Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Beyond survival: necessity-based female entrepreneurship as a catalyst for job creation through dual legitimacy

  • Published:
Asia Pacific Journal of Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper tackles the question of whether necessity-based female entrepreneurship (NBFE) can drive new job creation. Drawing on the institutional logic perspective, we reason female entrepreneurs need to secure legitimacy across both private and business domains to be successful in job creation. Our empirical investigation, based on a sample of 1,890 female entrepreneurs from 20 countries sourced from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) APS 2013 dataset, reveals that NBFE positively predicts new job creation under high legitimacy in the private sphere, and this positive effect will be more positive with high legitimacy in the business sphere. Our theoretical contributions shed new light on the interplay between institutional logic, legitimacy, and entrepreneurship, challenging and expanding the existing conceptions in entrepreneurship literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahl, H., & Nelson, T. (2015). How policy positions women entrepreneurs: A comparative analysis of state discourse in Sweden and the United States. Journal of Business Venturing, 30(2), 273–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-09-2012-0037.

  • Audretsch, D. B., Belitski, M., & Desai, S. (2019). National Business regulations and City Entrepreneurship in Europe: A Multilevel Nested Analysis. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 43(6), 1148–1165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D. B., Belitski, M., & Brush, C. (2020). Innovation in women-led firms: An empirical analysis. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 31(1–2), 90–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D. B., Belitski, M., Chowdhury, F., & Desai, S. (2021). Necessity or opportunity? Government size, tax policy, corruption, and implications for entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 58(4), 2025–2042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D. B., Belitski, M., Eichler, G. M., & Schwarz, E. (2023). Entrepreneurial ecosystems, institutional quality, and the unexpected role of the sustainability orientation of entrepreneurs. Small Business Economics, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00763-5.

  • Autio, E., Pathak, S., & Wennberg, K. (2013). Consequences of cultural practices for entrepreneurial behaviors. Journal of International Business Studies, 44(4), 334–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bari, L., Turner, T., & O’Sullivan, M. (2021). Gender differences in solo self-employment: Gendered flexibility and the effects of parenthood. Gender Work & Organization, 28(6), 2180–2198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barragan, S., Erogul, M. S., & Essers, C. (2018). Strategic (dis)obedience’: Female entrepreneurs reflecting on and acting upon patriarchal practices. Gender Work & Organization, 25(5), 575–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, M. (2014). Revisiting women’s entrepreneurship: Insights from the family-firm context and radical subjectivist economics. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 6(3), 231–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belitski, M., & Desai, S. (2021). Female ownership, firm age and firm growth: A study of south Asian firms. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 38(3), 825–855.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belitski, M., & Rejeb, N. (2022). Does open customer innovation model hold for family firms? Journal of Business Research, 145, 334–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belitski, M., Desai, S., & Godley, A. (2021). Small business and poverty: Evidence from post-soviet cities. Regional Studies, 55(5), 921–935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Besharov, M. L., & Smith, W. K. (2014). Multiple institutional logics in organizations: Explaining their varied nature and implications. Academy of Management Review, 39(3), 364–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bliese, P. D. (2000). Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability: Implications for data aggregation and analysis. Jossey-Bass.

  • Boyar, S. L., & Mosley, J. D. C. (2007). The relationship between core self-evaluations and work and family satisfaction: The mediating role of work–family conflict and facilitation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 71(2), 265–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Calderon, G., Iacovone, L., & Juarez, L. (2017). Opportunity versus necessity: Understanding the heterogeneity of female micro-entrepreneurs. The World Bank Economic Review, 30(Supplement_1), S86–S96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carsrud, A., & Brännback, M. (2011). Entrepreneurial motivations: What do we still need to know? Journal of Small Business Management, 49(1), 9–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casson, M., & Giusta, M. D. (2007). Entrepreneurship and social capital: Analysing the impact of social networks on entrepreneurial activity from a rational action perspective. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 25(3), 220–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coffman, C. D., & Sunny, S. A. (2021). Reconceptualizing necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship: A needs-based view of entrepreneurial motivation. Academy of Management Review, 46(4), 823–825.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dencker, J. C., Bacq, S., Gruber, M., & Haas, M. (2021). Reconceptualizing necessity entrepreneurship: A contextualized framework of entrepreneurial processes under the condition of basic needs. Academy of Management Review, 46(1), 60–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, W., Liang, Q., & Fan, P. (2019). Complements or substitutes? Configurational effects of entrepreneurial activities and institutional frameworks on social well-being. Journal of Business Research, 96, 194–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, W., Liang, Q., Fan, P., & Cui, L. (2020). Social entrepreneurship and well-being: The configurational impact of institutions and social capital. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 37(4), 1013–1037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, W., Liang, Q., Li, J., & Wang, W. (2021). Science mapping: A bibliometric analysis of female entrepreneurship studies. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 36(1), 61–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Essers, C., & Benschop, Y. (2007). Enterprising identities: Female entrepreneurs of Moroccan or Turkish origin in the Netherlands. Organization Studies, 28(1), 49–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrin, S., & Mickiewicz, T. (2011). Institutions and female entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 37(4), 397–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Etter, M., Colleoni, E., Illia, L., Meggiorin, K., & D’Eugenio, A. (2018). Measuring Organizational Legitimacy in Social Media: Assessing citizens’ judgments with sentiment analysis. Business & Society, 57(1), 60–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldmann, M., Lukes, M., & Uhlaner, L. (2020). Disentangling succession and entrepreneurship gender gaps: Gender norms, culture, and family. Small Business Economics, 58(2), 997–1013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, G., Kuratko, D. F., Bloodgood, J. M., & Hornsby, J. S. (2017). Legitimate to whom? The challenge of audience diversity and new venture legitimacy. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(1), 52–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodrick, E., & Reay, T. (2011). Constellations of institutional logics: Changes in the professional work of pharmacists. Work and Occupations, 38(3), 372–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, R., Raynard, M., Kodeih, F., Micelotta, E. R., & Lounsbury, M. (2011). Institutional complexity and organizational responses. Academy of Management Annals, 5(1), 317–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, E. (2013). The discourse of entrepreneurial masculinities (and femininities). Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 25(1–2), 90–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harman, H. H. (1976). Modern factor analysis. University of Chicago Press.

  • Hashim, S., Naldi, L., & Markowska, M. (2021). The royal award goes to… legitimacy processes for female-led family ventures. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 12(3), 100358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfbs.2020.100358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He, X., Cui, L., & Meyer, K. E. (2020). How state and market logics influence firm strategy from within and outside? Evidence from Chinese financial intermediary firms. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 39(2), 587–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez, L., Nunn, N., & Warnecke, T. (2012). Female entrepreneurship in China: Opportunity-or necessity-based? International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 15(4), 411–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunoldt, M., Oertel, S., & Galander, A. (2020). Being responsible: How managers aim to implement corporate social responsibility. Business & Society, 59(7), 1441–1482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Im, J., & Sun, S. L. (2015). Profits and outreach to the poor: The institutional logics of microfinance institutions. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 32(1), 95–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jafari-Sadeghi, V. (2020). The motivational factors of business venturing: Opportunity versus necessity? A gendered perspective on European countries. Journal of Business Research, 113, 279–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, J. E., & Brush, C. G. (2013). Research on women entrepreneurs: Challenges to (and from) the broader entrepreneurship literature? Academy of Management Annals, 7(1), 663–715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karatepe, O. M., & Kilic, H. (2007). Relationships of supervisor support and conflicts in the work–family interface with the selected job outcomes of frontline employees. Tourism Management, 28(1), 238–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kawai, N., & Kazumi, T. (2021). Female entrepreneurs’ cognitive attributes and venture growth in Japan: The moderating role of perceived social legitimacy. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 13(1), 1–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, A., Arafat, M. Y., & Saleem, I. (2022). Does Social Legitimacy Matter in an Indian’s decision to start a New Venture? Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, 8(2), 188–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kidwell, R. E., Eddleston, K. A., & Kellermanns, F. W. (2018). Learning bad habits across generations: How negative imprints affect human resource management in the family firm. Human Resource Management Review, 28(1), 5–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingsley, A. F., Noordewier, T. G., & Vanden Bergh, R. G. (2017). Overstating and understating interaction results in international business research. Journal of World Business, 52(2), 286–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klyver, K., Nielsen, S. L., & Evald, M. R. (2013). Women’s self-employment: An act of institutional (dis)integration? A multilevel, cross-country study. Journal of Business Venturing, 28(4), 474–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laguía, A., Wach, D., Garcia-Ael, C., & Moriano, J. A. (2022). Think entrepreneur – think male: The effect of reduced gender stereotype threat on women’s entrepreneurial intention and opportunity motivation. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 28(4), 1001–1025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lall, S. A., & Park, J. (2022). How social ventures grow: Understanding the role of philanthropic grants in scaling social entrepreneurship. Business & Society, 61(1), 3–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewbel, A. (1997). Constructing instruments for regressions with measurement error when no additional data are available, with an application to patents and R&D. Econometrica, 65(5), 1201–1213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewellyn, K. B. (2018). Income inequality, entrepreneurial activity, and national business systems: A configurational analysis. Business & Society, 57(6), 1114–1149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liñán, F., Santos, F. J., & Fernández, J. (2011). The influence of perceptions on potential entrepreneurs. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 7(3), 373–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y. H., Zhang, C. J., & Jing, R. T. (2016). Coping with multiple institutional logics: Temporal process of institutional work during the emergence of the one foundation in China. Management and Organization Review, 12(2), 387–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y., Schøtt, T., & Zhang, C. (2019). Women’s experiences of legitimacy, satisfaction and commitment as entrepreneurs: Embedded in gender hierarchy and networks in private and business spheres. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 31(3–4), 293–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marlow, S., & Swail, J. (2014). Gender, risk and finance: Why can’t a woman be more like a man? Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 26(1–2), 80–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masika, R. (2017). Mobile phones and entrepreneurial identity negotiation by urban female street traders in Uganda. Gender Work & Organization, 24(6), 610–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDowell, W. C., Matthews, L. M., Matthews, R. L., Aaron, J. R., Edmondson, D. R., & Ward, C. B. (2019). The price of success: Balancing the effects of entrepreneurial commitment, work-family conflict and emotional exhaustion on job satisfaction. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 15(4), 1179–1192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McPherson, C. M., & Sauder, M. (2013). Logics in action: Managing institutional complexity in a drug court. Administrative Science Quarterly, 58(2), 165–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehtap, S., Pellegrini, M. M., Caputo, A., & Welsh, D. H. B. (2017). Entrepreneurial intentions of young women in the arab world. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 23(6), 880–902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D., Breton-Miller, L., I., & Lester, R. H. (2011). Family and lone founder ownership and strategic behaviour: Social context, identity, and institutional logics. Journal of Management Studies, 48(1), 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, P. J., Kickul, J., Barbosa, S. D., & Titus, L. (2007). Expert capital and perceived legitimacy: Female-run entrepreneurial venture signalling and performance. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 8(2), 127–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nikiforou, A., Dencker, J. C., & Gruber, M. (2019). Necessity entrepreneurship and industry choice in new firm creation. Strategic Management Journal, 40(13), 2165–2190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nyarko, S. A. (2022). Gender discrimination and lending to women: The moderating effect of an international founder. International Business Review, 31(4), 101973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2022.101973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ojong, N., Simba, A., & Dana, L. P. (2021). Female entrepreneurship in Africa: A review, trends, and future research directions. Journal of Business Research, 132, 233–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patel, P. C., Doh, J. P., & Bagchi, S. (2021). Can entrepreneurial initiative blunt the economic inequality–growth curse? Evidence from 92 countries. Business & Society, 60(2), 496–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pathak, S. (2021). Contextualizing well-being for entrepreneurship. Business & Society, 60(8), 1987–2025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). Addressing Moderated Mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42(1), 185–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riaz, S., & Qureshi, I. (2017). Emergence of a new institutional logic: Shaping the institutionally complex field of community radio in India (50 vol.). Emerald Publishing Limited.

  • Ruderman, M. N., Ohlott, P. J., Panzer, K., & King, S. N. (2002). Benefits of multiple roles for managerial women. Academy of Management Journal, 45(2), 369–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, Z. (2021). Manipulating structure in institutional complexity scenarios: The case of strategic planning in nonprofits. Business & Society, 60(8), 1924–1956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suchman, M. C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swail, J., & Marlow, S. (2017). Embrace the masculine; attenuate the feminine’ – gender, identity work and entrepreneurial legitimation in the nascent context. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 30(1–2), 256–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang, J., Zhang, S. X., & Lin, S. (2021). To reopen or not to reopen? How entrepreneurial alertness influences small business reopening after the COVID-19 lockdown. Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 16, e00275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbvi.2021.e00275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton, P. H., & Ocasio, W. (1999). Institutional logics and the historical contingency of power in organizations: Executive succession in the higher education publishing industry, 1958–1990. American Journal of Sociology, 105(3), 801–843.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tracey, P., Phillips, N., & Jarvis, O. (2011). Bridging Institutional Entrepreneurship and the creation of New Organizational forms: A Multilevel Model. Organization Science, 22(1), 60–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations (2021). Sustainable Development Goals. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2021/.

  • Uy, M. A., Sun, S., & Foo, M. D. (2017). Affect spin, entrepreneurs’ well-being, and venture goal progress: The moderating role of goal orientation. Journal of Business Venturing, 32(4), 443–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Zwan, P., Thurik, R., Verheul, I., & Hessels, J. (2016). Factors influencing the entrepreneurial engagement of opportunity and necessity entrepreneurs. Eurasian Business Review, 6(3), 273–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Stel, A., & Storey, D. (2004). The link between firm births and job creation: Is there a Upas tree effect? Regional Studies, 38(8), 893–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vracheva, V., & Stoyneva, I. (2020). Does gender equality bridge or buffer the entrepreneurship gender gap? A cross-country investigation. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 26(8), 1827–1844.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan, X., Zhang, S. X., & Wei, F. (2022). CEO–TMT congruence in growth-need strength and firm growth. Journal of Management Studies, 60(3), 722–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Eddleston, K. A., Chirico, F., Zhang, S. X., Liang, Q., & Deng, W. (2023a). Family diversity and business start-up: Do family meals feed the Fire of entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 47(4), 1265–1297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Zhang, S. X., Liang, Q., & Deng, W. (2023b). Social media levels the playing field of entrepreneurial entry for disadvantaged populations. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1109/tem.2023.3304723.

  • Welsh, D. H. B., Kaciak, E., Mehtap, S., Pellegrini, M. M., Caputo, A., & Ahmed, S. (2021). The door swings in and out: The impact of family support and country stability on success of women entrepreneurs in the arab world. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 39(7), 619–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xing, Y., Liu, Y., & Lattemann, C. (2020). Institutional logics and social enterprises: Entry mode choices of foreign hospitals in China. Journal of World Business, 55(5), 100974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2018.11.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, D., Chen, C., & Wu, X. (2019). Ownership structure and the use of non-family executives in family-dominated Chinese listed firms: An institutional logics perspective. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 36(3), 797–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Y. K., & Wu, S. L. (2016). In search of the right fusion recipe: The role of legitimacy in building a social enterprise model. Business Ethics: A European Review, 25(3), 327–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, X. A., Liao, H. Y., Li, N., & Colbert, A. E. (2020). Playing it safe for my family: Exploring the dual effects of family motivation on employee productivity and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 63(6), 1923–1950.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, S. X., Gao, R., Odeh, N., & Leatherbee, M. (2021). A microfoundational model of real options reasoning: The roles of individual search propensity and perceived uncertainty. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 15(1), 98–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72202179), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (D5000220132), and the Special Liberal Arts Development Program - Youth Creative Capacity Development Project (23GH030618).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710072, China

    Wei Deng

  2. School of Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710049, China

    Qiaozhuan Liang

  3. University of Adelaide, 9-28 Nexus10 Tower, 10 Pulteney St, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia

    Stephen X. Zhang

  4. School of Economics and Finance, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710049, China

    Wei Wang

Authors
  1. Wei Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qiaozhuan Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Stephen X. Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wei Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wei Deng.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Deng, W., Liang, Q., Zhang, S.X. et al. Beyond survival: necessity-based female entrepreneurship as a catalyst for job creation through dual legitimacy. Asia Pac J Manag (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09930-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-023-09930-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation