The last century has witnessed blooming achievements of females as rising workforce in modern society. With their active participation in business world recently, female entrepreneurship research has caught extensive attention globally, not only from academic field, but also from market entities, policy makers, social activists, as well as broad masses, concerning the social and economic contribution of female-started entreprises. Current studies within this topic concentrate on two issues: the difference between male and female entrepreneurs; demographic research for certain countries, regions, or industries. Following a qualitative research approach, this thesis applies implementations of actors view and grounded theory. With the purpose to create in-depth business knowledge, a well-structured empirical exploration is conducted mainly through theoretical sensibility acquisition, secondary data collection and face-to-face dialogues focusing on the issue of conditions for female entrepreneurs to start up and to develop a business.The researchers share their comprehensive (from both micro and macro perspective) understanding about this subject: There is no such a formula of necessary conditions existing. Female entrepreneurs need to define them according to the type of the ventures they establish and the demand for their projected growth, pursue them by taking actions instead of waiting for all conditions to be ready. The forthcoming female economy brings millions of opportunities that favor female entrepreneurs to start up enterprises, despite the current situation where they have not received effective supports that they deserve. In the end, the researchers create a new term „femesh‟ to conclude their findings and their anticipation for the future blossom of female entrepreneurs. Especially, the academic research process is described as an exploration adventure for searching orchids in the forest, together with the romantic writing style of the authors, bringing enjoyable readability without losing its preciseness, accuracy and logic as an academic research.

Women-owned small businesses contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, accounting for 55% of all new ventures; however, women entrepreneurs receive only 2% in external financing. The growth of small businesses is contingent on business owners receiving adequate financing. Business leaders should consider how obstacles, such as lack of motivation, impede the pursuit of external financing. Grounded in Vroom's expectancy theory of motivation, the purpose of this correlational study was to analyze the relationships among valence, instrumentality, expectancy, and the desire to seek business financing. The study included women small business owners in the United States. Data were collected from a random sample of 71 small business owners using surveys and analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results of the regression analysis indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between expectancy and the desire to seek business financing, F(1, 69) = 4.636, p = .035 < .05, R2 = .063. No statistically significant correlation existed between valence (p = .609) or instrumentality (p = .86) and desire to seek business financing. Women small business owners influence social and economic transformation in their communities by providing jobs, goods, and services. More than half of the 9.5 million jobs projected in 2018 will be provided by women-owned businesses. The findings of this study may provide women entrepreneurs with information that leads them to understand how to increase the 2% rate of external financing. The social change implications include increased job opportunities for members of the communities in which the businesses operate.

Female entrepreneurship, as a subject of the academic research, has gained a lot of popularity in the recent years. A considerable amount of attention to this field has been caused by the growing recognition that female entrepreneurship has a profound impact on the economic development. Nevertheless, the potential of female entrepreneurs is far from being fully realized in many economies. Having chosen Russia as the area of investigation, the researchers intend to examine female entrepreneurship and discover specific obstacles contained in it. Therefore, this study aims at discovering preventing factors that dissuade Russian women from stepping into entrepreneurship. For the purposes of this work,qualitative research approach is followed, with the actors view and qualitative content analysis being applied. Case studies and interviews are used to collect data about female entrepreneurs' opinion on the general state of female entrepreneurship in Russia, their attitudes toward it and assumptions about existing barriers.               The results of the research demonstrate that distinguished and describedbarriers of female entrepreneurship hold different level of influence. The researchers also emphasize that actual barriers do not fully comply with those that are generally perceived by Russians and broadly described by scholars. From the study it is revealed that the most influential barriers are the following: managerial incompetence together with financial illiteracy, mistrust to the government and the myth of female entrepreneurship, with corruption and social prejudices being of less significance. The conclusion can also be drawn that the revealed myth of female entrepreneurship influences women's attitude towards entrepreneurship in Russia to much more extent than other obstacles. Some recommendations regarding possible alterations to current state of female entrepreneurship in Russia as well as suggestions to future female entrepreneurs, such as improving entrepreneurial environment, educational toolkit for female entrepreneurs, the importance of telling inspirational stories, are presented.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva och analysera kvinnliga företagarnas val av finansieringskällor vid startfasen. Metod: För att uppfylla studiens syfte samt besvara forskningsfrågan har en kvantitativ forskningsansats genomförts. Studien är baserad på både primär- och sekundärdata, där data som insamlats är hämtad från databaserna Google Scholar och SöderScholar. Empiriskt resultat: Studien är baserad på 49 kvinnliga företagare som deltog i enkätundersökningen. Slutsats: Studien visade att kvinnliga företagare föredrar att välja intern finansiering vid uppstartsfasen. Vidare har finansiell kunskap ett statistiskt signifikant samband med kvinnliga företagares inställning till extern finansiering och deras val av finansieringskällor. / Purpose: The purpose of the study is to describe and analyze the female entrepreneurs' choice of financing sources at the start-up stage. Methodology: Quantitative research with data collection through surveys to female entrepreneurs has been implemented. The study is based on both primary and secondary data, where the collected data is from the databases Google Scholar and SöderScholar. Empirical foundation: The study is based on 49 female entrepreneurs who participated in a survey. Conclusion: The study showed that female entrepreneurs prefer to choose internal financing at the start-up stage. The study further showed that financial knowledge has an impact on women entrepreneurs' attitude towards external financing and their choice of financing sources.

Submitted by margarita Morales (margemor1@gmail.com) on 2017-01-16T15:49:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Estrategia_Morales_Projeto_16012017 vf.pdf: 1798950 bytes, checksum: e630c4b43c31d0304ad07102a9853fe4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Fabiana da Silva Segura (fabiana.segura@fgv.br) on 2017-01-16T15:56:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Estrategia_Morales_Projeto_16012017 vf.pdf: 1798950 bytes, checksum: e630c4b43c31d0304ad07102a9853fe4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-17T14:08:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Estrategia_Morales_Projeto_16012017 vf.pdf: 1798950 bytes, checksum: e630c4b43c31d0304ad07102a9853fe4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-15 / Micro-entrepreneurs and one-person business sector are important factors in the dynamics of emerging economies. In Brazil specifically, around 4,5 million of them are affiliated with direct selling companies. They are non-salaried; receive commissions on sales and work for themselves by setting their own hours and creating their own marketing plans. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between key entrepreneurial behaviors and sales performance among self-employed direct selling representatives in Brazil (SEDSR). Based on a quantitative approach, four independent variables were measured in a sample of 651 SEDSR: need of achievement (NA), self-efficacy (SE), risk-taking propensity (RP) and locus of control (LC). Dependent variable was business performance (Y1). An online survey was submitted to an email address database provided by a global direct selling company with operations in Brazil. Descriptive statistical and regression analysis were performed with the intent to determine first, the prevalence of each entrepreneur behavior, in a population that is traditionally pushed into direct selling by necessity and second, how each affects and predicts business performance. Results showed there is a high prevalence in terms of NA and SE, confirming these behaviors are not exclusive on successful and formal entrepreneurs. LC and RP receive medium score. Unexpectedly, results also show that none of the behaviors on its own have significant impact in predicting business performance. When putting the four behaviors into one only single regression model correlation increases slightly but not enough to make results conclusive. Through main effect plot analysis, results also suggest SE and NA are the biggest influencer factors in business success of a SEDSR. Finally, analyzing the best interactions of the variables allowed building a profile to achieve the maximum business performance. This study attempts to contribute to the academic field of the entrepreneurship and has practical implications in direct selling industry. On the first, it contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the direct selling entrepreneurship and specifically, to the conceptual debate if SEDSR should or should not be defined as micro-entrepreneurs per se and not simply, as sales distributors as some authors defend. On the second, this study provided insights to direct selling managers that could use to improve recruitment and engagement process of their independent sales force. Further studies need to include other variables besides entrepreneurial behavior to better understand and predict business performance and how enable SEDSR to transition from necessity-driven entrepreneurship to opportunity-driven. / Micros empreendedores e o setor de negócios unipessoais são fatores importantes na dinâmica de economias emergentes. No Brasil especificamente, em torno de 4,5 milhões deles são afiliados com empresas de vendas diretas. Eles são não assalariados, mas recebem comissões sobre as vendas e trabalham para si próprios, definindo suas próprias horas de trabalho e criando seus próprios planos de marketing. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a relação entre o comportamento empreendedor e o desempenho de vendas desse representante independente da venda direta no Brasil (SEDSR). Baseado em uma abordagem quantitativa, quatro variáveis independentes foram medidas em uma amostra de 651 revendedores: necessidade de logro (NA), auto eficácia (SE), propensão a assumir riscos (RP) e lócus de controle (LC). A variável dependente foi o desempenho de vendas (Y1). Uma pesquisa online foi submetida a uma lista de e-mail fornecida por uma empresa de venda direta global, com operações no Brasil. Análise descritivas e regressões estatísticas foram realizadas com o intuito de determinar, primeiro, a predominância de cada comportamento empreendedor em uma população que tradicionalmente atua na venda direta por necessidade. Segundo, como cada um desses comportamentos afetam e prevêem o desempenho empresarial. Os resultados mostraram que há uma alta predominância em termos de ND e SE, confirmando que esses comportamentos não são exclusivos em empresários bem sucedidos e formais, já LC e RP receberam pontuação média. Inesperadamente, os resultados também mostram que nenhum dos comportamentos por si só tem um impacto significativo na previsão de desempenho de negócios. Quando considerados os quatro comportamentos em um único modelo de regressão, a correlação aumenta ligeiramente, mas não o suficiente para tornar os resultados conclusivos. Por meio da análise do gráfico de efeitos principais, os resultados sugeriram que SE e AT são os maiores fatores influenciadores no sucesso empresarial de um SEDSR. Finalmente, a análise das melhores interações entre as variáveis permitiu a construção de um perfil para o desempenho máximo do negócio. Por fim este estudo buscou contribuir com o campo acadêmico sobre empreendedorismo e propôs implicações práticas na indústria de venda direta. Em primeiro lugar, contribuiu para o acervo de conhecimentos sobre empreendedorismo na venda direta e especificamente para o debate conceitual sobre o SEDSR, se deve ou não ser definido como microempresários e não simplesmente como distribuidores de vendas como alguns autores defendem. Em segundo lugar, este estudo forneceu dados para que gestores da venda direta possam melhorar o processo de recrutamento e o engajamento de sua força de vendas independente. Mais estudos poderiam considerar outras variáveis além do comportamento empreendedor para melhor compreender e prever o desempenho dos negócios e como capacitar o SEDSR a realizar a transição de empreendedorismo orientado à necessidade para a orientação à oportunidade.

I denna studie studerar vi hur kvinnor som är entreprenörer gestaltas på Minc Startup House sociala medier, mer specifikt deras LinkedIn, Facebook och Instagram. En kvantitativ innehållsanalys har gjorts på inlägg som publicerats under ett års tid. Vi har studerat resultatet med hjälp av teorin om sociala konstruktioner som huvudteori. Till denna har vi sedan applicerat representationsteori, samt ett feministiskt perspektiv med inriktning av könskonstruktivism och intersektionalitet. Vi kan konstatera att Minc genom sin kommunikation gestaltar män och kvinnor som är entreprenörer olika. I kommunikation riktad till kvinnor appliceras kvinnliga stereotyper och benämningen kvinnlig entreprenör används ofta. Inga stereotyper av manlighet förekommer och orden man och manlig används endast i ett sammanhang, vilket har ett negativt syfte. Studiens resultat visar även att entreprenörer som inte har ett nordeuropeisk utseende är representerade i låg utsträckning. Detta gäller även för personer som är i åldern 50 år och uppåt. / In this thesis we are studying how women entrepreneurs are portrayed in Minc Startup House’s social media, more specifically their LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. A quantitative content analysis has been made on posts from a one-year time period. We have analysed the results with the help of the theory of social constructions as main theory. We have then applied the theory of representation, and a feministic perspective, more specifically the theory of constructions of gender and intersectionality. We have come to the conclusion that Minc through their communication are portraying women and men entrepreneurs differently. In communication created to reach women, female stereotypes are used, and the term female entrepreneur is often used. No male stereotypes are used, and the words man and male only occur in one context, which has a negative purpose. The results in the thesis also show how entrepreneurs without a north European appearance are represented to a low extent. This also regards people who appear to be in the age of 50 and above.

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