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Research article2024Peer reviewedOpen access

Women's contributions to rural development: implications for entrepreneurship policy

Ahl, Helene; Berglund, Karin; Pettersson, Katarina; Tillmar, Malin

Abstract

PurposePolicy for women's entrepreneurship is designed to promote economic growth, not least in depleted rural areas, but very little is known about the contributions of rural women entrepreneurs, their needs or how the existing policy is received by them. Using a theoretical framework developed by Korsgaard et al. (2015), the authors analyse how rural women entrepreneurs contribute to rural development and discuss the implications for entrepreneurship policy. This paper aims to focus on the aforementioned objectives.Design/methodology/approachThe authors interviewed 32 women entrepreneurs in rural Sweden representing the variety of businesses in which rural Swedish women are engaged. The authors analysed their contributions to rural development by analysing their motives, strategies and outcomes using Korsgaard et al.'s framework of "entrepreneurship in the rural" and "rural entrepreneurship" as a heuristic, interpretative device.FindingsIrrespective of industry, the respondents were deeply embedded in family and local social structures. Their contributions were substantial, multidimensional and indispensable for rural viability, but the policy tended to bypass most women-owned businesses. Support in terms of business training, counselling and financing are important, but programmes especially for women tend to miss the mark, and so does rural development policy. More important for rural women entrepreneurs in Sweden is the provision of good public services, including for example, schools and social care, that make rural life possible.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically, the findings question the individualist and a-contextual focus of much entrepreneurship research, as well as the taken-for-granted work-family divide. How gender and how the public and the private are configured varies greatly between contexts and needs contextual assessment. Moreover, the results call for theorising place as an entrepreneurial actor.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, the authors advise future policymakers to gender mainstream entrepreneurship policy and to integrate entrepreneurship and rural development policy with family and welfare state policy.Originality/valueThe paper highlights how rural women respond to policy, and the results are contextualised, making it possible to compare them to other contexts. The authors widen the discussion on contributions beyond economic growth, and the authors show that policy for public and commercial services and infrastructure is indeed also policy for entrepreneurship.

Keywords

Entrepreneurship policy; Women's entrepreneurship; Rural viability; Rural development policy; Gender

Published in

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research
2024, Volume: 30, number: 7, pages: 1652-1677 Publisher: EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD

    Sustainable Development Goals

    SDG5 Gender equality
    SDG8 Decent work and economic growth
    SDG10 Reduced inequalities

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Gender Studies
    Public Administration Studies

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-11-2022-0973

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/126974