Effects of Context and Characteristics of Women Entrepreneurs on business innovation: cases of study in Ecuador

The increased social and economic participation of women has undoubtedly resulted in greater business
creation and entrepreneurial development (Brush & Cooper, 2012). According to Global Entrepreneurship
Monitor (GEM) Report, the global Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity [TEA] rate for women is 13.3%.
However, in Latin America most of these businesses have been created necessity driven, and they present very
little innovation (Hechavarría, 2012).
Innovation is considered a key element of business sustainability (Sharma, 2018). Some researchers have stated
that any research on innovation should include an analysis of the characteristics of the entrepreneur,
considering that they make most of the decisions on innovation. Other studies have noted the effect of context
on innovation in organizations (Tavassoli, 2014). Context refers to the environment surrounding the firm,
including their spatiakal, social and institutional context. Thus, context has a direct influence on firms and
business innovation (Tavassoli, 2014). Our study aims to answer the following question: How do the
institutional, social, business, and demographic contexts of CEOs combine to lead to innovation in women-led
SMEs?