To help explain the typically smaller size of businesses headed by women, this study examines a relatively unexplored dimension on which male and female entrepreneurs are expected to differ: their attitudes towards growth. An increasing number of scholars believe that the growth of a venture is at least partially determined by the entrepreneur's motivations and intentions, yet very few have investigated whether gender differences exist. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of data collected through personal interviews with 229 small business owners in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada, provide novel insights into the factors affecting an entrepreneur's growth decision and desired pace of expansion. Although male and female entrepreneurs seem equally likely to desire business growth, there appear to be important differences with respect to how they wish to expand. The qualitative findings suggest that female entrepreneurs are more likely to establish maximum business size thresholds beyond which they would prefer not to expand and that these thresholds are smaller than those set by their male counterparts. These thresholds represent the size that the entrepreneur is comfortable managing-the size that enables him/her to maintain control of the organization, devote a reasonable amount of time and energy to the firm, and/or balance work and personal life. The attainment of such size thresholds appears to be a key trigger in the no-growth decision. Female entrepreneurs also seem to be more concerned than male entrepreneurs about the risks associated with fast-paced growth and tend to deliberately adopt a slow and steady rate of expansion. Thus, Sor female entrepreneurs in particular, personal considerations appear to override economic considerations in the business expansion decision. These findings have important implications for policy-makers, financial capital providers, researchers, and entrepreneurs. For policy-makers, the finding that female entrepreneurs appear to be particularly concerned about growing in a controlled fashion that does not exceed their maximum business-size threshold suggests that a smaller-sized firm with a slower. growth rate may be a deliberately chosen, desirable state for many women business owners. As a result, government programs designed to increase the size and/or growth rate of female-owned firms mar not achieve the expected level of demand; moreover; these programs may be considered unsatisfactory by participants if they do not explicitly address women's expansion concerns. The desire expressed by female entrepreneurs about not letting growth get "out of control" also has important implications for financial capital providers. This managed approach to business expansion may result in ventures that are able to out-survive those headed by entrepreneurs pursuing more risky, high-growth strategies. Thus, banks might view women as better loan risks, given their more cautious attitudes toward growth. Further research is needed to more fully investigate the existence of gender gender differences in entrepreneurs' attitudes towards growth and whether such differences can, in turn, affect venture performance. if for example, a positive relationship is found between the emphasis placed on growing in a manageable manner that does not exceed the maximum business-size threshold and the long-term survival of the firm, entrepreneurs may benefit from increased awareness of the favorable outcomes of a more cautious attitude to growth. This would require recognition that one approach to business ownership-the desire to head a large, quickly growing enterprise-may not necessarily fit all. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.
