Transformations  in
Business & Economics

Perspectives on Female Entrepreneurs: a Comparative Review of Studies in the West and the Transition Economies
John Kuada, Rūta Janulevičienė

ABSTRACT. The aim of this paper is to compare the contents of the academic evidence and debate on female entrepreneurship in the West with the current stream of research and thinking in the Central and Eastern European countries with a view to identifying similarities and differences in thoughts and findings. Such a review is intended to provide some insight into how scholars in different social contexts, who study apparently the same phenomenon, direct their focus. It should also enrich research into female entrepreneurship in both regions of the world and provide directions for further research in the field.

The emerging differences in the line of business chosen by women entrepreneurs in Russia and a number of other countries from the former Soviet Union have not received adequate attention in academic studies. It would be interesting to explore the motives underlying these women entrepreneurs’ decision to engage in non-traditional lines of business. Furthermore analysis of the entry and exist barriers into these lines of business in the CEEC compared to the Western countries would provide significant insight into differences between Western and CEEC women entrepreneurs. Granting that the barriers are not significantly different and the resource requirements are similar, one would suggest that the women entrepreneurs in the CEEC are less risk averse than their counterparts in the West.

KEYWORDS: female entrepreneurs, globalisation, transitional economies, content analysis.