Women and Men Leading Artisan Firms: What is the Impact on Organizations?

Abstract

In the current economic and employment crisis, women-run enterprises represent an important opportunity to create new jobs and stimulate innovation. This article presents the results of empirical and comparative research based on ten case studies of small artisan firms. The study compared five small enterprises led by women with five extremely similar firms where the entrepreneurs are men. This article discusses the different styles of leadership and analyses in which way they produce different personal satisfaction and different means to create support organizational networks for both the business life and the personal one. The results of the study suggest several implications for policy-making.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Women, Work-Life Balance, Leadership, Social Capital.