An Empirical Investigation into the Distinctions between Male and Female Entrepreneurs and Managers

Abstract

DRS. JO ANN C. CARIAND AND JAMES W. Carland lecture at the School of Business, Western Carolina University, USA. This paper describes an empirical investigation into the difference between male and female entrepreneurs and managers as to their preferences for innovation, risk taking propensities, need for achievement and cognitive styles. The survey covered 848 individuals: 82 male entrepreneurs, 32 female entrepreneurs, 303 male managers, 88 female managers, 239 male small business owners, and 104 female small business owners. The study focused on entrepreneurs and managers. The results support the existence of a definitive difference between preference for innovation, propensity for risk taking and need for achievement between entrepreneurs and managers. Both male and female entrepreneurs show stronger personality traits than their management counterparts although there are no significant differences between entpreneurs by sex with regard to these characteristics. The findings are consistent with the classic portrait of an entrepreneur but also demonstrate that the traditional traits apply equally to females. There is support for the idea that corporate life is unsatisfying for some females in the personality trait differences which exist between male and female managers.