An Insight to the World of Female Entrepreneurship: Systematic Literature Review of the Phenomenon using the Mckinsey 7S Model

Every company is a multi-element entity; therefore, it must have a specific structure to function successfully. In the McKinsey model, the structure is considered to be a critical challenge when focusing on those factors that are essential for the evolution of the corporation (Channon and Caldart, 2015). In this regard, the structure in the 7S model is defined purely as how the company elements are organized (Ravanfar, 2015). These are mostly represented by the organization charts and the accompanying baggage (Waterman, 1982).

Despite the relative simplicity of the structure definition, a closer examination is missing from the analyzed case studies. Simultaneously, the findings show the highest semantic variance among all the analyzed categories. The partially unifying element was the emphasis on the importance of a functioning structure as a key element for the development of a successful company (Kumar, 2013; Kemppainen, 2019). Despite this importance, studies from Italy (Paoloni and Modaffari, 2018) and India (Datta and Gailey, 2012) highlight that it is women-led businesses that may lack a clearly defined structure.

If a clear structure is present in companies, its appearance is influenced by various factors. These factors are twofold: (a) those given by local cultural dimension and (b) those based on the feminine nature of women's entrepreneurship. In the first category, a case study from the United Arab Emirates (UAE; Erogul, Rod and Barragan, 2019) emphasizes that men are favored in corporate structures. A similar situation is reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA; Kemppainen, 2019), but with the difference that there is a call for change as the encouragement of pro-women structures can enable the use of women's innovation potential. On the contrary, a case study from Japan claimed that the company structure is determined by the gender identity of the company's owner, as well as by the culturally subordinate role of women (Leung, 2011). Historical evidence from Italy (Picciaia, 2017), as well as current evidence from the USA (Cochran, 2019), shows that although the role of women in the formal structure is lagging, its informal influence on the functioning of society may be crucial.

When searching for the typical features of women's structures in companies, these are focused primarily on relationships, sustainability, or consensus, as referred to by Indian case studies (Kumar, 2013; Datta and Gailey, 2012). On the other hand, Brazilian research mentions that structures in women's companies are more focused on control than in male-run corporate structures (Gomes, et al., 2014). The connecting element of the structure of the mentioned companies by women is usually a flat structure with a lesser focus on company profit.

The business strategy is a vital part of every business as it enables future survival. In the analyzed case studies, the strategy is often described as visionary (Agarwal and Lenka, 2016; Datta and Gailey, 2012) as well as the ability to seize opportunities and have a vision (Agarwal and Lenka, 2016; O'Brien, 2018; Paoloni and Dumay, 2015; Tahir and Baradie, 2019; Tynan, et al., 2009).

The importance of strategy as a tool for achieving a competitive advantage is frequently mentioned in the analyzed studies. As described in a British case study (Tynan, et al., 2009), some companies tend to prefer candidates with certain strategic skills and predispositions when hiring. However, at this point, discrimination may occur as these “strategic abilities” are attributed more to men than women (Cochran, 2019). Therefore, many strategies of women-run companies are shaped because of the aim to break free from gender discrimination, as shown in the case study from Oman (Ghouse, et al., 2017).

Discrimination is often caused by local culture and its practices, for example, in Ghana (Anambane and Adom, 2018). The women mentioned in the Ghanaian study suffered, in addition to social condemnations, less chance of attaining the capital that is so important for the business. However, culture can also be considered as a source of inspiration and creativity when creating a strategy, as mentioned in the case studies from Indonesia and Java (Anggadwita, et al., 2017).

Creativity is also another vital element that can help create a sustainable and competitive strategy, as the examples from Britain (O'Brien, 2018) and China (Tan, 2008) show. In addition to creativity, a case study from Portugal mentioned a passion, namely, a passion for wine, which led women to come together and start a successful wine business (Santos, et al., 2019).

The social area is mentioned much more often in the studies as the main factor influencing the strategy and is generally considered to be dominant in women-run companies. When setting strategies, women aim to achieve a certain trade-off between the economic and social levels of business (Brieger, et al., 2019). For example, in a case study from Turkey, women set out a strategy as a result of the effort to attain greater flexibility, autonomy, and the effort to make money, but with regard to the social sphere (Kalafatoglu and Mendoza, 2017).

In addition to the social area, the possibility of sharing is also typical for women's entrepreneurship and related strategies – whether this is about sharing information and emotions from business with the family, as in the Italian study (Cesaroni and Paoloni, 2016), or in the form of shared leadership, as in the studies from Australia (Collins, 2014), Japan (Leung, 2011) or Portugal (Santos, et al., 2019).

Systems in the McKinsey 7S model are defined as the formal and informal procedures that make the organization work. Although in the original concept of the model, the internal systems are mostly intentional, in the examined case studies, references to external systems were more often found. Regardless of this, the research results correspond with the theory highlighting the dual view of systems as formal and informal procedures (Ravanfar, 2015). In the same way, our results point out the importance of informal systems, as mentioned by Channon and Caldart (2015).

A specific feature of female entrepreneurship is that systems are primarily related to relationships, which can be appreciated by employees as shown by an Indian case (Datta and Gailey, 2012). As a key to the success of female entrepreneurs in Ghana, a strong family tie is found (Anambane and Adom, 2018). In India, family connections create a specific type of networking, which plays an essential role in collaborating and binding companies together (Jha, et al., 2018).

Although world literature is strengthening the significance of both formal and informal systems (Brieger, et al., 2019), a Ukrainian case study highlights the primary importance of informal systems (Aidis, et al., 2007). The Ukrainian case may be partly related to the shift to informal systems due to efforts to avoid rigid regulatory processes and the related costs. However, as shown in the case of the UAE, although there is a desire for formal business networking in women entrepreneurship, the contemporary culture and political situation lead women to participate less in formal systems (Tahir and Baradie, 2019). On the contrary, an Israeli case where the state policy attenuates gender differences shows that the state empowers women in the formal systems and disadvantages those in the informal systems (Pfefferman and Frenkel, 2015).

Further reasons why women prefer to do business in informal systems are shown in cases from other countries. For example, in Swaziland, women who want to do business often do not have enough money to start their own official business. Therefore, they remain in the informal sphere, enabling them to do business and make money (Nziku and Struthers, 2018). It is a similar situation in Jordan where women prefer to stay in the informal sphere of business because of easier access to profit (Mehtap, et al., 2019). Regarding the informal area, in Ghana, the vast majority of young women and men set up their businesses in the informal sector (Langevang, et al., 2015). Being in the informal business sphere does not necessarily mean that it is a fixed state. As shown in the case from Bangladesh, informal income-generating activities can lead women to start formal businesses (Ferdousi and Mahmud, 2019).

It is not only the financial factors that lead female entrepreneurs to prefer informal systems and networks. The case from Lithuania shows that informal networks of women entrepreneurs can provide a non-threatening environment where they can exchange views, advice, and experiences (Grundey and Sarvutytė, 2007). Also relevant is the experience described in the UK case study, where female entrepreneurs developed and sustained the informal network developed in the regular management skills training course (Tynan, et al., 2009).

Among the “soft S” of the McKinsey model, Style represents the management style of the company's leaders (Ravanfar, 2015). In this regard, even though the investigated case studies are from all over the world, some common traits can be found, which can be labeled as part of a specific female management style. This observation is also mentioned in the case study from Italy, where an emerging feminine management style based on flexibility, creativity, and resilience was referred to (Demartini, 2018). Although a Canadian case suggested that a specific managerial style is strongly linked to the individual entrepreneurs’ characteristics and their vision of the company (Cadieux, et al., 2002), cases from other countries show something else. For instance, a case study from Bosnia and Herzegovina reported different entrepreneurial performances between female and male business owners, whereas women showed better results in entrepreneurial performance based on innovativeness, proactiveness, and risk taking (Palalic, Ramadani and Dana, 2017).

In some cases, the female entrepreneurial style is a result of societal norms and gender expectations, as shown in the case studies from Ethiopia (Gudeta and van Enge, 2018), Nigeria (Uzuegbunam and Uzuegbunam, 2018), and Portugal (Carvalho and William, 2014). Although sharing the same reasons, women in those countries choose a different leadership and managerial style: a boundary style in Ethiopia, a transformational style in Nigeria, and a participative style in Portugal. A participative style is also shown in an Italian case study (Paoloni and Dumay, 2015), where it is presented as a result of the influence of personal attributes. The same applies to the transformational style mentioned in the studies from Kuwait, which is shown as a result of female entrepreneurs' personalities (Al-Salem and Speece, 2017).

The remaining studies address the causes of managerial style selection. Leung (2011) states that in Japan, the managerial style is given by motherhood identity, which provides a significant resource for competitive advantage in female entrepreneurship. On the contrary, a more prosaic explanation of the choice of management style for female entrepreneurs is presented in a study from South Africa, where the authors claim that the actual managerial style could be a result of programs supporting women entrepreneurs (van Vuuren, et al., 2007).

Skills is one of the most stereotyped categories of the 7S model, which our data also proves. For example, a British study (Patterson, et al., 2012) accurately describes the biggest stereotype – the assertion that women possess more soft skills and men possess more hard skills. This cannot be said absolutely because the evidence (at least in our studies) is mixed. For example, a case study from Oman (Ghouse, et al., 2019) supports the idea of equality in the skills that both sexes can offer. It also claims that men and women have the same innovation potential. On the contrary, a study from Mauritius (Tynan, et al., 2009) argues that there are statistically significant findings of differences in the skills of women and men. Most of the selected and analyzed studies mention that women certainly lack so-called pro-entrepreneurial skills (Akinbami and Aransiola, 2016), with managerial experience and technical competencies specifically named (De Vita, et al., 2014). A case from the UAE, which describes the situation of women entrepreneurs in the country, is similar (Tahir and Baradie, 2019). Although women may be highly educated and hold a university degree, Arab women lack the skills needed to run a business. This lack of entrepreneurial skills may be true since the education system is not ready to educate women entrepreneurship, as shown by studies from India (Jha, et al., 2018), Uganda (Karakire Guma, 2015), and the Persian Gulf (Mathew, 2010). The education system prepares women for the role of employees rather than the role of managers. For the exact definition of given abilities, only one study from India (Lenka and Agarwal, 2017) lists the given abilities. These are creativity, emotional intelligence, initiative taking, leadership, managerial skills, networking, opportunity recognition, risk taking, social skills, and teamwork.

Insufficient or inadequate education for women is a real issue in some countries, which, in turn, reduces the competitive advantage of women-run companies. An improperly set up education system may be the result of the oft-cited discrimination, as is the case with the Ghana study (Anambane and Adom, 2018), where it is primarily cultural barriers and related discrimination against women. A similar situation is described in a study from Australia (Collins, 2014), which mentions the role of expectations in family businesses where, in general, women are not expected to take on the role of the leader in family businesses.

It is questionable how mutually supportive the negative influences are. Likewise, it is not possible to currently determine whether any of the forces is primary or the result of another force. The self-confidence of women entrepreneurs belongs to this category. As an Indian study (Kumar, 2013) shows, women tend to be underestimated when evaluating their entrepreneurial skills. Their already lower self-confidence can be further reduced by the state's negative approach to women's entrepreneurship, as described in a case study from Japan (Kazumi and Kawai, 2017). The role of the government is crucial in supporting business. Indeed, if the government systematically supports women's entrepreneurship, this will have a positive effect on several levels, including an improvement in the education of women, as the example from Tanzania shows (Mbaruku and Mutalemwa, 2015). Governments can also support special entrepreneurial programs that help women reduce the abovementioned influences and improve their entrepreneurial skills. Statistical confirmation of this claim is provided by studies from South Africa (van Vuuren, et al., 2007). However, government programs to support women's entrepreneurship must be professionally prepared and should strengthen both soft and hard skills for women (Tynan, et al., 2009).

As stated by various iconic authors, staff should be considered as the vital core of every business (Drucker, 2002). The McKinsey model also places a strong emphasis on the issue of staff. The framework views staff as a system that considers people as a pool of resources, which need to be fostered, developed, guarded, and allocated (Channon and Caldart, 2015). Five essential factors related to staff within women's entrepreneurship can be identified in the analyzed papers. These are the number of employees, gender issues and discrimination, relationships and performance of employees, emotions, and common staff-managing problems.

Although some themes intersect, the main groups remain. Unsurprisingly, the most mentioned topics are gender and discrimination. Gender and related discrimination are also mentioned in studies of economically strong, developed countries. For example, in Germany, a gender-related difference in employees' perception of errors in male managers and female managers has been reported (Aggestam and Wigren-Kristoferson, 2017). A study from Italy (Picciaia, 2017) shows the strong influence of the manager's gender on the company's structure, where so-called “female subcultures” are emerging. These, in turn, influence the relationship between management, and employees and clients. In this regard, there was a British case study in which women entrepreneurs considered themselves more authentic concerning employees and clients compared to their male competitors (Patterson, et al., 2012).

The issue is also mentioned in a paper from Scandinavia, whose countries are among the most gender egalitarian in the world (Sanandaji, 2016). However, this is why the authors of the study state that male employees are in a much more comfortable position than female entrepreneurs. At the same time, the more complex situation of female entrepreneurs is due to the need to listen to the different voices of the responsible people (Nikina, et al., 2015). It is also important to mention that gender discrimination does not just mean worse conditions for women. As Leung (2011) shows in a study, a women-run company in Japan preferred women in the selection of employees because, according to the female owner, the qualifications of female job applicants stood out in comparison to male applicants (Leung, 2011).

However, gender issues and related discrimination are mentioned to the greatest extent in economically developing countries or those with different value frameworks. An example is Turkey, where democracy has been declining in recent years (Çınar, 2019). This results in harming female entrepreneurship (especially for young women) and, ultimately, difficulties in obtaining respect from customers and employees (Kalafatoglu and Mendoza, 2017). Thus, the patriarchal society in KSA, India, and South Africa is mentioned as a significant obstacle to women's entrepreneurship and the employment process (Kemppainen, 2019; Kothari, 2017; Nambiar, et al., 2019). In these countries, women entrepreneurs have a problem employing male employees, as they are unable to accept a woman as their superior and in a position of authority (Kothari, 2017). As a result, anecdotic evidence from sub-Saharan Africa indicates that women business owners have to use their husbands to give orders to their employees (Nambiar, et al., 2019).

It can also be problematic for “western style” entrepreneurs to understand the difficulties of mixing women and men in the workplace. As a study from Saudi Arabia has shown, women themselves have differing views on whether they prefer working in a male society or separately (Tahir and Baradie, 2019). In the Arabian Peninsula, a case study from Kuwait mentioned that women perceiving such inequality feel it favors their male colleagues. The same-skilled male colleagues are promoted more often, which led the women to be less motivated to accomplish much at work (Al-Salem and Speece, 2017).

The issue of gender is also linked to the “self-discrimination” that women experience. They realize that they have more roles than just being an entrepreneur or an employee. For example, in a case study from Ghana, women stated their beliefs that their roles and responsibilities to their families harm both the earnings from their business and their readiness to expand their business (Adom, et al., 2018). These concerns may have many causes as the family and the mother role is relatively significant. Some anecdotal evidence from Lithuania and Ukraine mentions the praxis, where private businesses require a signed letter of resignation to be submitted upon hiring new female employees, which can be used if the employee becomes pregnant (Aidis, et al., 2007).

The second most frequently mentioned area of women's entrepreneurship was, in the case of the 7S model Staff element, relationships, and the impact on employee performance. In general, the analyzed studies mention a better approach by women entrepreneurs to their employees. For the terms of the wage amount, see case studies from Australia (Conway and Sheridan, 2005) and the USA (Juma and Sequeira, 2017), and for a more human approach based on trust, personal relationships, and empathy, see studies from India (Datta and Gailey, 2012), Mongolia (Aramand, 2012), Australia (Conway and Sheridan, 2005), and Tanzania (Mbaruku and Mutalemwa, 2015). However, at the same time, women entrepreneurs prefer to employ family members because they have a closer relationship with the company (Khan, 2016) and are more economically advantageous (Nambiar, et al., 2019). When employees are not family members, relationships with them need to be maintained and strengthened, as described in the Turkish study (Ozeren, et al., 2018). However, regardless of gender, the quality of the owner/manager relationship with his/her employees is determined by the level of human rights guaranteed in the country (Brieger, et al., 2019).

Family was also mentioned in connection with relationships and has a significant influence on employees in women-run companies. This is especially on their number, as shown by a study from Africa (Adom, 2015). Most analyzed studies show that women-run companies generally have fewer employees than menrun companies (e.g., Kalemci Tuzun and Araz Takay, 2017). This is even so despite the knowledge that more employees can move the company further (Kevill, et al., 2019). Why is this so? In the Ethiopian study (Gudeta and van Engen, 2018), the general problem was to find employees, as people prefer to do business on their own. The same could be found in the Brazilian study, where women prefer to do business rather than be employed (Gomes, et al., 2014). This may also be due to the emotional limits of women who suffer for their employees due to greater empathy, as a study from the United Kingdom shows (McGowan, et al., 2012). For some women in India, employee management can also be particularly challenging, and not every woman is competent in a given environment (Venugopal, 2016). To some extent, this is confirmed by the case from South Africa, where women are specifically trained for employee management (van Vuuren, et al., 2007). This is also mentioned in a study from the USA (Cochran, 2019). On the contrary, stronger empathy is cited in another Indian study (Lenka and Agarwal, 2017) as the reason for the business of a woman and her former colleagues from work.

If the analyzed studies mentioned the issue of shared values, then most of them emphasized their importance and necessity in business (Anlesinya, et al., 2019; García and Capitán, 2016; Lo, 2016). This is in line with the general knowledge of the issue of shared values in business (e.g., Posner, et al., 1985). This also corresponds with the 7S model considering shared values as superordinate goals determining corporate destiny (Waterman, 1985). The factors that define shared values in the analyzed studies are twofold: (a) those that are a response to gender restrictions or discrimination and b) those that result from the influence of the environment.

In the first case, it is an attempt to break out of men's subordinate roles, as shown by a study from Japan (Futagami and Helms, 2009) and other countries worldwide (Véras, 2015). In the case of the influence of the environment, the Ghanaian studies mention the church in the first place (Anlesinya, et al., 2019; Quagrainie, et al., 2018). The German research suggests businesswomen's friends as the most substantial influential group. They have an even more significant influence on the formation of shared business values than the family (Spiegler and Halberstadt, 2018). On the contrary, the Ghanaian study mentioned that the family has a more significant influence than friends (Anlesinya, et al., 2019).