...project undertaken. mail survey was sent to a sample of female entrepreneurs to assess motives, obstacles, goals and aspirations, 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, growth orientation was associated with whether a woman was "pushed" or "pulled" into entrepreneurship, was motivated by wealth or achievement factors, had a strong women's identity in the venture, had equity partners, and believed women faced unique selling obstacles. The qualitative research made clear that modest- and high-growth entrepreneurs differ in how they view themselves, their families, their ventures, and the larger environment. The results of both stages suggest that growth is a deliberate choice and that women have a clear sense of the costs and benefits of growth and make careful trade-off decisions.

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Gender-based research on entrepreneurs has generally indicated that similarities between the two sexes outweigh the differences (Brush 1992). One might imply from such findings that commonalities between male and female entrepreneurs would result in similar performance outcomes for their ventures. Yet, Rietz and Henrekson (2000) note performance differences between ventures started by men versus women in terms of revenue growth. Others (for example, Menzies, Diochon, and Gasse 2004; Sexton 1989a, 1989b) have suggested a lower propensity towards growth among female entrepreneurs. Government statistics indicate that, in recent years, the number of women-owned firms with employees has expanded at three times the rate of all employer firms, and, as a group, these businesses have experienced growth (Fairlie 2004). Yet women remain underrepresented in terms of their proportion of high-growth firms.

In their efforts to debunk a number of the derogatory myths concerning women entrepreneurs (cf. Brush et al. 2004), Menzies, Diochon, and Gasse (2004) point to some underlying patterns that may help explain growth limitations in women-owned ventures. Their findings suggested that women were less likely to have educational backgrounds in engineering and computing, and tended not to take classes on how to start a business. Conversely, men tended to take on partners who were not family members, were more predisposed to start high-tech businesses, and more likely to focus on intellectual property issues when starting a venture. These tendencies may result in ventures of greater scale and higher risk at the time of start-up, enhancing their growth prospects.

Other explanations exist. Quality-of-life considerations may find women resisting growth as they seek greater balance among the demands of work, family, and their personal lives. Alternatively, it may be that women who adopt a stronger "female image" superimpose a particular bounded rationality upon their entrepreneurial ventures and approaches to business start-up. In doing so, they may also potentially transfer the stigma of societal myths regarding women entrepreneurs onto the organization, affecting the attitude and ways in which growth is pursued (Brush et al. 2004). Socialization processes throughout women's lives may critically affect their self-assessments about being ill-prepared with regard to firm creation--even when outsiders evaluate skills and needs as being equal to those of men (Jones and Tullous 2002). Bird and Brush (2002) note, "... the gendered perspective of the founder influences the organizing process and resultant new organization," whether it be for high growth or not. This perspective creates unconscious biases regarding capabilities and potential, thereby potentially creating a harmful feedback cycle that is difficult to overcome.

The purpose of the current research is to develop richer insights into the growth aspirations of women entrepreneurs and the underlying causes of these aspirations. Of particular importance are insights into the question "do women make the growth decision, or is it effectively made for them based on environmental conditions and the types of ventures they pursue?" Toward this end, a two-stage research project was undertaken. In Stage I, a cross-sectional mail survey was sent to a random sample of 500 female entrepreneurs located in upstate New York. Based on the analysis of the survey results, Stage II of the research involved follow-up, in-depth personal interviews with 50 female entrepreneurs selected equally from "lifestyle" and "high growth" ventures. Underlying explanations of the factors identified as significant determinants of growth orientation in Stage I were explored at length. Implications are drawn from the findings of the two research stages for theory and practice, and suggestions are made for ongoing research.

Literature Review

Women's Growth Performance

Since the seminal work by Hisrich and Brush (1983) in which they profiled distinguishing characteristics of female entrepreneurs, the past 25 years have seen a steady increase in the number of studies on women entrepreneurs. Key issues addressed have included educational and work background, psychological characteristics, motivation, perceptions of career efficacy, training and skill development, comparative earnings levels, management practices, external networking, desire to succeed, and obstacles encountered (Dumas 2001; Robinson 2001; Greene et al. 1999; Brush 1992; Scherer, Brodzinski, and Wiebe 1990; Birley 1989; Stevenson 1986). At the same time, only limited attention has been devoted to understanding the growth aspirations of women entrepreneurs.

It has long been recognized that women start ventures that grow at a slower rate than those owned by men (Hisrich and Brush 1984). Cliff (1998) notes that, compared to males, female entrepreneurs tend to set lower business-size thresholds beyond which they prefer not to expand, and to be more concerned with risks attached to fast growth. These conclusions are reinforced by more recent statistical evidence.

Women are starting and acquiring businesses at a faster rate than any other segment in the United States. Between 1997 and 2002, women started an average of 424 new ventures each day, or 775,000 new businesses per year, comprising 55 percent of all new venture start-ups (NWBC 2005). As of 2004, 6.7 million privately held businesses were majority-owned by women, accounting for 30 percent of all businesses in the country. Between 1997 and 2004, women-owned businesses, employment, and revenues grew and increased by 23, 39, and 46 percent compared to 9, 12, and 34 percent in all businesses, respectively. Yet these numbers are somewhat misleading, as most of the increase appears to have come from a very small segment of large ventures. Despite impressive numbers of new starts and positive indicators for survival rates, a large majority of women-owned businesses start and stay small, never employing more than 10 people (NWBC 2005; CWBR 2001a, 2001b). In fact, women are creating sole proprietorships at a faster rate than men (CWBR 2001a), and the percentage of women-owned firms with employees is lower than that for all firms (NWBC 2004). In 1997, only an estimated 1 percent of all women-owned businesses had more than 500 employees (CWBR 2001b), and even accounting for increased numbers of large women-owned firms in the past eight years, this percentage has not meaningfully changed.

Women in general do not appear to have aggressive growth objectives, with evidence from one representative sample indicating that, although many women business owners prioritize increasing their client base and profits, most of them have five-year revenue goals of under $1 million (NWBC 2003). In addition, the fact that the geographic concentration of previously venture-funded women-owned businesses is in the West and East regions of the United States (CWBR 2004), while the fastest growing areas for women-owned businesses are in the Midwest and Southwest regions (CWBR Fact Sheet 2004), implies a geographic disparity whereby most women-owned start-ups are not likely to be located in an environment that encourages high growth.

Key Factors Impacting Growth Aspirations

Various researchers have noted fundamental similarities between male and female entrepreneurs, most notably in terms of key motives, such as the desire for independence or self-achievement, or the tendency to have an internal locus of control (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005; Orhan 2001; Littunen 2000; Birley 1989; Scott 1986). However, key differences exist as well, and these may have important growth implications.

Female entrepreneurs tend to be older, and have children in more instances than their male counterparts when starting a business (Sarri and Trihopoulou 2005). Women-owned businesses tend to be smaller, with less capital, have lower revenues and fewer employees, and reside in lower-profit industries (Bird 1989). Women tend to be sole owners and have less managerial experience (Hisrich and Brush 1984). In terms of personal characteristics, women demonstrate lower levels of self-confidence (Birley 1989; Chaganti 1986).

Arguably, woman-owned ventures are especially affected by conflicts between home and family demands, and these conflicts may have deliberate or inadvertent implications for growth (Stoner, Hartman, and Arora 1990). Although both sexes must deal with conflicting demands that include marriage and family concerns, the fact that women often maintain traditional duties in the household and rear children while also managing their ventures has significant implications regarding choices, priorities, and aspirations (Stevenson 1986). As explained by Still and Timms (2000), there is a gender-based circumstance of "domestic division of labor and time poverty" that women must effectively deal with, in order to maintain balance between conducting a business and maintaining a family. Thresholds where growth is suspended or capped may well represent maintenance of control (Still and Timms 2000; Cliff 1998), especially in situations where a woman's life cycle is closely associated with child-care and family responsibilities. Baines, Wheelock, and Abrams (1997) note that employment growth is not greatly valued at key life-cycle stages. Nongrowth becomes a deliberate and legitimate choice of these women (see also Mitra 2002).

Occupational flexibility is a significant motivator in female entrepreneurship (Taylor and Kosarek 1995; Zellner 1994; Olson and Currie 1992). It is a more critical factor for women compared to male venture owners (Stevenson 1986). This flexibility assists with the desire and need to both work and raise families (Orhan and Scott 2001; Ducheneaut and Orhan 1997; Birley 1989; Cromie 1987). For female entrepreneurs with children, their venture choice offers more flexibility to accommodate both their business/financial and family responsibilities. Correspondingly, the prominent reasons stated by both men and women for starting businesses include the need for achievement, autonomy, and flexibility (Bowen and Hisrich...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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