Purpose

Building on research about entrepreneurship and social capital, the purpose of this paper is to explore how women founders of technology-based ventures in Canada access and use formal external entrepreneurial networks to build their companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study draws on 25 semi-structured interviews with women founders of technology firms and leaders of formal networks.

Findings

The authors demonstrate the positive impact of women only networks (WON) for founders including increasing entrepreneurial diversity, access to financing, and founder credibility and sponsorship. The authors show how women founders use mixed gender and WON to build their businesses and conclude that membership in WON can be a vital step.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size is small and most participants reside in highly urban areas, which may limit generalizability. Findings may not generalize beyond Canada due to cultural and structural differences.

Practical implications

The research suggests that external WON should be encouraged as important resources for founder identity work which may enable positive change.

Social implications

This research can assist in designing initiatives that support women entrepreneurs and promote gender parity.

Originality/value

The authors draw on research in women's leadership development to explain how WONs for entrepreneurs help founders create overlapping strategic networks – a unique form of social capital – and serve as identity workspaces for the identity work women founders must complete. The authors argue that the identity work in WONs can be a mechanism by which gender structures are challenged and eventually changed.

中文翻译：

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站在巨人的肩膀上：女性技术创始人如何利用单一和混合性别网络来取得成功和改变

目的

基于对创业精神和社会资本的研究，本文的目的是探索加拿大技术型企业的女性创始人如何获得和使用正式的外部创业网络来建立自己的公司。

设计/方法/方法

该研究借鉴了对科技公司女性创始人和正式网络领导者的 25 次半结构化访谈。

发现

作者展示了女性专属网络 (WON) 对创始人的积极影响，包括增加创业多样性、融资渠道以及创始人信誉和赞助。作者展示了女性创始人如何使用混合性别和 WON 来建立自己的企业，并得出结论，成为 WON 的成员可能是至关重要的一步。

研究限制/影响

样本量很小，大多数参与者居住在高度城市化的地区，这可能会限制普遍性。由于文化和结构差异，调查结果可能无法推广到加拿大以外的地区。

实际影响

研究表明，应鼓励外部 WON 作为创始人身份工作的重要资源，这可能会带来积极的变化。

社会影响

这项研究可以帮助设计支持女企业家和促进性别平等的举措。

原创性/价值

作者利用对女性领导力发展的研究来解释企业家的 WON 如何帮助创始人创建重叠的战略网络——一种独特的社会资本形式——并作为女性创始人必须完成的身份工作的身份工作空间。作者认为，WON 中的身份工作可能是一种机制，通过这种机制，性别结构受到挑战并最终发生改变。