The purpose of this paper is to understand how Italian entrepreneurs have responded to the economic crisis and the strategies they have adopted to deal with it. It aims also to compare the behaviours of male and female entrepreneurs, in an attempt to determine whether they have adopted different strategies in facing up to the recession. The paper presents an empirical study based on a telephone questionnaire survey involving a non-proportional stratified sample of 150 men and 150 women sole-proprietors, owners of Italian micro enterprises. Main findings suggest that entrepreneurs dealt with the crisis through a primarily defensive approach (restructuring and resizing strategies). Actions related to innovation, development or reorganization were less widely adopted. Compared to men, female entrepreneurs had a lower propensity towards investments, innovation, development and growth. Consequently, they were significantly less oriented toward innovation/development strategies than men were.

Which strategies to face the economic crisis? A comparison between Italian men and women micro-entrepreneurs

CESARONI, FRANCESCA MARIA;SENTUTI, ANNALISA
2014

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to understand how Italian entrepreneurs have responded to the economic crisis and the strategies they have adopted to deal with it. It aims also to compare the behaviours of male and female entrepreneurs, in an attempt to determine whether they have adopted different strategies in facing up to the recession. The paper presents an empirical study based on a telephone questionnaire survey involving a non-proportional stratified sample of 150 men and 150 women sole-proprietors, owners of Italian micro enterprises. Main findings suggest that entrepreneurs dealt with the crisis through a primarily defensive approach (restructuring and resizing strategies). Actions related to innovation, development or reorganization were less widely adopted. Compared to men, female entrepreneurs had a lower propensity towards investments, innovation, development and growth. Consequently, they were significantly less oriented toward innovation/development strategies than men were.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11576/2602593
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