Seminar by Prof. Matthew Lee, INSEAD
Event details
| Date | 09.05.2017 |
| Hour | 12:00 › 13:30 |
| Speaker | Prof. Matthew Lee, INSEAD |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
"Gender bias, social impact framing, and evaluation of entrepreneurial venture "
Abstract
Recent studies find that female-led ventures are penalized relative to male-led ventures due to role incongruity, or a perceived “lack of fit,” between female stereotypes and expectations regarding the personal qualities of business entrepreneurs. We examine whether social framing impact framing that emphasizes a venture’s social-environment welfare benefits, which research has shown to elicit stereotypically-feminine attributions of warmth, diminishes these penalties. We initially investigate this proposition in a field study of evaluations of early-stage ventures, and found evidence that female-led ventures avert gender penalties when presented using a social impact frame. In a second study, we experimentally validated the effect of social impact framing and further show that it is mediated by perceptions of the entrepreneur’s warmth. Taken together, our findings demonstrate social impact framing to increase attributions of warmth for all entrepreneurs, but with positive consequences for perceived viability only for female entrepreneurs, for whom perceptions of warmth attenuate perceptions that their behavior is inconsistent with gender roles. We discuss implications of our findings for research on entrepreneurial evaluation, strategies used to counteract prejudice in professional evaluation, and social entrepreneurship.
Abstract
Recent studies find that female-led ventures are penalized relative to male-led ventures due to role incongruity, or a perceived “lack of fit,” between female stereotypes and expectations regarding the personal qualities of business entrepreneurs. We examine whether social framing impact framing that emphasizes a venture’s social-environment welfare benefits, which research has shown to elicit stereotypically-feminine attributions of warmth, diminishes these penalties. We initially investigate this proposition in a field study of evaluations of early-stage ventures, and found evidence that female-led ventures avert gender penalties when presented using a social impact frame. In a second study, we experimentally validated the effect of social impact framing and further show that it is mediated by perceptions of the entrepreneur’s warmth. Taken together, our findings demonstrate social impact framing to increase attributions of warmth for all entrepreneurs, but with positive consequences for perceived viability only for female entrepreneurs, for whom perceptions of warmth attenuate perceptions that their behavior is inconsistent with gender roles. We discuss implications of our findings for research on entrepreneurial evaluation, strategies used to counteract prejudice in professional evaluation, and social entrepreneurship.
Practical information
- General public
- Free