Title: Beyond social capital: the role of perceived legitimacy and entrepreneurial intensity in achieving funding success and superior venture performance in women-led Russian SMEs

Authors: Tatiana Iakovleva, Jill Kickul

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, University of Stavanger, N-4036 Stavanger, Norway. ' Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, NYU Stern School of Business, 44 W 4th Street, Suite 7-97, New York, NY, 10012, USA

Abstract: The growth of the number of women-led enterprises has contributed to the global economy. However, the growth has outpaced the research and understanding of which factors influence the performance and development of individual firms. Our results reveal that social capital influences entrepreneurial perceptions of legitimacy competence and financial competence success. In an indirect but important manner, social capital affects financial performance via perceptions of legitimacy. Moreover, entrepreneurs| intensity towards the business is associated with their perception of financial competence and firm performance. Results further show that perceived legitimacy plays a key role in signalling to others the credibility of the firm. The paper discusses implications for women in emerging and transitioning economies as more women seek out and leverage their own networks towards their own sustainability.

Keywords: legitimacy; firm performance; transitional economies; women-led businesses; Russia; entrepreneurial intensity; Russian Federation; funding; funds; superior performance; venture performance; gender; global economy; entrepreneurial perceptions; financial success; competence; financial performance; business credibility; emerging economies; transitioning economies; leverage; female networks; sustainability; Soviet Union; Russian Women|s Microfinancial Network; RWMN; social capital; human capital; cultural capital; Europe; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; entrepreneurs; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2011.042161

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2011 Vol.14 No.1, pp.13 - 38

Published online: 21 Oct 2014 *

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