GENDER DIFFERENCES AND NEW VENTURE PERFORMANCE

I compare the performance of female owned ventures with male owned ventures utilizing the confidential Kauffman Firm Survey data. Prior results are mixed with most studies showing female owned ventures underperforming relative to male owned ventures, however newer studies with more extensive controls seem to find no difference in performance. I use regression analysis, and find that there is no performance gap between male and female owned ventures. I further investigate whether the heterogeneous characteristics of male vs female owned ventures are related with disparate effects on survival and performance. Utilizing decomposition analyses, I find support for the aforementioned, owner characteristics such as work experience in similar industry, average hours worked and venture level characteristics such as technology level and incorporation status of the venture are related with a differential impact on new venture survival and performance. These findings have implications for policy makers and entrepreneurs alike.