This paper investigates the role of manager gender in SMEs’ decisions to get involved in exporting and importing activities, using a sample of 1,405 Spanish SMEs. We borrow insights from international entrepreneurship theories and feminist theories to set testable hypotheses regarding how managerial gender and entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, risk-taking and innovativeness) may influence SMEs export and import propensities. Using a bivariate probit model and controlling for other managerial and business characteristics, results reveal that there are not significant disparities in exporting propensities between men- and women-run businesses. However, female-led SMEs show a lower importing propensity, in comparison to male-led counterparts. In addition, the three entrepreneurial orientation dimensions (proactiveness, risk-taking and innovativeness) are important drivers for participating in overseas markets, and do not depend upon the manager gender. This work provides new empirical evidence on the comparison between men- and women-run SMEs as regards export/import behavior and thus, it contributes to improve our knowledge on the role of gender in SMEs internationalization. The role of manager’s gender in SMEs import propensity has not been investigated so far, and this is the main novelty of our research.

本文使用 1,405 家西班牙中小企业的样本调查了经理性别在中小企业参与进出口活动的决策中的作用。我们借鉴国际创业理论和女权主义理论的见解，就管理性别和创业导向（主动性、冒险精神和创新性）如何影响中小企业的进出口倾向提出可检验的假设。使用二元概率模型和控制其他管理和业务特征，结果表明男性和女性经营企业之间的出口倾向没有显着差异。然而，与男性领导的同行相比，女性领导的中小企业的进口倾向较低。此外，创业导向的三个维度（主动性、冒险性和创新性）是参与海外市场的重要驱动力，并不取决于经理的性别。这项工作为男性和女性经营的中小企业在进出口行为方面的比较提供了新的经验证据，因此，它有助于提高我们对性别在中小企业国际化中的作用的认识。经理性别在中小企业进口倾向中的作用迄今尚未调查，