Gender export gap in Scotland: research

2. Scoping review of the academic literature

To understand the current academic knowledge of the barriers and drivers to export for women-led SMEs a scoping review was undertaken using the Scopus database. Details on the methodological approach for the review are provided in Appendix 1 (full references provided in Appendix 2). We focused our review on familiar barriers and drivers from a western, developed country context so that it was generalisable to the Scottish context.

Overall, limited academic research has been conducted to understand the barriers and drivers to export specifically for women-led SMEs. Therefore, our approach to the review included synthesising understanding at the current knowledge intersections of (1) the barriers and drivers effecting the growth of women-led SMEs and (2) the general barriers and drivers to exporting for all SMEs. Figure 2 visualises the approach we took to generate a holistic understanding of what is contributing to the gender export gap and the number of articles included in the review.

Barriers and drivers to growth for women-led SMEs (n=17)

(n=9)

Barriers and drivers to export for SMEs (n=20)

2.1 Barriers and drivers to growth for women-led SMEs

The scoping review identified several barriers and drivers to growth for women-led SMEs. The two main drivers that promote growth include:

1. Participation in appropriate support programmes can reduce the perception of barriers, stereotypes, and provide access to role models.

2. Placing importance on strategic planning, finance acquisition, and risk-taking.

However, the academic literature identified numerous barriers to growth which are summarised below.

Main barriers to the growth of women-led SMEs - A snapshot of the academic literature

Structural dissimilarities

• Women are over-represented in low-value, high-labour intensive markets and service sectors.
• Women-led SMEs are typically younger and smaller than male-led SMEs.
• Women-led SMEs are often home-based.

Access to finance

• Women generally start and grow business with less access to finance than male counterparts (e.g., reluctance of bank or financial institutions to fund expansion).
• Those with caring responsibilities face time constraints, financial constraints, and stigma.

Access to management

• Typically, women founders have less management experience to bring into small young businesses.
• Older businesses don’t hire women as frequently as younger businesses.
• Women are underrepresented on boards and within leadership positions in larger organisations.
• Lack of confidence in pursuing international business opportunities.

Access to markets

• Women generally have smaller network which reduces the access to information and market knowledge.
• Women-led SMEs are less likely than male-led SMEs to win public procurement contracts.
• Women are typically located in markets with low growth prospects.
• Women are less likely to go on international assignments due to attitudes of foreign cultures towards women, interpersonal factors such as belonging in ‘workgroups’, and having dual career-carer roles.

Access to support and business spaces

• Gendered support can be enabling or restrictive depending on the stage of business development. More established, growth women-led SMEs can be limited by gender-specific support.
• Ineffective business support and feeling like they do not belong can detract women from business growth.

Attitudes to business growth and gender roles

• Women are more likely than men to have dual career and primary carer roles.
• Business growth is related to a masculine stereotype and can reduce self-efficacy of women.
• Lack of female role models.
• Women are more likely to enter entrepreneurship as a reactive decision. This could be because of needing to balance career and caring responsibilities, loss of job, need for flexibility etc.

2.2 Barriers and drivers to exporting for SMEs

The scoping review identified several barriers and drivers to exporting for SMEs, please note the degree of their influence was not measured. The main drivers of exporting include:

• Free-trade agreements, attracting foreign direct investment and promoting linkages between SME suppliers and large multi-nationals are all important for expanding the size of local markets and creating trading opportunities.
• Government programmes, trade missions, and international partnerships help overcome barriers.
• Having external (non-family) managers can drive exporting in family-owned businesses.
• Higher brand and cultural awareness, and acceptable online communication practices reduce barriers to engaging oversees.
• The development and maintenance of personal relationships and partnerships facilitates access to market knowledge.

However, the academic literature identified numerous barriers to exporting which are summarised in below.

Main barriers to exporting for SMEs – A snapshot of the academic literature

Structural dissimilarities

• Export business typically have higher business turnover and are in specific industries.
• Smaller, rural firms with limited resources are less exposed to global markets.
• Larger businesses typically have stronger international networks.

Institutional conditions

• Taxation can be an obstacle for exporting.
• Small business owners may require more guidance or advice than those who have already undertaken an international expansion.

Resource constraints

• High cost of establishing international operations.
• Small businesses have a less resource and more difficulty accessing finance than larger businesses. This is exacerbated for rural businesses.
• Small businesses generally have a lack of negotiating power.
• Travel expenses and the cost of export intelligence are preventive.

Management capabilities

• Limited international experience restricts efforts whereas managerial experience and commitment increases efforts.
• Human resource and market development capabilities are needed.

Organisation structure and culture

• The presence of an export department is significant.
• Having access to logistics and distribution networks increases export.
• Having a higher export-orientation.

Innovation

• Internationalisation can be driven by innovation, particularly product innovation, but also service innovation.
• Process innovation is not specifically linked to exporting.
• Businesses in competitive markets are more likely to adapt their products.

Information and awareness

• Insufficient knowledge and access to information on foreign markets restricts export attempts.

2.3 Synthesis: How barriers and drivers to export are likely to affect women-led SMEs

The limited academic literature on the export challenges faced by women-led SMEs highlights four main points:

1. Women-led SMEs are overrepresented in industries with a low propensity for export.

2. Women perceive cultural differences in the perception of women amongst export countries making it hard to conduct business.

3. Women are more likely to combine carer and exporting roles which can slow exporting ambitions and growth.

4. Women are under-represented in support spaces that promote business growth and export-orientation.

A synthesis of the main barriers that women-led SMEs face is presented in Table 1. There are several barriers that SME exporters face which will be exacerbated for women-led SMEs.

Table 1: Summary of how export constraints and drivers likely effect women-led SMEs

Constraint - Structural dissimilarities

Barriers and drivers to export

• Export businesses typically have higher business turnover and are in specific industries.
• Smaller, rural firms with limited resources are less exposed to global markets.
• Larger businesses typically have stronger international networks.

Barrier for women-led SMEs

• Women-led SMEs are over-represented in low-value, high-labour intensive markets, and are typically younger and smaller.
• Self-employment and business ownership represents a significant source of employment in rural areas.
• Women-led SMEs are typically smaller in size than male-led SMEs.

Likely impacts for export

• Lower overall number of women-led SME exporters.
• Rural women-led SMEs are less likely to export.
• Women-led SMEs likely have smaller international networks.

Constraint - Institutional conditions

Barriers and drivers to export

• Government programmes, industry networks, trade missions, and international partnerships help overcome barriers.

Barrier for women-led SMEs

• Women are under-represented in business networks and trade missions.
• Business support is often regarded as ‘not-fit-for-purpose’ by women entrepreneurs.

Likely impacts for export

• Women-led SMEs have less access to international markets.
• Women-led SMEs are less motivated to pursue export.

Constraint - Resource constraints

Barriers and drivers to export

• Small businesses have a less resource and more difficulty accessing finance than larger businesses.
• Small businesses generally have a lack of negotiating power.
• Travel expenses and the cost of export intelligence are preventive.

Barrier for women-led SMEs

• Women-led SMEs are typically smaller than male-led SMEs.
• Women typically start and grow business with less finance capital than male-led SMEs.
• Women-led SMEs are typically smaller than male-led SMEs.
• Women typically start and grow business with less finance capital than male-led SMEs.

Likely impacts for export

• Women-led SMEs have less resources for export.
• Women-led SMEs generally have less negotiating power restricting export feasibility.
• Travel expenses and cost of export intelligence are more preventive for women-led SMEs.

Constraint - Management capabilities

Barriers and drivers to export

• Limited international experience restricts efforts whereas managerial experience and commitment increases efforts.

Barrier for women-led SMEs

• Women typically start businesses with lower management experience than male counterparts.

Likely impacts for export

• Women-led SMEs are less likely to have international experience and commitment.

Constraint - Organisation structure and culture

Barriers and drivers to export

• Having access to logistics and distribution networks increases export.

Barrier for women-led SMEs

• Women typically have smaller international networks than male counterparts.
• Women-led SMEs typically have less access to financial capital to build international networks.

Likely impacts for export

• Women-led SMEs likely have less access to international logistics and distribution networks.

Constraint - Innovation

Barriers and drivers to export

• Internationalisation can be driven by innovation, particularly product innovation, but also service innovation.
• Businesses in competitive markets are more likely to adapt their products.

Barrier for women-led SMEs

• Women are generally overrepresented in sectors with generally lower rates of innovation.
• Women are generally overrepresented in highly competitive markets.

Likely impacts for export

• Women-led SMEs are less likely to be involved in product innovation for export.
• Women-led SMEs are more adept at adapting products.

Constraint - Information and awareness

Barriers and drivers to export

• Insufficient knowledge and access to information on foreign markets restricts export attempts.
• The development and maintenance of personal relationships and partnerships facilitates access to market knowledge.

Barrier for women-led SMEs

• Women generally start and grow businesses with less management experience than male counterparts.
• Women-led SMEs generally have less access to market.
• Women business owners have been found to have closer-tie networks.

Likely impacts for export

• Women-led SMEs have less knowledge on export markets.
• Women-led SMEs, once developing international networks, are better at maintaining them.