Title: Exporting success: a two country comparison of women entrepreneurs in international trade

Authors: Martha A. Reavley, Terri Lituchy, Emma McClelland

Addresses: Odette School of Business, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ont., N9B 3P4, Canada. ' John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal, Que., H3G 1M8, Canada. ' School of Business, Retail and Financial Services, University of Ulster, Coleraine Campus, Northern Ireland

Abstract: Throughout the world, large numbers of women are starting and operating their own businesses successfully. In fact, women are forming new businesses at a much greater rate than are men (Economist, 1996; Chandler and Murphy, 1994; Capowski, 1992) and many of these entrepreneurs are involved in international business (Knight, 2000). The purpose of this paper is to examine whether or not female entrepreneurs in international trade are the same as male entrepreneurs. Successful women entrepreneurs in Canada and Ireland participated in this study. These successful women, all of whom were involved in exporting have many of the personality traits and behaviours found in the entrepreneurship literature. Furthermore, they had a greater focus on strategic niche and growth then many other small business owners. This may be because they are already involved in international trade and they are successful. Other opportunities and challenges faced by these women are discussed.

Keywords: exporting; women entrepreneurs; international trade; entrepreneurship; Canad; Ireland.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2005.006070

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2005 Vol.2 No.1, pp.57 - 78

Published online: 30 Jan 2005 *

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