Abstract
This dissertation studies gender disparities in entrepreneurial finance and consists of three papers. The first paper systematically reviews the focal literature. The second paper employs experimental approaches to investigate entrepreneurs’ gender homophilic behaviours when seeking early-stage investments. The third paper delves into the mechanisms and boundary conditions of entrepreneurs’ gender homophily towards investors, identifying and analyzing potential moderators at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels.
The first paper is a systematic literature review, elucidating the drivers of gender disparities in entrepreneurial finance, the theoretical mechanisms underlying and the boundary conditions that amplify or mitigate them. By applying a robust method to identify 123 papers published in 54 high-quality journals from 1988 to April 2023, we propose a conceptual framework to systematize this literature. The framework considers three dimensions: the various financial channels entrepreneurs utilize, the supply and demand sides of the financial markets, and the micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis. This framework highlights critical gaps in the literature and suggests future research directions. Female entrepreneurs often avoid external financing due to a lack of human and social capital and the pervasive stereotype that entrepreneurship is male-dominated. Those who seek funding may receive less than desired or face rejection due to taste-based or statistical discrimination by capital providers. Besides, boundary conditions, such as business size, economic cycles, institutional factors, and alternative financing channels, may alleviate or exacerbate gender disparities but are often overlooked. While scholars have extensively studied the supply side at the individual level, more research is needed to understand the demand-side factors that lead female entrepreneurs to opt out, receive less funding, or face rejection. Additionally, meso-level factors (e.g., organizational dynamics) and macro-level factors (e.g., gender equality, market development) and their interactions with micro-level factors remain underexplored.
The second paper draws on the theoretical lenses of gender homophily and the stereotype content model to examine how same-gender effects influence female entrepreneurs’ perceptions and behaviors in the context of early-stage financing compared to a neutral context. Existing studies suggest that gender homophily significantly impacts female investors’ funding decisions in female-led businesses. We hypothesize that female entrepreneurs, like female investors, exhibit a preference for same-gender relationships, as homophily suggests that similar individuals interact more frequently than dissimilar ones (McPherson et al., 2001). To test our hypotheses, we conducted a vignette experiment with 393 US-based prospective or current entrepreneurs (51.4% men and 48.6% women). The results support our hypothesis: female entrepreneurs exhibit stronger preferences for environments with higher female investors’ presence in the early-stage financing context compared to a neutral context. Moreover, they are more likely to initiate contact with female investors and accept their offers, even after controlling for their perception of investors’ warmth and competence. These findings suggest that the scarcity of female investors contributes to gender disparities in entrepreneurship. The predominance of male business angels, combined with female entrepreneurs’ same-gender preferences, may lead female entrepreneurs to self-select out of business angel financing.
The third paper builds on the same experiment as the second paper, with variations in the sample and analytical focus. More specifically, 338 US-based current entrepreneurs (49.7 men and 50.3% women) were included. It investigates the mechanisms driving female entrepreneurs’ preference for same-gender investors and explores boundary conditions at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels. More specifically, female entrepreneurs’ inclination toward female investors stems from both personal preferences and rational considerations. They expect smoother communication and coordination with same-gender investors, but this same-gender partnership may come with the risk of being stigmatized as less competent. The results demonstrate that the gender homophily effect weakens when female entrepreneurs have known investors, thus enabling them to communicate and coordinate effectively with investors regardless of gender, or when their businesses are already generating revenue, thereby signaling their viability and legitimacy. Conversely, their gender homophily preference for investors strengthens in states with a higher representation of female investors, as female entrepreneurs perceive greater legitimacy when receiving investments from female investors. Moreover, the negative impact of not securing additional capital diminishes if there are more female investors available to support subsequent funding rounds.
The first paper is a systematic literature review, elucidating the drivers of gender disparities in entrepreneurial finance, the theoretical mechanisms underlying and the boundary conditions that amplify or mitigate them. By applying a robust method to identify 123 papers published in 54 high-quality journals from 1988 to April 2023, we propose a conceptual framework to systematize this literature. The framework considers three dimensions: the various financial channels entrepreneurs utilize, the supply and demand sides of the financial markets, and the micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis. This framework highlights critical gaps in the literature and suggests future research directions. Female entrepreneurs often avoid external financing due to a lack of human and social capital and the pervasive stereotype that entrepreneurship is male-dominated. Those who seek funding may receive less than desired or face rejection due to taste-based or statistical discrimination by capital providers. Besides, boundary conditions, such as business size, economic cycles, institutional factors, and alternative financing channels, may alleviate or exacerbate gender disparities but are often overlooked. While scholars have extensively studied the supply side at the individual level, more research is needed to understand the demand-side factors that lead female entrepreneurs to opt out, receive less funding, or face rejection. Additionally, meso-level factors (e.g., organizational dynamics) and macro-level factors (e.g., gender equality, market development) and their interactions with micro-level factors remain underexplored.
The second paper draws on the theoretical lenses of gender homophily and the stereotype content model to examine how same-gender effects influence female entrepreneurs’ perceptions and behaviors in the context of early-stage financing compared to a neutral context. Existing studies suggest that gender homophily significantly impacts female investors’ funding decisions in female-led businesses. We hypothesize that female entrepreneurs, like female investors, exhibit a preference for same-gender relationships, as homophily suggests that similar individuals interact more frequently than dissimilar ones (McPherson et al., 2001). To test our hypotheses, we conducted a vignette experiment with 393 US-based prospective or current entrepreneurs (51.4% men and 48.6% women). The results support our hypothesis: female entrepreneurs exhibit stronger preferences for environments with higher female investors’ presence in the early-stage financing context compared to a neutral context. Moreover, they are more likely to initiate contact with female investors and accept their offers, even after controlling for their perception of investors’ warmth and competence. These findings suggest that the scarcity of female investors contributes to gender disparities in entrepreneurship. The predominance of male business angels, combined with female entrepreneurs’ same-gender preferences, may lead female entrepreneurs to self-select out of business angel financing.
The third paper builds on the same experiment as the second paper, with variations in the sample and analytical focus. More specifically, 338 US-based current entrepreneurs (49.7 men and 50.3% women) were included. It investigates the mechanisms driving female entrepreneurs’ preference for same-gender investors and explores boundary conditions at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels. More specifically, female entrepreneurs’ inclination toward female investors stems from both personal preferences and rational considerations. They expect smoother communication and coordination with same-gender investors, but this same-gender partnership may come with the risk of being stigmatized as less competent. The results demonstrate that the gender homophily effect weakens when female entrepreneurs have known investors, thus enabling them to communicate and coordinate effectively with investors regardless of gender, or when their businesses are already generating revenue, thereby signaling their viability and legitimacy. Conversely, their gender homophily preference for investors strengthens in states with a higher representation of female investors, as female entrepreneurs perceive greater legitimacy when receiving investments from female investors. Moreover, the negative impact of not securing additional capital diminishes if there are more female investors available to support subsequent funding rounds.
Original language | English |
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Place of Publication | Frederiksberg |
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Publisher | Copenhagen Business School [Phd] |
Number of pages | 136 |
ISBN (Print) | 9788775683598 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9788775683604 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2025 |
Series | PhD Series |
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Number | 20.2025 |
ISSN | 0906-6934 |