Dr. Llanos-Contreras, Orlando

Although the number of women entrepreneurs has increased in recent years, it is still lower than that of men. In addition, although the sports sector has been characterized by its growth in recent years and contributes to the GDP of the countries by generating employment, the role that this has within female entrepreneurship has never been analysed. Therefore, the objective of this study is to know the combinations of conditions (female employment in sports, government support, financing for entrepreneurs, perception of entrepreneurial opportunities and capacities, glass ceiling index and masculine values in society) that generate high levels of female entrepreneurship in the countries of the European Union, as these values are closer to the male TEA (Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity). A total of 13 European countries were analysed using the fsQCA methodology. The results show that, for high levels of female TEA, the main combination is high levels of government support*high levels of glass ceiling index*low levels of masculinity*low levels of opportunities perception and high levels of female employment in sport, explaining 45% of the cases. The results present a series of implications for improving female entrepreneurship in the European Union countries.

The success of women-owned businesses with regard to the stages of economic development of countries is under-examined on a global basis. This study explores the relationship between country economic and political contexts and assesses the importance of entrepreneurs’ networks and managerial skills on women’s entrepreneurial success. The research uses data from 22 countries chosen from multi-dimensional country context constructs (i.e., select economic and political factors) and measures both family and external moral and financial support and managerial skills. The results show that stock (managerial skill) and flow (family and non-family support) differentially influence women’s entrepreneurial success in countries at varying levels of competitive development. In particular, the results confirm the positive influence of managerial skills and family moral and financial support on women’s entrepreneurial success (based on annual income) in countries at a higher level of competitive development and confirm their negative influence in countries at a lower level of competitive growth. Moreover, the results reveal influences of non-family financial support (positive for highly competitive countries) on income but not nonfamily moral support. Public policy implications are discussed.