Gender and Entrepreneurship: a comparative study between the Causation and Effectuation approaches

Melo, Felipe Luiz Neves Bezerra de; Silva, Rafael Rodrigues da; Almeida, Tatiane Nunes Viana de

doi:10.15728/bbr.2019.16.3.5

Felipe Luiz Neves Bezerra de Melo ^†† Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, Nova Cruz, RN, Brazil E-mail: felipe.neves@ifrn.edu.br

Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, Nova Cruz, RN, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5579-3763

Rafael Rodrigues da Silva ^ΩΩ Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil E-mail: rafaelrodges@outlook.com

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1836-7340

Tatiane Nunes Viana de Almeida ^¥¥ Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil E-mail: tatiane.almeida@ifrn.edu.br

Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4431-1332

† Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, Nova Cruz, RN, Brazil E-mail: felipe.neves@ifrn.edu.br

Ω Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil E-mail: rafaelrodges@outlook.com

¥ Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil E-mail: tatiane.almeida@ifrn.edu.br

Categories of differentiation	Causation approach	Effectuation approach
Data	• The results are given.	• Some means and tools are given.
Criteria for decision making	• Helps to choose between means to achieve the given effect;	• Helps select between possible effects that can be created from given means;
	• Selection criteria based on expected returns;	• Selection criteria based on tolerable losses or acceptable risk;
	• Effect-dependent: choice of means is driven by the characteristics of the effect that the decision-maker wants to create and their knowledge of possible means.	• Actor-dependent: given specific means, the choice of effect is driven by the characteristics of the actor and their abilities to discover and use contingencies.
Skills employed	• Excellent in exploring knowledge.	• Excellent in exploring contingencies.
Context of relevance	• More present in nature;	• More present in human actions
Context of relevance	• More useful in static, linear and independent environments.	• Explicit assumption of dynamic, non-linear and ecological environments
Nature of what you cannot know	• Focus on predictable aspects of an uncertain future.	• Focus on controllable aspects of an unpredictable future
Central logic	• To the extent that we can predict the future, we can control it.	• To the extent that we can control the future, we do not need to predict it.
Results	• Market participation in existing markets through competitive strategies.	• New markets created through alliances and other cooperative strategies.

Aspect	Issues
(A) Entrepreneurial profile	(1) sex; (2) age group; (3) age you started to undertake; (4) number of children; (5) marital status; (6) level of schooling; (7) occupation of the parents before starting the business; (8) occupation of the parents after starting the business; (9) the existence of an enterprising relative; and (10) existence of enterprising friends before starting the business.
(B) Company Profile	(11) the year the company was established; (12) segment; (13) origin of the initial resources; (14) how the company was established; (15) annual revenue; (16) if there was assistance from third parties; (17) if so, who helped; and (18) if any support is currently received; (19) if so, what kind of support.
(C) Causation	(20) I analyzed the long-term opportunities and selected those on which I thought to offer the best return; (21) I developed a strategy to better take advantage of available resources and capabilities; (22) I developed a business plan; (23) I organized and implemented control processes to make sure that the pre-established objectives are met; (24) I researched and selected the target markets and conducted a significant competitive analysis; (25) I had a clear and consistent view of where I would like to go; and (26) I developed a marketing plan and a production plan.
(C) Effectuation (Experimentation)	(27) Before setting up my current business I tried different products and business models; (28) The product/service offered now is essentially the same as that originally intended; (29) The product/service offered now is quite different from that imagined first; and (30) I tried a number of different paths until I found a business model that worked.
(C) Effectuation (Acceptable losses)	(31) I was careful not to commit resources beyond what I was willing to lose (calculated risks); (32) I was careful not to risk more money than I was willing to lose with the initial idea; and (33) I was careful not to risk so much money as to put the company in financial trouble if things did not work out.
(C) Effectuation (Flexibility)	(34) I allowed the business to develop emerging opportunities (new ideas) beyond what was planned; (35) I adapted what we were going to do to the resources that I had available; (36) I was flexible and took advantage of opportunities as they arose; (37) I avoided actions that restricted the flexibility and adaptability of the business.
(C) Effectuation (Pre-Agreement)	(38) I have used various agreements with clients, suppliers and other organizations and individuals to reduce the chance of my business going wrong; and (39) I have used pre-agreements for customers and suppliers whenever possible.

Code	Description	Authors
gender	Gender: male (0) and female (1).	Deng, Wang and Alon (2011)DENG, Shengliang; WANG, Xu; ALON, Ilan. Framework for female entrepreneurship in China. International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, v. 3, n. 1, p. 3-20, 2011.; Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.; Frigotto, Della Valle (2016)FRIGOTTO, Maria L.; DELLA VALLE, Nives. Gender and the Structuring of the Entrepreneurial Venture: An Effectuation Approach. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, v. 2016, 2016..
Age	Categorical variable for age.	Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.; Lafortune, Perticará and Tessada (2013)LAFORTUNE, Jeanne; PERTICARÁ, Marcela; TESSADA, José. The benefits of diversity: Peer effects in an adult training program in Chile. 2014.; Frigotto (2016)FRIGOTTO, M. Laura. Effectuation and the Think-Aloud Method for Investigating Entrepreneurial Decision Making. In: Complexity in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology Research. Springer, Cham, 2016. p. 183-197..
Children	Continuous variable for number of children.	Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.; Lafortune, Perticará and Tessada (2013)LAFORTUNE, Jeanne; PERTICARÁ, Marcela; TESSADA, José. The benefits of diversity: Peer effects in an adult training program in Chile. 2014..
marital_status	Marital status: single (0) and married (1)	Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.
higher_education	Educational level: does not have higher education (0) and has higher education (1)	Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.; Harms and Schiele (2012)HARMS, Rainer; SCHIELE, Holger. Antecedents and consequences of effectuation and causation in the international new venture creation process. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, v. 10, n. 2, p. 95-116, 2012.; Mäkimurto-Koivumaa and Puhakka (2013)MÄKIMURTO-KOIVUMAA, Soili; PUHAKKA, Vesa. Effectuation and causation in entrepreneurship education. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, v. 5, n. 1, p. 68-83, 2013.; Pot (2014)POT, J. J. M. Causation versus effectuation in entrepreneurial decision-making: the impact of family resources, family business background and education. 2014. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente..
father_previous_occupation	Occupation of the father before starting the business: another field (0) and entrepreneur (1).	Dew et al. (2009)DEW, Nicholas et al. Affordable loss: Behavioral economic aspects of the plunge decision. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, v. 3, n. 2, p. 105-126, 2009.; Harms and Schiele (2012)HARMS, Rainer; SCHIELE, Holger. Antecedents and consequences of effectuation and causation in the international new venture creation process. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, v. 10, n. 2, p. 95-116, 2012.; Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.; Pot (2014)POT, J. J. M. Causation versus effectuation in entrepreneurial decision-making: the impact of family resources, family business background and education. 2014. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente..
mother_previous_occupation	Occupation of the mother before starting the business: another field (0) and entrepreneur (1).	Dew et al., (2009)DEW, Nicholas et al. Affordable loss: Behavioral economic aspects of the plunge decision. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, v. 3, n. 2, p. 105-126, 2009.; Harms and Schiele (2012)HARMS, Rainer; SCHIELE, Holger. Antecedents and consequences of effectuation and causation in the international new venture creation process. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, v. 10, n. 2, p. 95-116, 2012., Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.; Pot (2014)POT, J. J. M. Causation versus effectuation in entrepreneurial decision-making: the impact of family resources, family business background and education. 2014. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente..
enterprising_relative	Existence of enterprising relatives: (0)	Dew et al. (2009)DEW, Nicholas et al. Affordable loss: Behavioral economic aspects of the plunge decision. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, v. 3, n. 2, p. 105-126, 2009.; Harms and Schiele (2012)HARMS, Rainer; SCHIELE, Holger. Antecedents and consequences of effectuation and causation in the international new venture creation process. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, v. 10, n. 2, p. 95-116, 2012.; Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente..
enterprising_friend	Existence of enterprising friends before starting the business: (0) does not have and (1) has.	Falck, Heblich and Luedemann (2010)FALCK, Oliver; HEBLICH, Stephan; LUEDEMANN, Elke. Identity and entrepreneurship: do school peers shape entrepreneurial intentions? Small Business Economics, v. 39, n. 1, p. 39-59, 2012.; Lafortune, Perticará and Tessada (2013)LAFORTUNE, Jeanne; PERTICARÁ, Marcela; TESSADA, José. The benefits of diversity: Peer effects in an adult training program in Chile. 2014..
initial_resources	Origin of initial resources: own resources (0) and third-party resources (1).	Pot (2014)POT, J. J. M. Causation versus effectuation in entrepreneurial decision-making: the impact of family resources, family business background and education. 2014. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.; Greenslade-Yeats, (2016)GREENSLADE-YEATS, James Reuben. How Experience Shapes the Financial Thinking of Entrepreneurs. 2016. Tese de Doutorado. Auckland University of Technology..
family_business_establishment	Family business: no (0) and yes (1).	Shao (2012)SHAO, Chen. Effectuation versus causation in entrepreneurial decision-making in chinese context: consideration of impact of family business background and gender. 2012. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente.; Pot (2014)POT, J. J. M. Causation versus effectuation in entrepreneurial decision-making: the impact of family resources, family business background and education. 2014. Dissertação de Mestrado. University of Twente..
initial_support	Has received support from some institution to start the business: no (0) and yes (1).	Included by the authors.

Aspects	Variables	Average	Deviation Pattern	Variance
Causation	cau_20	5.58	1.87	3.497
	cau_21	5.17	21.275	4.526
	cau_22	4.69	2.394	5.731
	cau_23	4.68	2.214	4.901
	cau_24	4.65	2.266	5.138
	cau_25	5.46	1.951	3.806
	cau_26	3.75	2.267	5.138
Overall average - Causation		4.85
Effectuation (Experimentation)	ef_27	4.03	2.528	6.393
	ef_28	5.59	2.075	4.305
	ef_29	2.72	2.356	5.552
	ef_30	3.77	2.449	5.997
Overall average - Effectuation (Experimentation)		4.02
Effectuation (Losses)	ef_31	5.64	1.888	3.566
	ef_32	5.79	1.748	3.056
	ef_33	5.84	1.768	3.126
Overall average - Effectuation (Losses)		5.76
Effectuation (Flexibility)	ef_34	5.47	1.93	3.726
	ef_35	5.86	1.781	3.172
	ef_36	5.97	1.592	2.534
	ef_37	5.475	1.86	3.461
Overall average - Effectuation (Flexibility)		5.69
Effectuation (Pre-agreement)	ef_38	5.25	2.105	4.431
Effectuation (Pre-agreement)	ef_39	5.33	2.165	4.687
Overall average - Effectuation (Pre-agreement)		5.29

Factor	Cronbach's Alpha	Self-value	Explained variation	Accumulated variation
Factor 1 - Causation	0.7744	3.26795	23.34%	23.34%
Factor 2 - Effectuation Losses	0.7737	2.25682	16.12%	39.46%
Factor 3 - Effectuation Pre-agreement	0.8292	1.66156	11.87%	51.33%
Factor 4 - Effectuation Flexibility	0.5762	1.56666	11.19%	62.52%
Factor 5 - Effectuation Experimentation	0.6492	1.07351	7.67%	70.19%

Factors	Variables	Components					Commonalities
Factors	Variables	1	2	3	4	5	Commonalities
Factor 1 Causation
	cau_22	0.818					0.718
	cau_26	0.762					0.606
	cau_21	0.753					0.641
	cau_23	0.692					0.740
Factor 2 Effectuation (Acceptable losses)	ef_32		0.864				0.777
	ef_33		0.795				0.740
	ef_31		0.793				0.655
Factor 3 Effectuation (Pre-agreement)	ef_38			0.919			0.869
Factor 3 Effectuation (Pre-agreement)	ef_39			0.871			0.813
Factor 4 Effectuation (Flexibility)	ef_35				0.842		0.777
	ef_34				0.675		0.574
	ef_36				0.516		0.515
Factor 5 Effectuation (Experimentation)	ef_29					-0.859	0.762
Factor 5 Effectuation (Experimentation)	ef_28					0.792	0.640

Independent	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3	Factor 4	Factor 5
Variables	Causation	Effectuation Losses	Effectuation Pre-agreement	Effectuation Flexibility	Effectuation Experimentation
Constant (β0)	-0.9689**	-0.061	-0.140	-0.222	-0.585
	(0.473)	(0.493)	(0.558)	(0.540)	(0.540)
Gender	0.3949**	0.212	0.045	-0.164	-0.069
	(0.196)	(0.218)	(0.246)	(0.239)	(0.238)
Age	0.01316***	0.004	-0.001	-0.003	0.015
	(0.107)	(0.011)	(0.012)	(0.012)	(0.012)
Children	-0.2298*	0.129***	0.069	0.090	0.024
	(0.0804)	(0.081)	(0.091)	(0.089)	(0.088)
marital_status	0.1283	0.140	-0.073	0.099	-0.115
	(0.232)	(0.231)	(0.261)	(0.253)	(0.252)
higher_education	0.1461	-0.103	-0.133	0.336	-0.594**
	(0.284)	(0.282)	(0.319)	(0.309)	(0.309)
father_previous_occupation	-0.2415	0.731***	0.128	-0.348	-0.204
	(0.565)	(0.501)	(0.567)	(0.549)	(0.548)
mother_previous_occupation	0.0608	-1.265**	-0.451	0.656	-0.079
	(0.611)	(0.622)	(0.703)	(0.681)	(0.680)
entrepreneurial_relative	0.2352	0.107	0.239	0.471**	0.262
	(0.223)	(0.232)	(0.262)	(0.254)	(0.253)
entrepreneurial_friend	0.072	0.256	0.138	-0.228	-0.007
	(0.221)	(0.216)	(0.245)	(0.237)	(0.237)
initial_resources	0.215	-0.712*	0.373	-0.463***	0.011
	(0.291)	(0.293)	(0.332)	(0.321)	(0.321)
business_opportunity_establishment	0.2813	0.069	-0.118	-0.043	0.174
	(0.224)	(0.223)	(0.252)	(0.244)	(0.244)
family_business_establishment	-0,2980	0.452***	0.052	-0.480***	-0.307
	(0.312)	(0.310)	(0.351)	(0.340)	(0.339)
initial_support	0.5483**	-0.007	0.013	0.149	0.074
	(0.238)	(0.237)	(0.268)	(0.259)	(0.259)
Observations	100	100	100	100	100
R Square (R²)	26.7%	27.4%	7.1%	12.9%	13.1%
White (homoscedasticity)	0.4678	0.4494	0.4635	0.9606	0.4103
Shapiro-Wilks (normality of residues)	0.1255	0.6164	0.01412	0.1345	0.03745
* Significant variables at 10%. (t > 2.364)
** Significant variables at 5%. (t > 1.660)
*** Significant variables at 1%. (t > 1.290)

Variables	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
Variables	Model Robust	Model Robust	Model Robust	Model Robust	Model Robust	Model Robust
gender	0.628***	0.624**	0.652**	0.653**	0.588**	0.572***
	(0.222)	(0.253)	(0.271)	(0.279)	(0.224)	(0.209)
age	0.0150*	0.0183	0.0187	0.0191	0.0146	0.0121
	(0.00760)	(0.0122)	(0.0130)	(0.0133)	(0.0188)	(0.00788)
children	-0.313***	-0.343**	-0.353***	-0.352**	-0,303*	-0.283**
	(0.0761)	(0.133)	(0.127)	(0.139)	(0.179)	(0.108)
initial_support	0.509**	0,425	0,463*	0,462*	0.512**	0.515***
	(0.254)	(0.261)	(0.236)	(0.246)	(0.218)	(0.195)
family_business_establishment	-1.063***	-1.010***	-1.004***	-1.016***	-0.977***	-0.993***
	(0.333)	(0.274)	(0.283)	(0.273)	(0.361)	(0.338)
entrepreneurial_relative	0.418**	0.484*	0.471*	0.486*	0.421	0.326
	(0.206)	(0.267)	(0.264)	(0.257)	(0.385)	(0.215)
mother_previous_occupation	1.354***	1.569***	1.604***	1.647***	1.607***	1.538***
	(0.177)	(0.236)	(0.243)	(0.197)	(0.252)	(0.176)
fatherandmotherentrepreneurs	1.695***	3.042***	3.003*	3.027*	2.775	1.631***
	(0.537)	(0.978)	(1.681)	(1.525)	(5.675)	(0.308)
father_previous_occupation	-0.306	-1.468	-1.415	-1.396	-1.094
	(0.444)	(0.936)	(1.642)	(1.462)	(5.469)
initial_resources	0.396	0.370	0.382	0.391
	(0.284)	(0.344)	(0.328)	(0.341)
marital_status	0.182	0.0604	0.0603
	(0.172)	(0.189)	(0.193)
proven_higher_education	0.185	0.167
	(0.210)	(0.313)
entrepreneurial_friend	-0.265
	(0.190)
Constant	-0.531	-0.635	-0.661	-0.643	-0.499	-0.402
	(0.349)	(0.403)	(0.446)	(0.474)	(0.604)	(0.349)
Observations	100	100	100	100	100	100
* Significant variables at 10%. (t > 2.364)
** Significant variables at 5%. (t > 1.660)
*** Significant variables at 1%. (t > 1.290)

Variables	Gender	Children	Initial support	Enterprising father and mother	Previously enterprising mother	Proven higher education	Marital status	Enterprising relative	Enterprising friend	Necessary business establishment
Gender	1
Children	-0.0261	1
initial support	0.0318	-0.132	1
Father and mother entrepreneurs	0.213	0.0727	-0.00070	1
Previously enterprising mother	0.241	0.0335	0.0151	0.958	1
Proven higher education	0.177	-0.148	0.0164	-0.0887	-0.0926	1
Marital status	-0.0911	0.273	-0.0846	0.0780	0.0243	-0.0859	1
Enterprising relative	0.186	0.0142	-0.0128	0.141	0.165	0.0413	0.0581	1
Enterprising friend	-0.0496	0.153	-0.00970	0.134	0.153	0.0937	0.163	0.302	1
Necessary business establishment	0.103	0.0828	0.00570	0.137	0.165	-0.0185	0.0264	-0.300	-0.0576	1
Factor 1 - Causation	0.185	-0.296	0.260	-0.00890	-0.0159	0.204	-0.0589	0.114	0.0399	-0.0908
Factor 2 - Effectuation Losses	0.0412	0.110	-0.0736	-0.273	-0.328	0.164	-0.00180	0.0507	0.0548	-0.111
Factor 3 - Effectuation Pre-agreement	0.0406	0.116	0.00310	0.0435	0.0199	-0.0962	0.000700	0.147	0.0905	-0.0102
Factor 4 - Effectuation Flexibility	-0.00950	0.0669	0.0277	0.106	0.105	0.125	0.0656	0.199	0.0175	0.0241
Factor 5 - Effectuation Experimentation	-0.0694	0.0631	0.0156	0.139	0.140	-0.0244	-0.0194	0.0938	0.0172	-0.0194

[1] † Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte, Nova Cruz, RN, Brazil E-mail: felipe.neves@ifrn.edu.br

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Gender and Entrepreneurship: a comparative study between the Causation and Effectuation approaches

ABSTRACT