The paper aims to investigate the existence of typical preferred behaviours that might characterize Brazilian women’s entrepreneurial profile and whether this profile influences their motivation to undertake a venture.
Following the evolution of the literature on women entrepreneurship, the study criticizes the rational view that conceives entrepreneurship as a universal phenomenon and immune to gender. A quantitative approach based on multivariate data analysis (structural equation modelling) was applied to a sample of 418 women entrepreneurs with regard to six hypotheses associated with a specifically conceived conceptual model.
The behavioural categories tested in the model that most influence Brazilian women’s entrepreneurial profile are planning, identifying opportunities, sociability and leadership, corroborating the results of other international studies. Behaviours connected with persistence did not correlate to Brazilian women’s entrepreneurial profile. The hypothesis that women’s entrepreneurial profile positively influences their entrepreneurial intention was confirmed.
As the study is based on an intentional, non-probabilistic sample, further research needs to be conducted using other forms of sampling, extending the findings to other contexts internationally and to other Brazilian regions.
Women can perceive whether their behavioural profile is suited to embracing entrepreneurship challenges, helping them to make effective career choices.
The study provides a robust model with high explanatory value. It contributes to the women’s entrepreneurship literature from the perspective of a Latin American developing country, offering valuable insights regarding the impact of entrepreneurial behavioural profile on women’s entrepreneurial activities.
