Boundaryless Transitions : Global Entrepreneurial Women Challenge Career Concepts

Noting the recent increase in the number of femaleentrepreneurs, the author studies the patterns women are following as theyestablish their businesses.A review of current research on femalebusiness owners reveals that most studies have focused on perceived genderdifferences in the areas of leadership, networking, and negotiatingstyles.These studies indicate that women in leadership positions behavemore democratically than men do and are slightly more cooperative innegotiations.They also suggest that more and more women are leavingorganizations to seize entrepreneurial opportunities and that they generallyperceive greater degrees of social support during the start-up process than mendo. While the validity of these studies remains open to debate, many of thempoint to the idea that women's career choices are "boundaryless."Through her own research, the author has identified three distinct careerpatterns: The "corporatepreneur" manages her career within or acrossorganizations, the entrepreneur runs her own business, and the"boundarypreneur" jumps between business ownership and organizationallife.(SAA)