information, advice, and access to networks and business support systems (Allen and. Truman .... small business performance are similar irrespective of an entrepreneur's gender" (Kal- leberg and ...... London: Routledge Press. Auster, E., and ...
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ISRAELI W O M E N ENTREPRENEURS: A N E X A M I N A T I O N OF FACTORS A F F E C T I N G PERFORMANCE MIRI L E R N E R University £[ Tel A viv
CANDIDA BRUSH Boston University
ROBERT HISRICH Case Western Reserve University
This article examines individual factors influencing performance of 200 Israeli women-owned businesses. Whereas research on women entrepreneurs SUMMARY is extensive in developed countries', especially in the United States and Europe, there are comparatively few studies of performance of women-owned businesses in non-OECD countries. There is evidence that social structures (work, family, and organized social life) vary among developed and developing countries as these relate to women entrepreneurs. However, these differences have not been considered as they may relate to theories explaining performance o f women-owned businesses. The extent to which existing theories are useful in the context of non-OECD countries is of increasing importance as women in these countries are assuming a greater role in enterprise creation and economic deveh)pment as a result of radical geopolitical and economic policy changes worldwide. In Israel, women suffer from occupational segregation and typically earn less money than their male counterparts, despite a generally high level o f education. Entrepreneurship offers a vehicle for Israeli women to achieve economic parity. Approximately 5.1% of Israeli women are self-employed (compared with 15 % o f lsraeli men) of the 816,800 Israeli working women. This study is the first systematic investigation o f performance variation among Israeli women entrepreneurs, thereby contributing to our understanding o f women's entrepreneurship in non-OECD countries.
EXECUTIVE
Address correspondence to Robert D. Hisrich, Department of Marketing and Policy Studies, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Enterprise Hall, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106-7235. Journal of Business Venturing 12, 315-339 © 1997 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010
0883-9026/97/$17.00 PII S0883-9026(96)00061-4
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M. LERNER ET AL.
Five theoretical perspectives explain performance: individual motivations and goals; social learning (entrepreneurial socialization); network affiliation (contacts and membership in organizations); human capital (level o f education, business skills); and environmental influences (location, sectoral participation, and sociopolitical variables). Each of these perspectives is associated with empirical work showing relationships between these individual level factors and performance. Three questions directed this study: (1) Which factors influence the performance o f lsraeli women entrepreneurs? (2) Which factors explain any variance in performance among businesses established by Israeli women entrepreneurs? (3) How similar are these explanatory factors to those found in other countries? A sample o f 220 Israeli women business-owners responded to a survey instrument originally composed by Hisrich and Brush (1982, 1985) that was translated into Hebrew and adapted to the particular conditions o f the lsraeli population. A majority o f the questionnaires was distributed at meetings of professional associates of women entrepreneurs and returned by mail, but one-fourth was distributed to women who were not members o f any professional association. No significant differences were found between the respondents who were members or non-members o f associations. Reliability testing showed alpha coefficients of 0.65 and higher for scaled questions, which is acceptable for survey data. Statistical analyses, including Pearsons's correlations and multiple regressions, examined relationships between factors identified from theoretical perspectives and performance, which was measured by profitability, income, size (number o f employees), and revenues. Demographic variables were examined, and the age of the woman entrepreneur's children was significantly related to profitability (p < .01). The majority o f lsraeli women entrepreneurs are married and became entrepreneurs after their children were grown. This is consistent with the strong family orientation prevalent in the Israeli culture and the existence of institutional arrangements that support the working mother model as long as she gives priority to family responsibilities. O f the five theoretical perspectives, results showed network affiliation, motivation, human capital, and environmental factors affected different aspects of performance, whereas social learning theory or existence o f a role model had no significant effect on performance outcomes. Network affiliation was significantly related to profitability (p
