The critical role of assertiveness of women business owners in the link between firm performance and family instrumental support

Abstract

Drawing on the cognitive psychology of entrepreneurship, bounded rationality and role congruity perspectives, we investigate the moderating role of the assertiveness of women business owners in the relationship between their business performance and subsequent family-to-business instrumental support. Previous research has generally examined the family support women receive while running their businesses as an antecedent of firm performance. In this article, we reverse the order of these factors and investigate whether the past performance of a woman-led firm is a precursor of family support. Based on results of a longitudinal study of women business owners in Denmark, we found that the higher the assertiveness, the weaker the link between past performance and instrumental family support for businesses.