Neuroscience
The proportion of businesses owned by women is on the increase in many countries. These female-run firms tend to be less successful in financial terms than businesses run by men, and yet limited evidence suggests female business owners are just as satisfied with their careers as their male counterparts - a phenomenon dubbed: "the paradox of the contented female business owner".
Gary Powell and Kimberly Eddleston surveyed 201 business owners in America (43 per cent were female) and found fresh evidence for this paradox. Compared with the male owners, the female business owners reported that their firms were less successful than rivals', in terms of traditional measures such as growth and profit. And yet, the female owners reported being just as satisfied with their business success as the men.
One explanation for the paradox is that female business owners have lower expectations for success because they recognise that they're bringing less to the business in terms of working hours and experience. However, no evidence for this explanation was found. For example, the female owners reported being better educated than the men and had been in their current position just as long.
An alternative explanation is that female business owners value business outcomes that aren't related to the traditional objectives of growth and sales. It's possible for example that female entrepreneurs are more concerned by achieving their own work-life balance, or by ensuring customer loyalty and satisfaction. Preliminary support for this explanation was found. The male business owners reported placing a much higher value on achieving business success than did the women, and for men, but not women, satisfaction tended to be higher, the greater their own business success.
Powell and Eddleston said more research was needed to uncover the values held by female business owners, but they argued their findings have immediate implications for the current "one size fits all" approach to business education. "It should not be assumed that all business owners seek to grow their businesses, or that business success necessarily leads to business owner satisfaction," they wrote.
_________________________________
G POWELL, K EDDLESTON (2008). The paradox of the contented female business owner Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73 (1), 24-36 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2007.12.005
Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- Does Owning An Ipod Make You Happy?
As Apple launches its latest shiny products and the media work up their usual lather of excitement, a timely study has tackled the question of whether owning an iPod digital music player will make you happy. Antje Cockrill surveyed 241 people (mostly...
- A Misogynistic Workplace Is Bad For Male Employees Too
Witnessing the harassment or uncivil treatment of women at work is bad not only for female employees, but for the productivity of the whole organisation. That’s according to Kathi Miner-Rubino and Lilia Cortina in America, who surveyed 871 female and...
- Women Need Female Role Models
The promotion of young female MPs like 26-year-old Jo Swinson, the Lib Dems’ newly-appointed Scotland spokesperson (pictured left; Baroness Greenfield pictured right), could be just what’s needed to inspire more women into politics and other male-dominated...
- Happy Valentine's Day!
Looking for a date for Valentine's day? Christopher Bale and colleagues have just published a study in Personality and Individual Differences on what 142 female and 63 male undergraduates thought of 40 chat up lines as featured in mini stories about...
- Business World: Biogen Idec, Elan, & Tysabri
There has been a lot of web searching for information about Tysabri (natalizumab) [formerly Antegren] in the wake of the FDA approval last month for use in multiple sclerosis. A lot of searching has been by patients and concerned family members, clinicians...
Neuroscience
Why female business owners are less successful but just as satisfied
The proportion of businesses owned by women is on the increase in many countries. These female-run firms tend to be less successful in financial terms than businesses run by men, and yet limited evidence suggests female business owners are just as satisfied with their careers as their male counterparts - a phenomenon dubbed: "the paradox of the contented female business owner".Gary Powell and Kimberly Eddleston surveyed 201 business owners in America (43 per cent were female) and found fresh evidence for this paradox. Compared with the male owners, the female business owners reported that their firms were less successful than rivals', in terms of traditional measures such as growth and profit. And yet, the female owners reported being just as satisfied with their business success as the men.
One explanation for the paradox is that female business owners have lower expectations for success because they recognise that they're bringing less to the business in terms of working hours and experience. However, no evidence for this explanation was found. For example, the female owners reported being better educated than the men and had been in their current position just as long.
An alternative explanation is that female business owners value business outcomes that aren't related to the traditional objectives of growth and sales. It's possible for example that female entrepreneurs are more concerned by achieving their own work-life balance, or by ensuring customer loyalty and satisfaction. Preliminary support for this explanation was found. The male business owners reported placing a much higher value on achieving business success than did the women, and for men, but not women, satisfaction tended to be higher, the greater their own business success.
Powell and Eddleston said more research was needed to uncover the values held by female business owners, but they argued their findings have immediate implications for the current "one size fits all" approach to business education. "It should not be assumed that all business owners seek to grow their businesses, or that business success necessarily leads to business owner satisfaction," they wrote.
_________________________________
G POWELL, K EDDLESTON (2008). The paradox of the contented female business owner Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73 (1), 24-36 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvb.2007.12.005Post written by Christian Jarrett (@psych_writer) for the BPS Research Digest.
- Does Owning An Ipod Make You Happy?
As Apple launches its latest shiny products and the media work up their usual lather of excitement, a timely study has tackled the question of whether owning an iPod digital music player will make you happy. Antje Cockrill surveyed 241 people (mostly...
- A Misogynistic Workplace Is Bad For Male Employees Too
Witnessing the harassment or uncivil treatment of women at work is bad not only for female employees, but for the productivity of the whole organisation. That’s according to Kathi Miner-Rubino and Lilia Cortina in America, who surveyed 871 female and...
- Women Need Female Role Models
The promotion of young female MPs like 26-year-old Jo Swinson, the Lib Dems’ newly-appointed Scotland spokesperson (pictured left; Baroness Greenfield pictured right), could be just what’s needed to inspire more women into politics and other male-dominated...
- Happy Valentine's Day!
Looking for a date for Valentine's day? Christopher Bale and colleagues have just published a study in Personality and Individual Differences on what 142 female and 63 male undergraduates thought of 40 chat up lines as featured in mini stories about...
- Business World: Biogen Idec, Elan, & Tysabri
There has been a lot of web searching for information about Tysabri (natalizumab) [formerly Antegren] in the wake of the FDA approval last month for use in multiple sclerosis. A lot of searching has been by patients and concerned family members, clinicians...