Size determinants of women-owned businesses: choice or barriers to resources?

Abstract

Although one of the fastest growing segments of the US economy, women-owned Businesses still lag behind men-owned businesses in size as measured by sales and income. This study examines women-owned businesses in the adolescent stage of their life cycle to determine whether firms that are larger than the typical women-owned businesses are so because their owner's lifestyle intentions and choice differ or because size is linked directly to the resources that the entrepreneurs control. The results indicate that having access to financial resources and emphasizing the financial aspects of the business overwhelm the effects of the entrepreneur's lifestyle intention or choice on their chances for having large businesses.