Have women-led businesses been more impaired by the coronavirus pandemic than men-led businesses? Did female entrepreneurs use support measures to the same extent as their male counterparts? Dr Rebecca Weicht, Dr Rosemarie Kay, Dr Markus Rieger-Fels and Prof Dr Dr h.c. Friederike Welter provide answers to these questions in their chapter ‘How women-led businesses fared in the Covid-19 pandemic’, which was published in the edited volume ‘Women's Entrepreneurship in a Turbulent Era’. Their research findings: During the first months of the pandemic, there were no discernible differences between male- and female-led businesses. However, in the later months, a gap emerged that is evidently not only due to differences in size or industry.
Dr Susanne Schlepphorst, Dr Siegrun Brink and Prof Dr Dr h.c. Friederike Welter analyse in their contribution to the edited volume whether female entrepreneurs behave strategically differently to their male counterparts when dealing with bureaucracy. Stakeholders judge the behavior of entrepreneurs. If they (do not) legitimize it, this ultimately influences the access to entrepreneurially necessary resources. The researchers conclude that female entrepreneurs are much less likely to circumvent rules and expectations than their male counterparts.
