| 1. |
- Hård, Ursula, et al.
(author)
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Kvinnors företagande : arbetsmarknadsbeteende och organisatorisk lösning
- 2007
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Book (other academic/artistic)abstract
- I dagens Sverige lyfts ofta småföretag och entreprenörer fram. Företagandet diskuteras dock ofta separat från både arbetsmarknad och övriga näringslivet. Därmed negligeras att individer växlar mellan att vara sin egen och ha anställning, det vill säga att företagandet ofta är ett sätt för individen att navigera på arbetsmarknaden snarare än drivet av en stark önskan att vara sin egen. Inte heller uppmärksammas att små företag ofta startas och drivs som en direkt konsekvens av stora organisationers strategier - det vill säga företagandet är en organisatorisk lösning på en stor organisations problem, inte uttryck för en individs starka vilja att vara sin egen. I studien ges exempel på företagande av dessa slag. Det första exemplet bygger på Ursula Hårds studier av kvinnor som följt en starta-eget-kurs i en norrlandskommun och det andra på Malin Tillmars studier av företagande i anslutning till den offentliga sektorns omvandling. Det första fallet är ett exempel på företagande som arbetsmarknadsbeteende, det sistnämnda på företagande som organisatorisk lösning. Företagandet som skapat, och skapare av, genussystemet är tydligt i fallen och diskuteras i studien.
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| 2. |
- Tillmar, Malin
(author)
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Swedish tribalism and Tanzanian entrepreneurship : preconditions for trust formation
- 2006
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In: Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0898-5626 .- 1464-5114. ; 18:2, s. 91-107
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper sets out to explore the preconditions for trust formation using a comparative approach. It takes an empirical point of departure, in two longitudinal and ethnographically inspired studies in the differing contexts of Sweden and Tanzania. The comparison reveals many similarities between the contexts with regard to the influence of informal institutions, as well as the significance of categories in trust formation. Perhaps surprisingly, trust and co-operation are not as low as could be expected in Tanzania, given the inadequate formal institutional environment, but instead, the greater need for co-operation evoked entrepreneurial initiatives that enabled the creation of trust. While the Swedish small-business owners could afford their ‘tribalism’, Tanzanians created trust in an entrepreneurial way. The importance of interventions to understand the local institutional framework is highlighted and it is argued that arranging business training, or similar events, is a fruitful way to facilitate the trust creation process in development contexts.
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| 3. |
- Berglund, Karin, 1967-, et al.
(author)
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To play or not to play: that is the question : entrepreneuring as gendered play
- 2015
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0956-5221 .- 1873-3387. ; 31:2, s. 206-218
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How can play be used to unravel the discourse of the gendered hero entrepreneur and instead describe mundane entrepreneuring? Further, how can the doing of gendered social orders be problematized when entrepreneuring is equated with play? In this article we answer these questions by engaging with the French social theorist Caillois’ (1961) conceptualization of play as being at the heart of all higher culture. Two ethnographic cases act as our vehicle in analysing play as entrepreneuring. From a rich description of these cases we find that it is not a question of playing or not playing, but about how to play. All four forms of play described by Caillois are present, which illustrates the variation of entrepreneuring and the richness of activities conducted in the ‘doing of entrepreneurship’. Further, both ways of playing discussed by Caillois are found. Whilst these two ways are interrelated on a continuum in the theory of play, they have been separated in entrepreneurship discourse, where they underpin the tendency to differentiate between the hero entrepreneur and ordinary people. Finally, we engage in a more interpretive and reflective discussion on entrepreneuring as performative acts through which social orders can be not only reproduced but also transformed.
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| 4. |
- Berglund, Karin, et al.
(author)
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Women's entrepreneurship, neoliberalism and economic justice in the postfeminist era : a discourse analysis of policy change in Sweden
- 2018
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In: Gender, Work and Organization. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0968-6673 .- 1468-0432. ; 25:5, s. 531-556
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since the early 1990s, there has been investment in women's entrepreneurship policy (WEP) in Sweden, which continued until 2015. During the same period, Sweden assumed neoliberal policies that profoundly changed the position of women within the world of work and business. The goals for WEP changed as a result, from entrepreneurship as a way to create a more equal society, to the goal of unleashing women's entrepreneurial potential so they can contribute to economic growth. To better understand this shift we approach WEP as a neoliberal governmentality which offers women 'entrepreneurial' or 'postfeminist' subject positions. The analysis is inspired by political theorist Nancy Fraser who theorized the change as the displacement of socioeconomic redistribution in favour of cultural recognition, or identity politics. We use Fraser's concepts in a discourse analysis of Swedish WEP over two decades, identifying two distinct discourses and three discursive displacements. Whilst WEP initially gave precedence to a radical feminist discourse that called for women's collective action, this was replaced by a postfeminist neoliberal discourse that encouraged individual women to assume an entrepreneurial persona, start their own business, compete in the marketplace and contribute to economic growth. The result was the continued subordination of women business owners, but it also obscured or rendered structural problems/solutions, and collective feminist action, irrelevant.
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| 5. |
- Sköld, Birgitta, 1957-, et al.
(author)
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Kvinnors företagande i landsbygdskommuner med fokus på Småland och Öland : en kvantitativ kartläggning inom ramen för forskningsprojektet "Kvinnors företagande för en levande landsbygd"
- 2018
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- En livskraftig landsbygd med tillgång till arbetskraft, arbetstillfällen och välfärdsservice är en aktuell samhällsfråga. Företagandets omfattning på landsbygden är en aspekt som kan ha betydelse för landsbygdskommunernas sårbarhet. Syftet med rapporten är att utveckla kunskap om kvinnors entreprenörskap på landsbygden, som kan ligga till grund för att stimulera landsbygdsutveckling, jämställdhet och vidare forskning, exempelvis genom kvalitativa forskningsmetoder.Med hjälp av en databasstudie beskrivs och analyseras omfattningen och karaktären av kvinnors företagande på landsbygden. Till viss del studeras också likheter och skillnader i företagandet mellan kvinnor födda i Sverige och kvinnor födda utomlands, samt mellan kvinnor och män.Företagandet är mer omfattande bland de sysselsatta kvinnorna på landsbygden än bland de sysselsatta kvinnorna i tätorterna. Skillnaderna i omfattningen av kvinnors företagande är små mellan olika typer av landsbygdskommuner – de som är avlägset belägna, mycket avlägset belägna eller belägna nära en större stad. Resultaten indikerar snarare att det är kommunernas företagskaraktär eller tradition av företagande som avgör andelen företagare per sysselsatta. Kartläggningen pekar mot att arbetslöshet kan vara ett incitament för företagande – något starkare för de utlandsfödda kvinnorna än för kvinnorna födda i Sverige. Skogsförvaltning och blandat jordbruk är bland de vanligaste näringsgrenarna för både kvinnor och män på landsbygden. I övrigt är dock företagandet mycket könssegregerat med avseende på bransch. De tio vanligaste näringsgrenarna för kvinnor och män skiljer sig markant åt. Kvinnors företag är mest representerade i Hår- och kroppsvård, Restaurangverksamhet, Redovisning och bokföring, Konsultverksamhet avseende företags organisation, Fysioterapeutisk verksamhet samt Litterärt och konstnärligt skapande. Mäns vanligaste näringsgrenar är mer relaterade till landsbygdens kontext av mark- och naturresurser. Kvinnors företag är små, 76 procent är soloföretag och lönsamheten varierar stort. De näringsgrenar där kvinnors företag redovisar högst lönsamhet är i de numerärt mansdominerade näringsgrenarna inom tillverkningsindustrin. Resultaten indikerar därmed könssegregering och hierarki med avseende på arbets- och resursfördelning.Kvinnor på landsbygden är mer benägna att vara företagare än anställda om de är gifta, har hemmavarande barn eller en utbildningsnivå lägre än den eftergymnasiala. Det kan tolkas som att företagandet är en lösning för att kombinera arbetsliv med ansvar för hem och barn. De företagande kvinnornas disponibla inkomster är i genomsnitt lägre än för kvinnor med anställning, för män som är företagare och för män med anställning. Att vara gift innebär för kvinnor en lägre disponibel inkomst, men för män en högre disponibel inkomst jämfört med att att inte vara gift. Resultaten visar dock att det inte är de individrelaterade faktorerna som mest bidrar till skillnader i disponibel inkomst, utan, näringsgren och antalet sysselsatta. Manligt könskodade näringsgrenar och stora företag ger högre inkomst. Den övergripande slutsatsen är att företagandet på landsbygden är traditionellt könssegregerat och hierarkiserat, i fråga om resursfördelning.
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| 6. |
- Tillmar, Malin, et al.
(author)
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Women's rural businesses : for economic viability or gender equality? – a database study from the Swedish context
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1756-6266 .- 1756-6274. ; 14:3, s. 323-351
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss to what extent and why women's entrepreneurship contributes to rural economic viability and gender equality in an advanced welfare state. Design/methodology/approach The authors use detailed register data to explore men's and women's rural businesses in the most common industries for rural women entrepreneurs in the Swedish welfare state. Based on a literature review, the authors develop hypotheses and analyse how family, business and industry factors influence earnings. Findings Women's rural entrepreneurship is important for rural viability, as women's businesses provide a wide range of services necessary for life in rural areas. Although women's rural businesses are not significantly smaller than those of men, women's income is lower and more sensitive to business and industry variables. Marriage has positive effects for the earnings of men but negative effects for the earnings of women. The authors argue that the results are contingent on the gendering of entrepreneurship and industries, as well as on the local rural gender contracts. For these reasons, the importance of women entrepreneurs for rural viability is not reflected in their own incomes. Hence, women's rural entrepreneurship does not result in (economic) gender equality. Originality/value Entrepreneurship scholars rarely explore women's rural entrepreneurship, and particularly not in the Global North or Western welfare states. Therefore, this empirical study from Sweden provides novel information on how the gender order on the business, industry and family levels influences the income of men and women entrepreneurs differently.
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| 7. |
- Ahl, Helene, 1958-, et al.
(author)
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From feminism to FemInc.ism : On the uneasy relationship between feminism, entrepreneurship and the Nordic welfare state
- 2016
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In: The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1554-7191 .- 1555-1938. ; 12:2, s. 369-392
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Feminism in the Nordic countries was primarily formulated in terms of ‘state feminism’. The women’s movement cooperated with feminist government officials and politicians, resulting in societies that can be considered to be the most gender-equal societies in the world. Historically, the state provided for a large publicly-financed welfare sector which made it possible for many women to combine work and family through the state’s implementation of family-friendly policies, while simultaneously providing employment opportunities for many women. However, since the financial crisis of the 1990s, there has been a political change influenced by neo-liberal thought, in which politicians have handed over the welfare state’s responsibilities to the market, and, instead, the politicians have encouraged entrepreneurship, not least among women. Further to this development, there has been a change in emphasis from entrepreneurship (understood as starting and running a business) to entrepreneurialism which, in addition to a belief in the efficacy of market forces, also contains a social dimension where individuals are supposed to be flexible and exercise choice. In this article, we ask whether this entails a change in the feminist project in the Nordic countries, and if so, what the likely consequences are for this project, both in practice and in research. In order to answer this question, we reviewed existing Nordic research on women’s entrepreneurship and examined how this body of work conceptualizes entrepreneurship, gender, the state, and equality. We also considered whether any trends could be identified. We relate our findings to recent changes in government policy and conclude that the current discourse on entrepreneurship challenges, and possibly weakens, state feminism, but we also conclude that this discourse may also provide space for new forms of feminist action, in market terms. We coin the term FemInc.ism to denote feminist action through enterprise and we discuss a number of important challenges that research on this phenomenon is faced with.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Berglund, Karin, 1967-, et al.
(author)
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Conceptualising feminist resistance in the postfeminist terrain
- 2023
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In: Gender in Management. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1754-2413 .- 1754-2421. ; 38:2, s. 183-199
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: In this paper, women entrepreneurs are seen as leaders and women leaders as entrepreneurial, making both groups an easy target of postfeminist expectations, governed by calls to embody the entrepreneurial self. Acknowledging that the entrepreneurial self has its roots in the universal, rational and autonomous subject, which was shaped in a male form during the Enlightenment, the purpose of this study is to conceptualise feminist resistance as a process through which the autonomous subject can be de-stabilised. Design/methodology/approach: Empirically, this study draws on an extensive research project on women's rural entrepreneurship that includes 32 in-depth interviews with women entrepreneurs in rural Sweden. This study interpreted expressions of resistance from the women by using an analytical framework the authors developed based on Jonna Bornemark's philosophical treatise. Findings: Feminist resistance unfolds as an interactive and iterative learning process where the subject recognises their voice, strengthens their voice and beliefs in a relational process and finally sees themselves as a fully fledged actor who finds ways to overcome obstacles that get in their way. Conceptualising resistance as a learning process stands in sharp contrast to the idea of resistance as enacted by the autonomous self. Research limitations/implications: This study helps researchers to understand that what they may have seen as a sign of weakness among women, is instead a sign of strength: it is a first step in learning resistance that may help women create a life different from that prescribed by the postfeminist discourse. In this way, researchers can avoid reproducing women as "weak and inadequate". Originality/value: Through the re-writing of feminist resistance, the masculine entrepreneurship discourse including the notion of the autonomous self is challenged, and a counternarrative to the postfeminist entrepreneurial woman is developed. Theorising resistance as a learning practice enables a more transforming research agenda, making it possible to see women as resisting postfeminist expectations of endless competition with themselves and others.
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| 10. |
- Tillmar, Malin
(author)
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Gendered small-business assistance : lessons from a Swedish project
- 2007
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In: Journal of European Industrial Training. - : Emerald. - 0309-0590 .- 1758-7425. ; 31:2, s. 84-99
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to deal with the design of small-business training programs and focuses on women business owners, their real needs and the supply of adequate training. How and to what extent are client selection and support needs influenced by the gender system?Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth study of an ambitious Swedish project is reported. Interviews with the participating business-owners and advisors, combined with observations during lectures and coaching sessions have been conducted.Findings – Even gender-conscious support organizations may have a biased process of client recruitment, leading to an unintended discrimination of women business owners. The women meet the same obstacles as men but also give witness to the subtle obstacles which originate in the gender-system.Research?limitations/implications – The study is qualitative and does not aim to provide statistically valid generalizations.Practical implications – Gender awareness of support organizations is crucial, in client selection as well as in designing programs and when coaching. These business owners need to understand the gender system in order to handle it more effectively. It is argued that special programs are still needed, even in a country like Sweden known for its relative equality between women and men.Originality/value – The context is interesting and the longitudinal in-depth approach brought the author unusually close to advisors and participants. It enabled an understanding of what happened over a short period of time in the minds of those involved, regarding sensitive issues.
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