Title: Female entrepreneurship: a co-citation analysis

Authors: João José M. Ferreira; Cristina I. Fernandes; Marta Peris-Ortiz; Vanessa Ratten

Addresses: University of Beira Interior and NECE – Research Unit, Estrada do Sineiro, Polo IV 6200-201 Covilha, Portugal ' Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco and NECE – Research Unit, Largo do Município 6060-163 Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal ' Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain ' La Trobe University, Plenty Road Bundoora 3086, Melbourne, Australia

Abstract: Female entrepreneurship is an emerging area of study as it is an important component of the business environment. Despite the importance of female entrepreneurship little is still known about the role of gender in opportunity seeking and value creation activities. The aim of this paper is to examine the development of research into female entrepreneurship by evaluating the current state of the research. Research about female entrepreneurship is analysed through bibliometric techniques in order to map the intellectual structure that in turn enables the conceptual convergence of research on female entrepreneurship. The results of this paper display the trends arising in the literature and highlight the ongoing debates about the contributions made by female entrepreneurship to the fields of entrepreneurship, management and the social sciences. Suggestions for future research into the role of females in an entrepreneurial context are stated together with implications for public policy planners.

Keywords: female entrepreneurship; gender entrepreneurship; international entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2017.084095

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2017 Vol.31 No.2, pp.325 - 340

Received: 25 Nov 2015
Accepted: 26 Mar 2016
Published online: 10 May 2017 *

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