Gender and Entrepreneurship in Pandemic Time: What Demands and What Resources? An Exploratory Study

Silvia De Simone; Jessica Pileri; Max Rapp-Ricciardi; Barbara Barbieri

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.668875

Gender and Entrepreneurship in Pandemic Time: What Demands and What Resources? An Exploratory Study

Front Psychol. 2021 May 19:12:668875. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.668875. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Silvia De Simone¹, Jessica Pileri¹, Max Rapp-Ricciardi², Barbara Barbieri³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pedagogy, Psychology and Philosophy, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
² Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
³ Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.

Abstract

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, global economies have suffered an exogenous shock never seen before with a strong economic and psychosocial impact on organizations. Italy, in the context of the research, has been severely affected. The economic crisis has mainly affected women. In this scenario, entrepreneurial perceived success (objective and subjective) is influenced by increasingly burdensome job demands that entrepreneurs have to face up. Using the job demand-resources model, the study aims to broaden the knowledge of the determinants of entrepreneurial perceived success in the current emergency moment. In particular, as regards of the demands, alongside the specific entrepreneurial demands (time demands, uncertainty and risk, and responsibility), we also decided to include the negative interface family-work in both directions from-family-to-work (NEGWIF) and from-work-to-family (NEGFIW). Regarding the resources, we considered entrepreneurial self-efficacy (researching, planning, marshaling, implementing people, and implementing financial), proactive and elaborate social strategies (SS), and both directions of the positive interface: from-family-to-work (POSWIF) and from-work-to-family (POSFIW). All participants are women entrepreneurs (N = 137) who have completed a self-report questionnaire. We explored the associations between demands, resources, and the dimensions of success through hierarchical regressions. As for the demands, time demands, uncertainty and risk, NEGWIF, and NEGFIW negatively influenced the perceived entrepreneurial success. Regarding resources, planning, implementing financial, proactive and elaborate SS positively influenced the perceived entrepreneurial success.

Keywords: COVID-19; JD-R model; elaborate and proactive social strategies; entrepreneurial demands; entrepreneurial self-efficacy; women entrepreneurs; work-family inter-face.