Financing of Small Business: A Comparative Study of Male and Female Business Owners (Routledge Studies in Small Business, 5)

A detailed empirical study of how small business owners finance their enterprises, this volume compares the experiences of women with those of men. The author redresses an over-reliance on subjective and anecdotal evidence of discrimination in this area with a controlled study of forty matched pairs of male/female owners and their strategies for raising finances. The research reveals the importance of adopting a theoretical framework in which the role of gender in the financing of small businesses is considered, and the practical implications for female entrepreneurs, banks and policy-makers. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of figures......Page 10 List of tables......Page 11 Preface......Page 13 Acknowledgements......Page 14 The growth and characteristics of female entrepreneurship......Page 16 Explaining the growth of female entrepreneurship......Page 17 The problems faced by female entrepreneurs......Page 31 Summary, research rationale and overview......Page 38 The financing of women-owned businesses: an empirical overview and theoretical framework......Page 41 The financing of women-owned businesses: a theoretical framework......Page 46 Explaining the problems faced in the financing of women-owned businesses: a contextual approach......Page 55 Conclusion and research agenda......Page 74 Research into the financing of women-owned businesses: methodological considerations......Page 77 The financing of women-owned businesses in the UK: research method......Page 84 Data collection: practical and conceptual difficulties......Page 94 Sample overview......Page 101 Summary and conclusion......Page 107 Raising finance: the use of and attitudes towards sources ofsmall business finance......Page 109 The characteristics of small business finance......Page 110 Explaining the reliance on internal sources of finance......Page 123 Raising bank finance: an in-depth analysis......Page 128 Conclusion......Page 132 The characteristics of the banking relationship......Page 135 The small business-banking relationship: an overview......Page 137 The use of banks......Page 143 The banking relationship......Page 151 Conclusion......Page 170 The role of networking in the financing of male and female-owned businesses......Page 173 Networking behaviour and the size of small business networks......Page 181 Network profiles......Page 185 Conclusion......Page 192 Conclusions, implications and an agenda for future research......Page 195 Research implications......Page 202 Limitations and an agenda for future research......Page 210 Notes......Page 214 Bibliography......Page 217 Index......Page 240 The Growth And Characteristics Of Female Entrepreneurship -- The Financing Of Women-owned Businesses : An Empirical Overview And Theoretical Framework -- Research Into The Financing Of Women-owned Businesses : Methodological Considerations -- Raising Finance : The Use Of And Attitudes Towards Sources Of Small Business Finance -- The Characteristics Of The Banking Relationship -- The Role Of Networking In The Financing Of Male And Female-owned Businesses -- Conclusions, Implications And An Agenda For Future Research. Lauren Read. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [202]-224) And Index. Focuses on how small business ownerss finance their enterprises, comparing the experiences of women and men. Based on a study of forty matched pairs of male/female owners, and their strategies for raising finance. Examines the banking relationships and networking behaviour of the two groups