Title: Gendered linguistic structures and the innovation performance of new ventures in emerging countries: the moderating effects of digitalisation and the entrepreneurial ecosystem

Authors: Xuemei Xie; Yonghui Wu; F. Javier Sendra García

Addresses: School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China ' School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China ' Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid 28040, Spain

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between gendered linguistic structures and new ventures' innovation performance in emerging countries, as well as the gender gap in this relationship. Using a sample of 29,637 observations from 30 emerging countries in the period 2007-2016, this study shows that in countries where the dominant language's structure incorporates high-level gendered linguistic structures, there is a greater negative effect on innovation performance than is the case for countries with low-level gendered linguistic structures, and also that this negative effect is stronger for female entrepreneurs than it is for male entrepreneurs. These findings reveal that gendered linguistic structures reinforce gender stereotypes and discourage females' performance in innovation endeavours. We further find this negative relationship is moderated by both digitalisation (i.e., the levels of national digitisation and digital infrastructure) and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, such that in countries with high degrees of national digitisation, digital infrastructure, and entrepreneurial ecosystems, the negative effect of gendered linguistic structures on new ventures' innovation performance is alleviated.

Keywords: gendered linguistic structures; innovation performance; national digitisation level; digital infrastructure; entrepreneurial ecosystem.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2021.118889

International Journal of Technology Management, 2021 Vol.87 No.1, pp.46 - 77

Received: 29 Oct 2020
Accepted: 20 Apr 2021
Published online: 09 Nov 2021 *

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