Roles of Entrepreneurial Resource Acquisition and Family Support in Internet Use and Women’s Entrepreneurial Competence

Abstract

Women have become an increasingly important force in entrepreneurship, and their relatively low entrepreneurial competence has aroused widespread attention from the academia. Drawing from the resource-based theory and the social support theory, this study aims to explore the impact of Internet use on women’s entrepreneurial competence and the roles of entrepreneurial resource acquisition and family support in this relationship. After collecting a sample of 328 women entrepreneurs in China, this study demonstrates that Internet use is positively related to women’s entrepreneurial competence, and this relation is partially mediated by entrepreneurial resource acquisition. Moreover, family support moderates the relation between Internet use and entrepreneurial resource acquisition as well as the mediating effect of entrepreneurial resource acquisition. The results of the current study contribute to revealing how Internet use affects women’s entrepreneurial competence, including its direct and indirect effects and boundary conditions. Practical implications for policy-makers and female entrepreneurs are also provided.