Title: Differences in the financial approach to entrepreneurship from a gender perspective

Authors: Roberto Cervelló Royo; Ismael Moya Clemente; Rosario Perelló-Marín; Gabriela Ribes-Giner

Addresses: Faculty of Business Administration and Management (FADE), Universitat Politècnica de València, Building 7J, Valencia, Spain ' Faculty of Business Administration and Management (FADE), Universitat Politècnica de València, Building 7J, Valencia, Spain ' Faculty of Business Administration and Management (FADE), Universitat Politècnica de València, Building 7J, Valencia, Spain ' Faculty of Business Administration and Management (FADE), Universitat Politècnica de València, Building 7J, Valencia, Spain

Abstract: The economic situation worldwide has led to a global rise in female entrepreneurship. Furthermore, entrepreneurial activity has become very important and is considered fundamental to adopt measures that encourage and correct deficiencies. To this end, the purpose of this work is to study the financing of this venture from a gender perspective by taking a sample of entrepreneurs from a Spanish Mediterranean region. We analysed factors of capital structure, company ownership and funding sources (formal and informal), among other aspects, with a sample of 192 surveyed entrepreneurs. By multivariate analysis techniques, the statistically significant differences that appeared between male and female entrepreneurs were studied. This study is important and might be useful because it provides an overview of the current situation of entrepreneurs and funding sources in not only the studied Mediterranean region, but also in similar Mediterranean and/or Spanish regions.

Keywords: entrepreneurship; gender; finance; capital structure; company ownership; venture; funding sources; region; entrepreneurial activity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGSB.2021.113817

International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 2021 Vol.12 No.1, pp.46 - 58

Received: 10 Sep 2019
Accepted: 20 Apr 2020
Published online: 31 Mar 2021 *