“Tigress” or “Cat”? Women Entrepreneurs in Emerging Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
This research project responds to recent calls for greater attention to differences in entrepreneurial networking behaviour and processes among women. Existing literature has not fully unveiled the dynamic and evolving nature of their strategic network formation within the compressed timeframe of entrepreneurial support organisation (ESO) programs.
In high-uncertainty environments, like early-stage venture development and the competitive landscape of ESOs, women entrepreneurs must actively cultivate and reconfigure their networks to strengthen social capital, establish legitimacy, signal competence, and mobilise resources for their ventures.
This study aims to (i) investigate the evolution of women’s networks during their residency in ESOs, and (ii) identify the mechanisms underlying the heterogeneity in networking behaviours. Our research questions are: “How do women’s networks evolve over time?” and “What factors and mechanisms drive this process?”
“I am truly honoured to receive the RSA Early Career Research Grant. This funding will support fieldwork data collection and help me build meaningful connections with practitioners and entrepreneurs in Vietnam, an emerging market. It will enable the research to explore the strategic network formation of women entrepreneurs. The findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of these dynamics, ultimately helping to foster a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem and promote local and regional economic development.”
Principal Investigator: Thi (Alice) Ngo
Alice formerly worked at the University of Manchester and University of Huddersfield before joining the University of Sheffield. She worked as an intern at the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris, France in 2018 during her PhD journey. Her research has garnered recognition at international conferences, including the prestigious Best Developmental Paper Award in the Entrepreneurship Track at the BAM 2023 Conference and the Early Career Prize Winner in the Association of Heterodox Economics (AHE) Conference in 2018.