Business Characteristics of Male and Female Small and Medium Enterprises in the UK: Implications for Gender-based Entrepreneurialism and Business Competence Development

The aim of this paper is to identify differences, if any, between the characteristics of male and female businesses and to establish whether female businesses do constitute a distinct entrepreneurial group. The paper presents the results of an ongoing study based on a national survey of nearly 6000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. Given that existing research tends to focus, in the main, on the pre-start up and start-up differences, this study aims to identify gender-based differences between male and female owned/managed businesses in their post-formation stage. A gender-based business competence development model is developed and a case is made for what is termed ‘gender-based entrepreneurialism’. It is argued given that established male and female businesses exhibit different characteristics, gender-based entrepreneurialism should be acknowledged and considered by policy makers within the SME sector. Female owned/managed businesses may require differentiated policies beyond the pre-start up and start-up stages for developing business competencies and to nurture their growth and development.