Female Entrepreneurship Model, a Sustainable Solution for Crisis Resilience

Abstract

Entrepreneurs have always been the engine of the whole economy, but the vast majority of them have been men. And as society has evolved, social or entrepreneurial behavior patterns have been redefined so that we can now look at the impact gender can have on leadership and its sustainability. And when would it be more appropriate to analyze sustainability than in times of crisis? Therefore, we have now, one year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, undertaken a research based on a questionnaire as a research tool, disseminated in the Romanian entrepreneurial environment, by means of which we have been able to outline the analysis and conclusions regarding the business model that supports sustainable development, especially in times of crisis. Thus, through it, we have analyzed the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the development of entrepreneurial activity and we have extracted the "pattern" of changes that entrepreneurs have undertaken for resilience during the crisis period. Our empirical research, undertaken in March 2021, showed that the majority of affected entrepreneurs have implemented changes to their pre-pandemic management model (85%). Of the total 320 respondents, more than 65% represent women owned businesses. We have analyzed what are the main entrepreneurial traits that guide female entrepreneurial behavior. At the same time, for a sustainable development, we have determined the traits of the female entrepreneurial model, which can be successful in times of crisis.

Keywords: crisis resilience, female entrepreneurship, sustainable model, leadership