Megatrends and innovations : a gender approach
Joensuu-Salo, Sanna; Sorama, Kirsti (2016)
Joensuu-Salo, Sanna
Sorama, Kirsti
European Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship
2016
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-9949-430-99-4
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-9949-430-99-4
Tiivistelmä
The current megatrends offer many new innovation possibilities for women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs often operate in the service sector, where digitalization can transform the industry. However, it has been shown that gender is a constraining structure within innovation systems. The objective for this paper is twofold: 1) to examine the attitudes of women entrepreneurs related to future megatrends and the opportunities on offer for women entrepreneurs in particular and 2) to examine the attitudes of women entrepreneurs towards innovation processes in their own businesses. The data was gathered from women entrepreneurs and nascent women entrepreneurs in the region of South Ostrobothnia in Finland. The data consists of four focus-group interviews organized in February 2016. Altogether 28 entrepreneurs participated in the focus-group interviews. The results show that the attitudes related to future megatrends are positive rather than negative. Positive attitudes related to feminine traits and competence of female entrepreneurs, possibilities for firm growth, new ways of doing business and family and work integration. However, also negative attitudes existed. These related to well-being, unbelief towards the statement, job loss, demand for new skills and more work and masculine connotations. Some psychological factors hinder the innovation processes of women entrepreneurs. First, current mental models have an effect what kind of innovations they can perceive. The second factor of note is the gendered construction of technology