Contextual Embeddedness of Women's Entrepreneurship

12 The business life-cycle and entrepreneurial ecosystem study of women entrepreneurs in the Polish tourism industry

Alina Zapalska and Erik Wingrove-Haugland

Entrepreneurship has been widely accepted as the most vital factor for economic growth and social development (Ramadani & Schneider, 2013; Dana, 2005). Governments are increasingly recognizing that entrepreneurial firms run by women have a strong positive impact on employment levels and on the creation of competitive advantages to a marketplace (Morrison et al., 2003; Ramadani et al., 2015). As an entrepreneurial gender gap between male- and female-owned businesses still exists (Mitra, 2002; Zapalska, 1997, Gupta et al., 2008), numerous organizations and institutions continue to address ...