentrepreneurial ventures (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005 Davidson and Burke2004 Scherer Brodzinski and Wiebe1990) These self-created feminine-gendered businesses may as Koen (1984)suggested contribute to the feministcause

Observations of women in entrepre-neurship can potentially be related tovarious aspects of feminist theory Theinstilled valuesmdashand feminine perspec-tivesmdashof venture founders can have per-tinent impacts on creation and operationof the organization The attributes andoutcomes (including tendency towardsgrowth) will be strongly affected by thegender perspective of the entrepreneur(Bird and Brush 2002 Shaver and Scott1991 Bird 1989) Perhaps because of theinherent feminine perspective a moremanaged (versus high) growth approachis seen with women entrepreneurs (Cliff1998)

Research Model andMethodology

Based on the extant literature the con-ceptual model illustrated in Figure 1 wascreated to guide the empirical researchIn the model company performance isposited to be a function of the growth orientation of the entrepreneur Growth

MORRIS et al 227

orientation in turn is a function ofmotives perceived obstacles female iden-tity personal descriptors and businessdescriptors Motives for starting theventure would seem an important deter-minant of growth aspirations as thosewho are motivated by the desire to getrich or to meet a challenge would seemmore interested in growth than thosemotivated by discrimination or a desirefor personal expression With regard toobstacles the hypothesis is that thosewho perceive obstacles to be significantwill be less growth-oriented Female iden-tity is a variable intended to capture therelative emphasis of the entrepreneur onfemale target audiences suppliers andinvestors and the extent to which thebusiness is promoted or positioned asldquowoman-ownedrdquo It is hypothesized that

identity will be negatively associated withgrowth orientation as the concern withaddressing womenrsquos issues might takepriority over growth and profit The per-sonal descriptors included age and educa-tion with the hypotheses that growthorientation would be stronger amongyounger and more educated women Interms of business descriptors it washypothesized that growth orientationwould be higher among ventures that had lasted longer had more employeeswith equity held by larger numbers ofinvestors and where sales revenue andrevenue growth were higher Lastlygrowth orientation is hypothesized toresult in higher levels of realized growth

To develop richer insights into the ele-ments in the model a two-stage processinvolving both quantitative and qualita-

228 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Figure 1The Conceptual Model

Motives

Obstacles

Goals and Aspirations

WomenrsquosIdentity

Type of Venture

Personal Characteristics

Life Stage

GrowthOrientation

VentureGrowth

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

orientation in turn is a function ofmotives perceived obstacles female iden-tity personal descriptors and businessdescriptors Motives for starting theventure would seem an important deter-minant of growth aspirations as thosewho are motivated by the desire to getrich or to meet a challenge would seemmore interested in growth than thosemotivated by discrimination or a desirefor personal expression With regard toobstacles the hypothesis is that thosewho perceive obstacles to be significantwill be less growth-oriented Female iden-tity is a variable intended to capture therelative emphasis of the entrepreneur onfemale target audiences suppliers andinvestors and the extent to which thebusiness is promoted or positioned asldquowoman-ownedrdquo It is hypothesized that

identity will be negatively associated withgrowth orientation as the concern withaddressing womenrsquos issues might takepriority over growth and profit The per-sonal descriptors included age and educa-tion with the hypotheses that growthorientation would be stronger amongyounger and more educated women Interms of business descriptors it washypothesized that growth orientationwould be higher among ventures that had lasted longer had more employeeswith equity held by larger numbers ofinvestors and where sales revenue andrevenue growth were higher Lastlygrowth orientation is hypothesized toresult in higher levels of realized growth

To develop richer insights into the ele-ments in the model a two-stage processinvolving both quantitative and qualita-

228 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Figure 1The Conceptual Model

Motives

Obstacles

Goals and Aspirations

WomenrsquosIdentity

Type of Venture

Personal Characteristics

Life Stage

GrowthOrientation

VentureGrowth

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

tive research was undertaken Stage Iinvolved a cross-sectional survey directedat a random sample of women entrepre-neurs The sampling frame was an origi-nal database of approximately 3000women business owners located within a15-county region in Central New YorkThe database was constructed as part ofan ongoing Women Igniting the Spirit ofEntrepreneurship Initiative It was com-prised of women business owners identi-fied by the Small Business Administration(SBA) the Womenrsquos Resource Center(WRC) the Women Business OwnersConnection (WBOC) county governmentoffices newspaper annual listings ofhigh-growth ventures and local universi-ties From this database a mail survey wassent to a randomly selected sample of 500female entrepreneurs

A self-report questionnaire wasdesigned to measure six major factorsmotives for getting into business obsta-cles encountered in starting and runningthe business extent to which the busi-ness reflects a female identity goals andaspirations needs and business and per-sonal descriptors A four-page instrumentresulted consisting of scaled responsemultiple choice and open-ended ques-tions The surveys were mailed out in thesummer of 2004 The mailing includedthe questionnaire a cover letter in whichan executive summary of the findingswas promised and a self-addressedstamped return envelope

A total of 103 completed and useablesurveys were returned by the stateddeadline for a response rate of 21percent Nonresponse bias was assessedbased on follow up telephone calls to 25firms in the sample who did not returnquestionnaires No significant differenceswere found between the two groups onthree organizational descriptors Thedata were coded and then loaded intothe SPSS statistical software package foranalysis With the open-ended questionscoding schemes were created after thefact by tabulating the written responses

to all of the surveys and identifying thecategories of answers that appeared mostcommonly The result was a data file with85 variables and 103 cases

Stage II of the study involved in-depthpersonal interviews with a sample of 50entrepreneurs who participated in themail survey selected to represent anequal mix of low- and high-growth ven-tures Based on the results from the mailsurvey a separate instrument wasdesigned for this stage of the research Itconsisted of a series of 29 open-endedquestions that explored aspirations sur-rounding the creation of the ventureperceptions of growth desired levels of growth opportunities for growthreasons for the level of growth achievedin the venture and experiences sur-rounding the attempt to achieve a givenlevel of growth The average interviewlasted 75 minutes and was conducted atthe entrepreneurrsquos place of business Theauthors conducted the interviews Inter-views were recorded and then tran-scribed following each session

Research FindingsThe results of the data collection

efforts are described first for the Stage Icross-sectional survey and then for theStage II follow-up personal interviews

Stage I Descriptive FindingsAs the questionnaire was quite long

the following is a brief synopsis of the key descriptive findings from themail survey An examination of personalcharacteristics of the entrepreneurs (seeTable 1) indicates that the typical womanentrepreneur who responded to thesurvey was over the age of 36 (301 417and 252 percent were between 36 to 4546 to 55 and over 55 respectively) hada college level or higher degree (680percent) and was of Caucasian ancestry(949 percent) There were no entrepre-neurs under the age of 25 When askedabout entrepreneurial experiences 408282 223 and 165 percent had an entre-

MORRIS et al 229

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

preneurial role model when growing up had entrepreneurial parents hadexperience working in a small businessand had an entrepreneurial partnerrespectively

Turning to business characteristics(see Table 1) the women responding tothe survey had been in business for anaverage of just over eight years (mean =804 SD = 766) although the standarddeviation suggests a significant range ofestablished versus brand new busi-nesses The businesses employed anaverage of 54 people (SD = 346) Themajority of the companies were sole pro-prietorships (65 percent) with theremainder being S corporations C cor-porations partnerships and limited lia-bility companies (LLCs) A total of 929percent were privately held with theentrepreneur holding 1000 percentequity in 779 percent of the companiesIn terms of revenue 63 percent of therespondentsrsquo revenues were under$500000 and 22 percent between$500000 and 1 million Another 10percent of the respondents had revenuesbetween $1 million and 10 million and5 percent had revenues between $10million and 50 million Well over half(619 percent) of the respondentsreported sales increases over the past 12months with the most common increasein the 1ndash5 percent range At the sametime 226 and 103 percent of the busi-nesses experienced a decrease in rev-enues and flat revenues respectively Thelargest identifiable category of businessof the respondents was retailwholesalesales (204 percent) followed by manu-facturing (117 percent) and generalservices (126 percent) The vast majorityof the respondents (906 percent) startedtheir businesses as opposed to buying itfrom someone else

The relative importance of 13 entre-preneurial motives was assessed on a 4-point (not at all importantndashvery impor-tant) scale (see Table 2) Based on thecalculated means the most important

motives to these women were ldquothe abilityto do what I want to dordquo (mean = 375SD = 061) ldquopersonal expressionrdquo (mean= 350 SD = 073) ldquomaking a livingrdquo(mean = 335 SD = 080) ldquoprofessionalflexibilityrdquo (mean = 331 SD = 086) andldquohelping peoplerdquo (mean = 306 SD =090) Much less important were ldquogettingrichrdquo ldquohitting the corporate glass ceilingrdquoldquoprejudice or discriminationrdquo or othermotives Separately the most empha-sized goals by these entrepreneurs wereldquoloyal customersrdquo and ldquosales growthrdquowhile ldquogrowth in employeesrdquo ldquopersonalwealth creationrdquo and ldquocontribution to thecommunityrdquo received relatively little pri-ority or 0

With regard to obstacles encounteredthe respondents were asked whetherwomen face unique obstacles in generalwhen starting a business (see Table 2)Based on a 4-point (strong agreementndashdisagreement) scale they generallyagreed that women do face unique obsta-cles (mean = 222 SD = 105) Therespondents were then asked to rank 13aspects of starting a business with respectto whether women face a larger obstaclethan other entrepreneurs on a 3-point(significantly more obstaclesndashno differentfor women) scale The lower the numberthe higher the obstacle faced by womenThe three items creating the greatestobstacles for women all related to financ-ing ldquodifficult to get investorsrdquo (mean =184 SD = 070) ldquodifficult to get a com-mercial loanrdquo (mean = 199 SD = 074)ldquodifficult to get personal bank loans forbusinessrdquo (mean = 203 SD = 078) Con-sidered less of an obstacle for womenwere getting suppliersvendors gettingemployees getting licenses or approvalsand getting customers In a related ques-tion the respondents were asked how difficult it was to obtain funding frominvestors based on a 4-option scale (mostdifficult somewhat difficult not difficultnever tried respectively)The large major-ity (786 percent) of respondents hadnever tried to obtain funding from outside

230 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

MORRIS et al 231

Table 1Characteristics of the Respondents and Their Firms

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

OrganizationalOrganizational form Sole proprietorship 65

S corporation 12C corporation 8Nonprofit 0Partnership 6LLP 0LLC 9

Nature of ownership Public 7Private 93Franchise 0

Entrepreneurrsquos percent of firmrsquos equity lt25 025ndash50 651ndash74 975ndash99 6100 79

Years in operation lt4 354ndash9 3810ndash15 1516ndash30 11gt30 1

Employees lt20 9521ndash99 3100ndash500 2gt500 0

Sales revenue (in millions of dollars) lt05 63lt10 221ndash10 1010ndash50 5gt500 0

Type of business Manufacturing 12Wholesaleretail 20Financeinsurance 4Real estate 4Administrative support 2Construction 3Health care 9Hotelrestaurant 6Other 28Services 13

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

investors and 175 percent said it was def-initely difficult or difficult to some extentto obtain such funding Only 39 percentsaid it was not difficult to obtain investorfinancing In a parallel question askingthe respondents how difficult it was toobtain a loan or grant 559 percent hadnever tried and 265 percent said it wasdefinitely difficult or difficult to someextent to obtain such funding More of therespondents said they had no difficulty inobtaining grants or loans than obtaininginvestors (176 versus 39 percent) Inter-preting this result in conjunction with theprior perception of investment andfinancing being considered as an obstaclefor women this reflects the tendency ofwomen to avoid growing their businesseswith outside investors and to a lesserextent with institutional or grant support

In terms of goals and aspirations therespondents were asked what level ofgrowth they sought over the next threeyears based on a four-point (1 = rapidgrowth 4 = minimize losses) scale Themean (mean = 211 SD = 063) indi-cates that the respondents generally seek

only modest growth With respect to howthey define success in their businessesthe respondents were given a list ofseven items and asked which of thesewere the most important indicators ofsuccess (0 = no 1 = yes) The two highestitems in order of importance were cus-tomer loyalty (cited by 748 percent ofthe sample) and sales growth (65percent) The remaining items weremuch less important and these includedemployee satisfaction ability to giveback to the community and achievingpersonal wealth

Stage I Multivariate AnalysisRegression analysis was used to assess

the factors that might help explain thegrowth aspirations of women entrepre-neurs Specifically growth orientationwas run against key motives perceivedobstacles goals womenrsquos identityindustry type and business and personalcharacteristics Female identity was acomputed variable Answers weresummed across five questions that hadnoyes (01) response codes These

232 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Table 1Continued

Characteristics Choice Set Percentage

PersonalAge lt25 0

25ndash35 336ndash45 3046ndash55 42gt55 25

Education level Some high school 5High school graduate 7Some college 20College graduate 35Advanced degree 33

Ethnicity Caucasian 91Others 9

LLP limited liability partnership LLC limited liability company

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

included whether the business (1)targets female customers (2) purchasesfrom female vendors (3) attracts femaleinvestors (4) sponsors female commu-nity events and (5) promotes itself aswoman-owned The resulting scale had arange of 0ndash5 with lower scores indicat-ing a stronger female identity Personaldescriptors included age and educa-tional background Business descriptorsincluded years in operation number ofemployees percentage of equity ownedby the entrepreneur and sales revenue

To facilitate the regression analysis aseries of correlation analyses were run tonarrow the set of variables (that is par-ticular motives obstacles goals anddescriptors) to be used in the finalmodel The results are notable for thevery few variables that proved to be asso-ciated with growth orientation First cor-relation analysis was run on growth orientation with each of the 13 motivesfor starting a business Only three sig-nificant correlations were produced thedesire to get rich (r = 0255 p = 0011)

MORRIS et al 233

Table 2Entrepreneurial Motives and Perceived Obstacles

Mean Standard Deviation

Motives for Starting the VentureFreedom 375 0608Expression 350 0730Make a living 335 0801Flexible 331 0856Help 306 0904Challenge 299 1052Security 275 0892Limited opportunity 233 1159Clout 206 1008Shared experience 195 1106Get rich 170 0782Discrimination 170 0969Glass ceiling 151 0929

Perceived Obstacles Confronting Women EntrepreneursAdvertising 286 0375Licenses 273 0554Employees 273 0534Suppliers 273 0557Customers 269 0549Premises 267 0540Build relationship with other business 257 0557Community acceptance 244 0649Personal bank loans 203 0780Commercial loan 199 0739Investors 184 0697Others 127 0467

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

the desire to achieve long-term financialsecurity (r = 0206 p = 0041) and thedesire to meet a challenge (r = 0271p = 0006) Then correlation was run on growth orientation with the questionregarding overall obstacles and the 13questions concerning individual obsta-cles (for example getting loans findinginvestors obtaining suppliers etc) Ofthese only two correlation coefficientswere significant the overall perceptionthat women face unique obstacles (r =0196 p = 0050) and the perception thatwomen face unique difficulties in mar-keting and selling (r = 0340 p = 0001)None of the items assessing goals gen-erated significant correlations Correla-tions between growth orientation andkey business descriptors produced twosignificant relationships the percentageof equity owned by the entrepreneur (r = 0331 p = 0002) and current salesrevenue (r = 0215 p = 0029) The cor-relations with personal descriptors of theentrepreneur were not significant

The resulting regression equation con-sisted of these seven variables togetherwith female identity

Growth orientation = a + b1 (motive long term financial security)+ b2 (motive meet a challenge) + b3 (motive get rich) + b4 (overallperception of obstacles) + b5(perception that women face uniqueselling obstacles) + b6 (femaleidentity) + b7 (company revenue) + b8 (percent of equity-owned) + b9 (industry type)

Linear regression was run producingan overall equation that was significantat the 0002 level with an f-statistic of3422 R2 was 027 indicating the equa-tion explains about 27 percent of thevariability in growth orientation Ananalysis of the individual t values suggests that three of the independentvariables were significant predictors ofgrowth orientation female identity

percentage of equity-owned and the perception that women face uniqueobstacles in marketing and selling Theother six independent variables were notsignificant Separately correlation analy-sis was run on the independent vari-ables and sales revenue and percent ofequity-owned were significantly corre-lated with each other (correlation =0381 significance level = 0000) Thismay explain why sales revenue droppedout of the equation as it and equityowned may be explaining the sameaspects of growth orientation When theregression was rerun with the three significant independent variables theoverall f = 9563 significance level =0000 with an R2 of 0258 and signifi-cant t values for identity (t = 2818 sig-nificance level = 0006) percentage ofequity-owned (t = minus3228 significancelevel = 0002) and the perception thatwomen face higher marketing andselling obstacles than men (t = minus3287significance level = 0001) (see Table 3)

An examination of the residual plotdid not reveal any clear pattern withinthe residuals However as this was a mul-tiple regression the patterns can besubtle (Cryer and Miller 2002) So thepartial residual plots for each of the inde-pendent variables were examined Therewas general randomness in the case ofall the variables suggesting the linearmodel was appropriate

With regard to the direction of therelationships female identity had a pos-itive beta indicating growth orientationis stronger among those with more of afemale identity contrary to the hypothe-sis The negative signs on the beta coef-ficient for equity owned reflects the factthat growth orientation was inverselyscaled where lower numbers mean adesire for more growth Thus havingmore equity holders was positively asso-ciated with growth orientation Withsellingmarketing obstacles for womenthe negative beta indicates those with agrowth orientation are less likely to view

234 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

such obstacles as greater for women ashypothesized

Separate analysis was run to deter-mine if there were differences in growthorientation based on whether therespondent was pushed into entrepre-neurship (for example by circumstancessuch as job loss) or pulled (for examplerecognized an exciting opportunity) orboth pushed and pulled (see Mitra 2002)It was hypothesized that those pulledinto entrepreneurship would be moregrowth-oriented given their opportunis-tic nature The pushndashpull variable wasnominal data coded as 1 = pushed 2 =pulled and 3 = both Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was run with growth orienta-tion as the dependent variable and

pushpull as the factor The means weresignificantly different ( f = 3225 p =0045) and as hypothesized growth ori-entation was higher for those pulled intoentrepreneurship lowest for thosepushed into it and in between whenboth pushed and pulled

Finally simple regressions were runbetween growth orientation and twomeasures of growth performance Theresults indicate that both are significantSpecifically a stronger growth orienta-tion was associated with the addition ofa greater number of employees sincefounding the firm ( f = 354 p = 005)and with achieving higher rates of salesincreases ( f = 4291 p = 0040) Growthpropensity explained 4 and 5 percent

MORRIS et al 235

Table 3Summary Results for the Regression Analysis

Model Sum of df Mean f SignificanceSquares Square Level

Regression 8811 8 1101 3422 0002Residual 24141 75 0322

Total 31625 83

Model Unstandardized Standardized CoefficientsCoefficients

Beta StandardBeta t Significance

ErrorLevel

(Constant) 3737 0629 5945 0000Motive

Security minus0135 0083 minus0177 minus1630 0107Challenge minus0008 0062 minus0014 minus0132 0896Get rich 0004 0098 0005 0045 0964

ObstaclesOverall minus0048 0068 minus0078 minus0701 0485Selling minus0515 0175 minus0315 minus2944 0004

Female Identity 0091 0038 0254 2398 0019Percent of Equity minus0176 0079 minus0228 minus2230 0029Type of Business minus0013 0019 minus0073 minus0709 0480

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

respectively of the variance in the twoperformance variables

Stage II Qualitative FindingsThe correlation analysis described

above makes it clear that a large numberof the variables capturing motives obsta-cles goals and business and personaldescriptors were not associated withgrowth propensity As a result qualitativeanalysis was undertaken to delve deeperinto the factors surrounding growthpropensity The conscious growth objec-tives of the entrepreneur were first deter-mined by asking whether she plannedfor growth pursued growth and thenachieved growth Of the 50 entrepre-neurs interviewed 32 said they plannedfor growth and 35 said they pursuedgrowth Methods of pursuing growthincluded working on increasing salesrevenues working on increasing em-ployees and expanding the businesspremises All 50 entrepreneurs actuallyexperienced growth either as a result ofincreasing sales revenues increasing thenumber of employees or expanding thebusiness premises Actual growth wasmeasured as a function of the amount ofrevenues the number of employees orthe physical location size at the time ofthe interview compared to the measureof the same variables at the start of theventure Further 30 percent of the entre-preneurs who actually achieved growthsaid they did not pursue growth and 36percent of the entrepreneurs who actu-ally achieved growth had not planned forgrowth at all

Once the interviews were completedthe entrepreneurs were separated intotwo categories for the purpose of analysisthose who had experienced growth ofmore and less than $1 million were placedin the high growth and modest growth cat-egories respectively While arguable lowthis cut-off is reflective of the general pop-ulation of women-owned businessesGrowth was determined by current rev-enues of the businessThe responses were

coded by key words and phrases intendedto reveal consistencies and distinctionswithin the two groups of ldquoModestrdquo andldquoHigh Growthrdquoentrepreneurs

With respect to growth motivationsthe High Growth entrepreneurs repeat-edly used key words and phrases suchas desire to be rich challenge proveself happiness satisfaction and moreprofits The High Growth entrepreneurseemed less concerned with resourcescurrently in place than with the desire tocreate and build wealth In additionthese entrepreneurs considered achieve-ment of business growth to be a specialchallenge which served as a large moti-vational factor There was some tendencyto use terms associated with a high levelof competition and goal-oriented behav-ior similar to that likely exhibited by highachievers athletes and others who enjoya significant challenge in life On a morepersonal level the High Growth entre-preneurs often spoke of the satisfactionfulfillment and joy that their businessesbrought to their lives There was a tendency to strongly identify with thebusiness as an extension of onersquos self-concept One entrepreneur who had$15 million in annual sales said that shechose growth of her business as a meansto be happy to feel challenged and tolearn even more about business Busi-ness development and the relationshipbuilding that comes with that becamepart of her own personal development inunderstanding what made her happyand in a complete circle this made herbetter at the business

The Modest Growth entrepreneurs onthe other hand used words such as sus-tainable income and family financialsecurity as motivational factors for start-ing their businesses There was overalla more practical choice of key words andphrases reflecting a more conservativeless risk taking group of entrepreneursThese entrepreneurs preferred to controlgrowth at levels in line with their costpractices life styles and family needs

236 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

There was a clear preference for a busi-ness environment that is predictable andtime-managed with respect to nonbusi-ness hours In the minds of these entre-preneurs building the valuation of thebusiness was less of a focal point Ratherthey tended to view the business moreas a tool or vehicle for income substitu-tion financial security and a means ofaccommodating other life prioritiesReinforcing this view of the businesswere fairly negative attitudes towardsadding employees and very limitedmention of profit making or risk-returntrade-offs by this group The businessitself was viewed in terms of personaltrade-offs rather than as a focal point ofself-sacrifice and reinvestment

With controlled growth aspirationsthese Modest Growth entrepreneursavoided external funding to grow theirbusinesses and only turned to debtwhen necessary For example one entre-preneur stated that she was financiallyconservative and did not like to borrowmoney Her objective was to grow herbusiness herself without financial assis-tance from either investors or loans Thisstatement and belief is representative ofmany Modest Growth entrepreneurs andreflects a strong desire to not be obli-gated to others It may also indicate alimited level of financial sophisticationThere was a strong adversity among theModest Growth group towards puttingthe business itself at risk resulting in adeliberate choice to forego possiblegrowth implications of getting externalhelp to fund aspects of the businessThere was also a strong sense among thisgroup of ldquobeing alonerdquo

When asked for adjectives thatdescribed ldquogrowthrdquo many respondentsstruggled for a single word There weredistinct responses to this question fromthe High Growth and Modest Growthentrepreneurs High Growth entrepre-neurs used words that reflected positiveexpectations such as profitable largemore people and success The Modest

Growth entrepreneurs generally chosewords that conveyed a sense of both neg-ative and positive emotions of the busi-ness owner (for example stressful scaryconfusing and exciting) or descriptors oftough or challenging work conditions(hard longer hours and nonsustainable)

A series of questions explored obsta-cles experienced in attempting to growThe discussions centered on financialresources time gender roles familyresponsibilities background upbringingeconomic conditions and related factorsFor the High Growth entrepreneurs thegreatest emphasis tended to be ongaining access to the ldquoold boyrsquos clubrdquoa difficult business environment com-petitors their own managerial skillsand an inability to hire qualified employ-ees The Modest Growth entrepreneurswere more likely to talk about their own self-image background and train-ing family responsibilities as well asaccess to bank financing as the obstacles

Both groups raised issues relating topersonal background or preparation Forboth High and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs there often was no entrepreneur-ial parent or role model no formalbusiness training and no source ofencouragement to achieve businesssuccess A number of women in bothgroups came from economicallydeprived backgrounds and tied theirbusiness success to this situation The sit-uation of poverty in their youth theyreported forced them to learn to makemoney One owner for example saidthat her background taught her how toturn a dollar into two as she helped raiseher family as a 12-year old Poverty hada stigmatizing impact on those womenwho raised the subject causing them toeither pursue the growth of their busi-ness in a very careful and safe way or togrow quickly and make all of the moneythey can at any cost

With regard to the challenges posed byfamily demands both the High Growthand Modest Growth entrepreneurs agreed

MORRIS et al 237

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

that family considerations were a factor ingrowth However each group seemed toview prioritize and manage the obstacledifferently High Growth entrepreneursspoke about the price paid with respect tofamily when growing a business Forexample one owner admitted that herbusiness focus resulted in a failed marriage while another entrepreneurdescribed learning and accepting that shecould not be all things to each member ofher family and still run her business HighGrowth entrepreneurs generally did notthink of family or children as playing a rolein the business Modest Growth entrepre-neurs conversely spoke of hiring familymembers as employees to keep the familytogether Most of these respondents didnot see any conflicts or business-relatedproblems in having family members workin the ventureThe majority of these entre-preneurs expressed the importance ofcutting back business to be able to spendtime with their families and hiring familymembers seemed to be a compromise forbringing together business and familyneeds

Discrimination did not receive exten-sive mention in these interviews Bothgroups experienced gender discrimina-tion or bias in their business and socialenvironments but neither emphasized itas constraining their growth For theHigh Growth entrepreneurs the exis-tence or perception of this bias seemedto create a challenge more so than anobstacle Similarly with regard toadverse business conditions these entre-preneurs felt forced to challenge busi-ness rules or decisions that workedagainst their businesses such as legisla-tion on empowerment zones and denialof a $1-million loan

While the Modest Growth entrepre-neurs tended to define growth in termsof sales the High Growth entrepreneursemphasized both sales and addingemployees The former group viewedemployees from the vantage point ofheavy responsibility and risk while the

latter group tended to see them asopportunities The High Growth groupmade frequent mention of the lack ofqualified skilled employees that thebusiness owners could afford to hire

In terms of self-image both HighGrowth and Modest Growth entrepre-neurs generally expressed self-confi-dence in their businesses and in theirself-images however many ModestGrowth entrepreneurs expressed havinga past negative self-image that they over-came in order to achieve success As acase in point one Modest Growth busi-ness owner mentioned her prior negativeself-image and how she could not imagineherself at the helm of a business thatemployed others or being responsible forcreating a benefit program for others Itwas quite common for these entrepre-neurs to believe that as heads of busi-nesses they were personally ldquomissing orlacking somethingrdquo While some HighGrowth entrepreneurs also mentionedlack of degrees or training in their back-grounds most did not consider this as anegative or an obstacle to be overcomeOne High Growth owner describedherself as having been a young womanwith no college education and no moneyyet she perceived herself as savvy andcapable of making the right decisions

The Modest Growth entrepreneursmade frequent mention of their inabilityto get bank loans The challenge wasattributed to a variety of considerationsIncluded here were home mortgages thatprecluded eligibility for a business loanexcessive outstanding credit no collat-eral or assets job loss resulting in lackof credit and no credit history

Finally the two groups differed interms of their long-term goals and exitstrategies The responses fell into threebasic categories selling the business forprofit selling the business for continuityand keeping the business for retirementor for family The profit-making motivecharacterized the answers by the HighGrowth entrepreneurs They typically

238 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

sought to strategically grow their busi-nesses to a good financial position forthe purpose of selling it for an apprecia-ble capital gain However there were nomentions of going public The secondtwo categories were responses given bythe Modest Growth entrepreneurs Theseentrepreneurs planned for businessgrowth to culminate with either the saleof their company in some undeterminedamount of time handing the businessover to family and heirs or retainingownership and allowing the business tofollow its own course (passive growthresulting in no definable goal or strat-egy) One owner said she will ldquojust keepgoingrdquo while another owner stated thatshe would pass it on to her children Thisis consistent with earlier goals of modestgrowth complementing the dual role ofbeing parent and wife where the busi-ness becomes more of a family asset tobe handed down rather than a businessasset managed to bring the greatestreturn

Conclusions andImplications

These results make it clear thatgrowth orientation is a complex phe-nomenon that may well be influenced bygender The complexity is reflected inboth the quantitative and qualitative find-ings With regard to the quantitativeanalysis we can conclude that many ofthe motives goals and perceptionsregarding obstacles exist independentlyof whether the entrepreneur does ordoes not seek growth Similarly growthpropensity was largely unrelated to orga-nizational or personal demographicsHence many of the factors emphasizedin the extant literature including dis-crimination choice of business typeand educational background appear tobe less critical for explaining growthpropensity Yet there were some signifi-cant relationships

Where the entrepreneur is more moti-vated by achieving wealth and long-term

financial security or the need to achieveor meet a challenge the desire forgrowth is greater The perception thatwomen do not face unique obstacles wascorrelated with growth propensityHowever the perception that womenface unique challenges in selling sug-gests this is the key obstacle This is note-worthy as much is made of the need forwomen to develop stronger engineeringand science skills when they are sug-gesting it may be more about sellingskills This emphasis on the ability to sellmay also reflect womenrsquos lack of accessto networks and connections to key cus-tomers and resource providers

Growth orientation was associatedwith whether a woman is ldquopushedrdquo orldquopulledrdquo into entrepreneurship It ap-pears that women who are pulled by the recognition of opportunity are sig-nificantly more growth-oriented thanthose who are pushed into entrepre-neurship by circumstances such as jobloss economic necessity or divorce Thisis a finding also suggested by Mitra(2002) Push factors might also lead oneto less promising ventures and preempta woman from finding partners orinvestors in their businesses In separateresearch Buttner (1997) has suggestedthat women entrepreneurs driven by pullfactors were more motivated by intrinsic(for example personal growth improv-ing onersquos skills) than extrinsic (for example financial rewards profits)success measures Buttnerrsquos conclusionsare consistent with the finding in thecurrent research that High Growth entre-preneurs are much more focused onfinancial performance and profitability

The findings regarding the importanceof ldquowomenrsquos identityrdquo in the venture werecounter to expectationsA strong womenrsquosidentity was positively associated withgrowth orientation It was assumed that aconcern with being identified as a woman-owned business and with targetingfemale suppliers investors andor cus-tomers would be associated more with

MORRIS et al 239

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

social objectives as opposed to aggressivegrowth The opposite proved to be thecase possibly suggesting a female identityresults in the business having a morestrategic focus While a strong womenrsquosidentity may simply represent a pragmaticstrategy it is also a possible rejection ofthe traditional male hierarchy and a tacitembracing of entrepreneurship as asource of womenrsquos empowerment

Turning to company characteristicsthe finding that a higher level of saleswas associated with a greater desire forhigh levels of growth has two possibleexplanations It may be that the stronggrowth orientation produced the higherlevel of sales However the follow-upinterviews provided some suggestionthat as women achieved initial salessuccess and saw what was possible theirgrowth propensity went up Separatelythe presence of equity partners is animportant factor explaining the desire forgrowth The presence of other ownersmay indicate greater financial sophistica-tion and a clear plan for growth Alter-natively simply having others to whomone is accountable or with whom one issharing the risk may lead the entrepre-neur to set higher goals and want toaccomplish more It is also noteworthythat the type of business the entrepre-neur pursued was not a significantexplanatory factor in growth proclivity orrealized growth One possible explana-tion is the range of growth captured inthe businesses sampled Even so thisfinding discounts the argument thatwomen-owned ventures do not growaggressively simply because of the kindof business being pursued

The qualitative research made clearthat Modest and High Growth entrepre-neurs differ in how they view them-selves their families their ventures andthe larger environment in which theyfind themselves With the Modest Growthentrepreneurs the venture may be asource of pride but it is also viewed asan obligation that carries a burden that

must be balanced against other life con-siderations These women were morefocused within the business than onexternal opportunities and felt morealone as a business owner While gener-ally confident these entrepreneurs weremore risk-averse and many felt a certaininadequacy in terms of their back-grounds High Growth entrepreneursdemonstrated a more visceral identifica-tion with their business and conceptual-ized it as an investment whose valueneeded to be continually enhanced Theyperceived fewer conflicts between theventure and other life responsibilitiesand viewed the external environmentmore in terms of challenges and oppor-tunities than as obstacles They stronglybelieved in their own abilities to sur-mount whatever challenges arose

Earlier the question was posed as towhether women make the growth deci-sion or is it effectively made for thembased on environmental conditions andthe types of ventures they pursue Theresults of both stages of this researchprocess suggest that growth is a deliber-ate choice women have a clear sense ofthe costs and benefits of growth and thatthey make careful trade-off decisionsYet these choices may also reflectongoing socialization processes experi-enced by women The contemporaryenvironment remains one where in spiteof encouragement to pursue professionalcareers many women are taught not tobe risk takers and not to be competitiveor aggressive Education and trainingprograms do not explicitly help themaddress role conflicts particularly interms of how building high-growth ven-tures is compatible with other life roles

Based on the current study it is pos-sible to suggest priorities in terms ofdirections for future research There is aneed to develop models of growth thatcapture different growth paths of womenentrepreneurs Attempts to model ven-tures in terms of types and rates ofgrowth and growth patterns over time

240 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

are needed Different growth models canthen be linked to attitudes perceptionsexperiences and characteristics of theentrepreneur as well as to characteristicsof the venture and external environmentThe relationship between growth pro-pensity and the ability to manage growthis another critical area requiring greaterfocus Myriad skills come into play inhigh-growth environments ranging fromplanning and organizing to the ability to delegate and make rapid decisionsunder stress Measures are needed to systematically assess growth capabilitiesin an entrepreneurial context Moreoverit would seem that these two constructsare not independent Especially wherethe entrepreneur has a keener self-awareness of their own skill limitationsthey may have lower growth ambitionsIt is also important to develop richerinsights into the dynamics that occuronce a venture has started that leadentrepreneurs to become more conser-vative or ambitious in their growth aspi-rations Finally studies of women whohave started multiple ventures should be conducted to determine whethergrowth aspirations change with thenumber of venture experiences one has

ReferencesBaines S J Wheelock and A Abrams

(1997) ldquoMicro-businesses Owner-managers in Social Context House-hold Family and Growth orNon-growthrdquo in Small Firms Entre-preneurship in the Nineties Ed DDeakin P Jennings and C MasonLondon Paul Chapman 47ndash60

Bird B J (1989) Entrepreneurial Behav-ior Glenview IL Scott Foresman

Bird B and C Brush (2002) ldquoA Gen-dered Perspective on OrganizationalCreationrdquo Entrepreneurship Theoryand Practice 26(3) 41ndash65

Birley S (1989) ldquoFemale EntrepreneursAre They Really Any DifferentrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 27(1) p 32ndash37

Bowen D D and R D Hisrich (1986)ldquoThe Female Entrepreneur A CareerDevelopment Perspectiverdquo Academyof Management Review 11(2) 393ndash407

Brush C (1992) ldquoResearch on WomenBusiness Owners Past Trends a NewPerspective and Future DirectionsrdquoEntrepreneurship Theory and Practice16(4) 5ndash30

Brush C Nancy Carter Elizabeth Gate-wood Patricia Greene and Myra Hart(2004) Clearing the Hurdles WomenBuilding High-Growth EnterprisesNew York Financial TimesPrenticeHall

Buttner E H (1997) ldquoWomenrsquos Organi-zational Exodus to EntrepreneurshipSelf-reported Motivations and Corre-lates with Successrdquo Journal of SmallBusiness Management 35(1) 34ndash47

Buttner E H and B Rosen (1989)ldquoFunding New Business Ventures AreDecision Makers Biased AgainstWomen Entrepreneursrdquo Journal ofBusiness Venturing 4(4) 249ndash261

Calas M B and L Smircich (1992)ldquoRewriting Gender into Organiza-tional Theorizing Direction from Feminist Perspectivesrdquo in RethinkingOrganizations New Directions inOrganizational Theory and Analysised M Reed and M D HughesLondon Sage 132ndash159

Catley S and R T Hamilton (1998)ldquoSmall Business Development andGender of Ownerrdquo Journal of Man-agement Development 17(1) 75ndash82

Center for Womenrsquos Business Research(CWBR) (2001a) ldquoCapturing theImpact Release EntrepreneurialVision in Action Exploring Growthamong Women- and Men-OwnedFirmsrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 February

mdashmdashmdash (2001b) ldquoRemoving the Bound-aries The Continued Progress ofAchievement of Women-Owned Enter-prisesrdquo httpwwwwomensbusiness

MORRIS et al 241

researchorgpublicationsbydatehtml2001 November

mdashmdashmdash (2004) ldquoFact Sheetrdquo httpwwwwomensbusinessresearchorgtopfactshtml

Chaganti R (1986) ldquoManagement inWomen-Owned Enterprisesrdquo Journalof Small Business Management 24(4)18ndash29

Charboneau F Jill (1981) ldquoThe WomanEntrepreneurrdquo American Demograph-ics 3(6) 21ndash24

Chrisman J A Carsrud J DeCastro andL Herron (1990) ldquoA Comparison ofAssistance Needs of Male and FemalePre-Venture Entrepreneursrdquo Journalof Business Venturing 5(4) 235ndash248

Cliff J E (1998) ldquoDoes One Size Fit AllExploring Relationships Between Atti-tudes Towards Growth Gender andBusiness Sizerdquo Journal of BusinessVenturing 13(6) 523ndash542

Clifford V (1996) ldquoA Case Study of aFeminist Small Business Theory intoPracticerdquo International Review ofWomen and Leadership 2(2) 98ndash111

Cromie S (1987) ldquoMotivations of Aspir-ing Male and Female EntrepreneursrdquoJournal of Occupational Behavior8(2) 51ndash61

Cryer J D and R B Miller (2002) Sta-tistics for Business Data Analysis andModeling 2d ed Cincinnati South-western College Publishing

Davidson J M and J R Burke (2004)Eds ldquoWomen in Management Wordl-wide Facts Figures and AnalysisrdquoAldershot Hampshire Ashgate Pub-lishing Company 10ndash11

Ducheneaut B and Orhan M (1997)ldquoWomen Entrepreneurs in Small andMedium Enterprises A Major Force forInnovation and Job Creationrdquo Reportprepared for the OECD ConferenceParis April 16ndash18

Dumas C (2001) ldquoEvaluating the Out-comes of Microenterprise Training forLow Income Women A Case StudyrdquoJournal of Developmental Entrepre-neurship 6(2) 97ndash128

Fairlie R (2004) ldquoSelf-Employed Busi-ness Ownership Rates in the UnitedStates 1979ndash2003rdquo Small BusinessAssociation Research Summary No243 December

Ferguson A (1989) Blood at the RootLondon Pandora

Flax J (1990) Thinking Fragments Psy-choanalysis Feminism and Postmod-ernism in the Contemporary WestBerkeley University of CaliforniaPress

Fischer E M A R Reuber and L SDyke (1993) ldquoA Theoretical Overviewand Extension of Research on SexGender and EntrepreneurshiprdquoJournal of Business Venturing 8(2)151ndash168

Freidan B (1995) ldquoBeyond GenderrdquoNewsweek September 4 30ndash32

Goffee R and R Scase (1983) ldquoBusinessOwnership and Womenrsquos Subordina-tion A Preliminary Study of FemaleProprietorsrdquo Sociological Review31(4) 625ndash648

Greene P C Brush M Hart and PSaparito (1999) ldquoExploration of theVenture Capital Industry Is Gender anIssuerdquo in Frontiers of Entrepreneur-ship Research Ed P Reynolds et alBabson Park MA Babson College168ndash181

Gundry L K and H P Welsch (2001)ldquoThe Ambitious Entrepreneur HighGrowth Strategies of Women-OwnedEnterprisesrdquo Journal of Business Ven-turing 16(5) 453ndash470

Gutek B C Nakamura and V Nieva(1986) ldquoThe Interdependence of Work and Family Roles SummaryrdquoJournal of Occupational Behavior2(1) 1ndash17

Hisrich R D and C Brush (1983) ldquoTheWoman Entrepreneur Impact ofFamily Educational and OccupationalExperiencerdquo in Frontiers of Entre-preneurship Research Ed J Horna-day J A Timmons and K VesperBabson Park MA Babson College255ndash270

242 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

mdashmdashmdash (1984) ldquoThe Woman Entrepre-neur Management Skills and BusinessProblemsrdquo Journal of Small BusinessManagement 22(1) 30ndash37

Hisrich R D and M OrsquoBrien (1981)ldquoThe Woman Entrepreneur from aBusiness and Sociological Perspec-tiverdquo in Frontiers of EntrepreneurshipResearch Ed K Vesper Wellesley MABabson College 21ndash39

Hisrich R D C Brush D Good and GDeSouza (1996) ldquoSome PreliminaryFindings on Performance in Entre-preneurial Ventures Does GenderMatterrdquo in Frontiers of Entrepreneur-ship Research Wellesley MA BabsonCollege 100ndash106

Hurley A E (1999) ldquoIncorporating Fem-inist Theories into Sociological Theo-ries of Entrepreneurshiprdquo Women inManagement Review 14(2) 54ndash62

Jones K and Raydel Tullous (2002)ldquoBehaviors of Pre-Venture Entrepre-neurs and Perceptions of Their Finan-cial Needsrdquo Journal of Small BusinessManagement 40(3) 33ndash50

Kalleberg A and K Leicht (1991)ldquoGender and Organizational Perfor-mance Determinants of Small Busi-ness Survival and Successrdquo Academyof Management Journal 34(1)136ndash161

Koen S (1984) ldquoFeminist WorkplacesAlternative Models for the Organiza-tion of Workrdquo PhD diss Union forExperimenting Colleges University ofMichigan Dissertation InformationService

Kuhn T (1970) The Structure of Scien-tific Revolutions Chicago Universityof Chicago Press

Littunen H (2000) ldquoEntrepreneurshipand the Characteristics of the Entre-preneurial Personalityrdquo InternationalJournal of Entrepreneurial Behaviorand Research 6(6) 295ndash310

Martin J (1990) ldquoDeconstructing Orga-nizational Taboos The Suppression ofGender Conflict in OrganizationsrdquoOrganization Science 1(4) 339ndash359

Martin P Y (1993) ldquoFeminist Practice inOrganizations Implications for Man-agementrdquo in Women in ManagementTrends Issues and Challenges in Man-agerial Diversity ed E A FagensonNewbury Park CA Sage 274ndash296

Matthews C H and S B Moser (1996)ldquoA Longitudinal Investigation of theImpact of Family Background andGender on Interest in Small FirmsOwnershiprdquo Journal of Small Busi-ness Management 34(2) 29ndash43

McKenna E P (1997) When WorkDoesnrsquot Work Anymore Women Workand Identity Rydalmere New SouthWales Australia Hodder andStoughton

Menzies T Monica Diochon and YvonGasse (2004) ldquoExamining Venture-Related Myths Concerning WomenEntrepreneursrdquo Journal of Develop-mental Entrepreneurship 9(2) 89ndash97

Mitra R (2002) ldquoThe Growth Pattern ofWomen-Run Enterprises An EmpiricalStudy in Indiardquo Journal of Develop-mental Entrepreneurship 7(2) 217ndash237

National Womenrsquos Business Council(NWBC) (2003) ldquoWomenrsquos Entre-preneurship around the Globerdquohttp wwwnwbcgovdocuments Issue20brief-GEMpdf October

mdashmdashmdash (2004) ldquoTrends in Women-Owned Employer Establishments1997 to 2000rdquo httpwwwnwbcgovdocuments Issue20brief2020Censuspdf January

mdashmdashmdash (2005) ldquoTrends in Women-OwnedEmployer EstablishmentsrdquohttpwwwnwbcgovResearch Publications documents issues_in_brief_census_1997-2001pdfMay

Olson S F and Helen M Currie (1992)ldquoFemale Entrepreneurs PersonalValue Systems and Business Strategiesin a Male-Dominated IndustryrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 30(1) 49ndash58

Orhan M and D Scott (2001) ldquoWhyWomen Enter into Entrepreneurship

MORRIS et al 243

An Explanatory Modelrdquo Women inManagement Review 16(5) 232ndash243

Pellegrino E and B Reece (1982) ldquoPer-ceived Formative and OperationalProblems Encountered in Retail andService Firmsrdquo Journal of Small Busi-ness Management 20(2) 37ndash44

du Rietz A and M Henrekson (2000)Testing the Female UnderperformanceHypothesisrdquo Small Business Econom-ics 14(1) 1ndash10

Robinson S (2001) ldquoAn Examination ofEntrepreneurial Motives and TheirInfluence on the Way Rural WomenSmall Business Owners Manage TheirEmployeesrdquo Journal of DevelopmentalEntrepreneurship 6(2) 151ndash168

Sarri K and A Trihopoulou (2005)ldquoFemale Entrepreneursrsquo PersonalCharacteristics and Motivation AReview of the Greek SituationrdquoWomen in Management Review 20(1)24ndash36

Scherer R F J Brodzinski and FWiebe (1990) ldquoEntrepreneur CareerSelection and Gender A SocializationApproachrdquo Journal of Small BusinessManagement 28(2) 37ndash44

Scott C E (1986) ldquoWhy More WomenAre Becoming EntrepreneursrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 24(4) 37ndash45

Sexton D (1989a) ldquoGrowth Decisionsand Growth Pattern of Women-OwnedBusinessrdquo in Women-Owned Busi-nesses ed O Hagen C Rivchun andD Sexton New York Prager 135ndash150

mdashmdashmdash (1989b) ldquoResearch on Women-Owned Businesses Current Status andFuture Directionsrdquo in Women-OwnedBusinesses ed O Hagen C Rivchunand D Sexton New York Prager183ndash194

Shaver K and L Scott (1991) ldquoPersonProcess Choice The Psychology ofNew Venture Creationrdquo Entrepreneur-

ship Theory and Practice 16(2) 23ndash47

Small Business Administration (SBA)(2001) ldquoWomen in Businessrdquohttpwwwsbagovadvoresearchwomenhtml October

Starr J and Yudkin M (1996) WomenEntrepreneurs A Review of CurrentResearch Wellesley MA Center forResearch on Women

Stevenson L (1986) ldquoAgainst All OddsThe Entrepreneurship of WomenrdquoJournal of Small Business Manage-ment 24(4) 30ndash36

Still L V and W Timms (2000)ldquoWomenrsquos Business The FlexibleAlternative Work Style for WomenrdquoWomen in Management Review15(56) 272ndash282

Stoner C R R I Hartman and R Arora(1990) ldquoWorkFamily Conflict A Studyof Women in Managementrdquo Journal ofApplied Business Research 7(1)67ndash74

Taylor Sherrill R and Debra L Kosarek(1995) ldquoA study of women-ownedbusinesses in the DallasFort WorthMetroplexrdquo Business and EconomicsMonograph No 4 Department ofBusiness and Economics TexasWomanrsquos University and NAWBO-DallasFort Worth Chapter

Watkins J and D Watkins (1984) ldquoTheFemale Entrepreneur Backgroundand Determinants of BusinessChoicemdashSome British Datardquo Interna-tional Small Business Journal 2(4)21ndash31

Woodul J (1978) ldquoWhatrsquos This aboutFeminist Businessesrdquo in FeministFrameworks ed A Jagger and P SRothenberg New York McGraw-Hill196ndash204

Zellner Wendy (1994) ldquoWomen Entre-preneursrdquo Business Week April 18104ndash110

244 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT