Trajetórias de mulheres empreendedoras: um recorte a partir das práticas de effectuation

Abstract

Women's entrepreneurship, in constant ascent, faces specific challenges related to gender social constructions. Women are often subjected to roles traditionally linked to the domestic sphere, resulting in situations of submission. In challenging these norms, women encounter barriers in the professional environment related to the historical division of labor by gender. They juggle the overload of domestic and professional responsibilities, with the labor market failing to recognize the unique challenges faced by women. In search of flexibility and proximity to their homes, women turn to women's entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship, however, is typically associated with masculinity. In this environment of resource scarcity and uncertainties, women still embark on entrepreneurial endeavors. These challenges seem to have similarities with the principles of Effectuation logic by Saras Sarasvathy, which advocates entrepreneurship with available resources, acceptable losses, strategic alliances, and contingency control. In this context, the research aims to understand if the trajectories of women entrepreneurs in Pouso Alegre reflect the logic proposed by Effectuation. The established objectives were: a) analyze the entrepreneurial profile of women involved in the research, highlighting their previous experiences, motivations, and challenges faced; b) identify and describe the Effectuation practices adopted by women entrepreneurs throughout their trajectories, relating them to the decision-making process and resource management; c) Evaluate the impact of Effectuation practices on the innovation and adaptation strategies used by women entrepreneurs in challenging scenarios; d) investigate the support and collaboration networks established by women entrepreneurs throughout their trajectories, examining how these networks contribute to the growth and sustainability of their businesses; and e) analyze the barriers and obstacles faced by women entrepreneurs and how their Effectuation practices can influence overcoming these challenges. To achieve this, theoretical foundations were sought regarding women's entrepreneurship, the Effectuation method, and entrepreneurship networks. This is a descriptive research with a dialectical method and a qualitative approach. Data were obtained through field studies using a semi-structured interview script. The main results revealed the existence of gender bias in entrepreneurship, the difficulty in identifying it, the intuitive application of the Effectual logic predominantly but coexisting with Causal logic, and the relevance of joining entrepreneurship networks for the strengthening of women's entrepreneurship. The results shed light on the daily reality of women in entrepreneurship, which does not always provide space for planning and goal-setting, and also on the means to strengthen women's entrepreneurship, both individually and collectively.