Female Entrepreneurship within the Experience Industry : A Case Study of Two Swedish Regions

This paper investigates female entrepreneurship within experience industries in two Swedish municipalities, Degerfors and Gotland. Nine businesswomen and eight practitioners have been interviewed. The women go into business as a result of their eagerness to experience the process of running a business by them. They come armed with concepts and ideas they wish to develop in the form of an experience-oriented business, or through which they search for new meaning or pursue a new lifestyle. The obstacles and opportunities that the women encounter in the two investigated regions have much to do with the different business climates and also, to a certain degree, their natural preconditions. This in turn affects local labor markets and the chances women have of obtaining gainful employment. The general business climate in Gotland is much better than in Degerfors, and women in Gotland have access to numerous organizations, associations and societies