This article explores women’s experiences of accessing social support from traditional sources during venture creation and identifies the key aspects of social support desired, required and sought. It explores how an online coaching programme could provide the specific types of social support that would be most effective in assisting female entrepreneurs during venture creation. A study is presented based upon interviews with 30 established and 30 potential female entrepreneurs. The findings suggest that an online relationship with a dedicated coach of the same gender could provide the required support in terms of quantity and quality in respect of all functional aspects of social support.
AntonucciTA (1990) Social support and social relationships. In: BinstockRHGeorgeLK (eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 205–226.
2.
AmstrongDJColeP (2002) Managing distances and differences in geographically distributed work groups. In: HindsPKieslerS (eds) Distributed Work. Cambridge: MIT Press, 167–186.
3.
AndresHP (2002) A comparison of face-to-face and virtual software development teams. Team Performance – An International Journal8(1/2): 39–48.
4.
AshtonWAFuehrerA (1993) Effects of gender and gender role identification of participant and type of social support resources on support seeking. Gender Roles28: 461–477.
5.
BatsonCD (1998) Altruism and pro social behaviour. In: GilbertDTFriskeSTLinsdeyG (eds) The Handbook of Social Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 282–316.
6.
BieremaLLMeriamSB (2002) E-mentoring: Using computer mediated communication to enhance the mentoring process. Innovative Higher Education26(3): 211–227.
7.
BurkeKAytesKChidambaramL (2001) Media effects on the development of cohesion and process satisfaction in computer-supported workgroups: An analysis of results from two longitudinal studies. Information Technology and People14(2): 122–141.
8.
ButnerEHRosenB (1988) Bank loan officers’ perceptions of the characteristics of men, women and successful entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing3: 249–258.
9.
CarterSAndersonSShawE (2001) Women Business Ownership: A Review of the Academic, Popular and Internet Literature. London: Small Business Service. Available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/default.asp.
10.
ClarkHHBrennanSE (1991) Grounding in communication. In: ResnickLBLevineJMTeasleySD (eds) Perspectives on Socially Shared Cognition. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 127–149.
11.
CohenLJenningsP (1995) Invisible entrepreneurs: Issues, contexts and approaches in researching and supporting enterprising women – part 1. Business. Growth and Profitability1(4): 339–351.
12.
De CarolisDMSaparitoP (2006) Social capital, cognition, and entrepreneurial opportunities: A theoretical framework. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. January: 1042–2587.
13.
DoeH (1998) An exploratory study of networking among small independent Midwest specialty store retailers. MA thesis, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
14.
DuarteDLSnyderNT (1999) Mastering Virtual Teams. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
15.
EvansDVoleryT (2001) Online business development services for entrepreneurs: An exploratory study. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development13: 333–350.
16.
FieldenSLDaweAJ (2004) Entrepreneurship and social exclusion. Academy of Management Showcase Symposium Special Issue. Women in Management Review19(3) 139–142.
17.
FieldenSLDavidsonMJDaweAJMakinPJ (2003) Factors inhibiting the economic growth of female owned small businesses in North West England. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development10(2): 151–166.
18.
GallewayT (1986) The inner game of tennis. In: WhitmoreJ (2002) Coaching for Performance: Growing People, Performance and Purpose, 3rd edn.Nicholas Brealey: London.
19.
GatewoodEGCarterNMBrushCGGreenePGHartMM (2003) Women Entrepreneurs, Their Ventures, and the Venture Capital Industry: An Annotated Bibliography. Stockholm: ESBRI.
20.
GigliottiE (2002) A confirmation of the factor structure of the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire. Nursing Research51(5): 276–284.
21.
GreenePGHartMMGatewoodEJBrushCGCarterNM (2003) Women entrepreneurs: Moving front and center: An overview of research and theory. Commissioned by the Coleman Foundation. Available at: http://www.usasbe.org/knowledge/whitepapers/greene2003.pdf.
22.
HamptonACooperSMcgowanP (2009) Female Entrepreneurial Networks and Networking Activity in Technology-based Ventures: An Exploratory Study. International Small Business Journal27(2): 193–214.
23.
HandyC (1999) Trust and the virtual organization. In: TapscottD (ed.) Creating Value in the Network Economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 107–120.
24.
HanlonDSaundersC (2007) Marshalling resources to form small new ventures: Toward a more holistic understanding of entrepreneurial support. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice31(4): 619–623.
25.
HardingR (2003) Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Report. London: London Business School.
26.
HelgesonVS (1993) Two important distinctions in social support: Kind of support and perceived versus received. Journal of Applied Social Psychology23: 825–845.
27.
HoangHAntoncicB (2003) Network-based research in entrepreneurship: A critical review. Journal of Business Venturing18(2): 165–187.
HuntK (2005) E-mentoring: Solving the issues of mentoring across distances. Development and Learning in Organizations19(5): 7–11.
30.
HurleyAE (1999) Incorporating feminist theories into sociological theories of entrepreneurship. Women in Management Review14(2): 54–62.
31.
JackSLAndersonAR (2002) The effects of embeddedness on the entrepreneurial process. Journal of Business Venturing17: 467–487.
32.
JarvisJ (2004) Buying Coaching Services: A Guide. London: CIPD.
33.
KaplanDMNiedermanF (2006) Career management concerns for women in IT. In: TrauthEM (ed.) Encyclopedia of Gender and Information Technology. Hersey, PA: Idea Group Publishers, 84–89.
34.
KilburgRR (2004) Trudging toward Dodoville: Conceptual approaches and case studies in executive coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice & Research56(4): 203–213.
35.
LindorffM (2005) Determinants of received social support: Who gives what to managers?Journal of Social and Personal Relationships22(3): 323–337.
36.
MacCaulayC (2003) Changes to Self-employment in the UK: 2002 to 2003. Labour Market Trends. London: ONS.
37.
MarlowSHenryCCarterS(2009) Exploring the Impact of Gender upon Women’s Business Ownership: IntroductionInternational Small Business Journal27(2): 139–148.
MirchandaniK (1999) Feminist insight on gendered work: New directions in research on women and entrepreneurship. Gender, Work, & Organization6(4): 224–235.
40.
NardiBAWhittackerS (2002) The place of face-to-face communication in distributed work. In: HindsPKieslerS (eds) Distributed Work. Cambridge: MIT Press, 83–110.
41.
O’ConnorJLagesA (2004) Coaching With NLP. London: Element.
42.
ParsloeE (1999) The Manager as Coach and Mentor. London: CIPD.
43.
PollardRPF (2001) The role of social support on the perception of success for women entrepreneurs. Dissertation Abstracts2001–95018–291.
44.
RodriguezT (2001) The wind beneath their wings: The moderating effects of social support on the entrepreneur and entrepreneurial performance outcomes. Dissertation Abstracts International Section: Humanities and Social Sciences61(7-A): 2806.
45.
RoperSScottJM (2009) Perceived Financial Barriers and the Start-up Decision: An Econometric Analysis of Gender Differences Using GEM Data. International Small Business Journal27(2): 149–171.
46.
SchmidtRAParkerC (2003) Diversity in independent retailing: Barriers and benefits – the Impact of Gender. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management31(8): 428–439.
47.
SirmonDGHittMA (2003) Managing resources: Linking unique resources, management and wealth creation in family firms. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice27(4): 339–358.
SimonSJPeppasSC (2004) An examination of media richness theory in product web site design: An empirical study. Info – The Journal of Policy, Regulation and Strategy for Telecommunications6(4): 270–281.
50.
SinglePBSingleRM (2005) E-mentoring for social equity: Review of research to inform program development. Mentoring & Tutoring13(2): 301–320.
51.
StrangerAMJ (2004) Gender-comparative use of small business training and assistance: A literature review. Education and Training46(8/9): 464–473.
52.
SullivanR (2000) Entrepreneurial learning and mentoring. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research6(3): 160–175.
53.
TerryDJRawleRCallanVJ (1995) The effects of social support on adjustment to stress: The mediating role of coping. Person Relation2: 97–124.
54.
TillmarM (2007) Gendered small-business assistance: Lessons from a Swedish project. Journal of European Industrial Training31(2): 84–99.
55.
VaananenABuunkBPKivimakiMPenttiJVahteraJ (2005) When it is better to give than receive: Long-term health effects of perceived reciprocity in support exchange. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology89(2): 176–193.
56.
VerhuelIThurikR (2001) Start-up capital: Does gender matter?Small Business Economics20(4): 443–476.
57.
ViswesvaranCSanchezJIFisherJ (1999) The role of social support in the process of work stress: A meta analysis. Journal of Vocational Behaviour54: 314–334.
58.
WhitmoreJ (2002) Coaching for Performance: Growing People, Performance and Purpose, 3rd edn.Nicholas Brealey: London.
59.
ZeusPSkiffingtonS (2003) The Complete Guide to Coaching at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill.
