EXPLORING THE INFLUENCE OF MENTORSHIP ON FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS IN BUSINESS ACCELERATORS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

This qualitative study examines how mentorship within business accelerators influences women founders’ entrepreneurial self-efficacy and, in turn, how self-efficacy shapes their interpretation and use of mentor feedback. Grounded in Human Resource Development (HRD) scholarship and Social Cognitive Theory, and informed by entrepreneurial learning, social capital, and intersectionality perspectives, the study conceptualizes accelerators as efficacy-shaping systems rather than neutral program containers. Using a qualitative design, the research draws on in-depth interviews with women entrepreneurs who participated in accelerator programs, complemented by program materials and cross-case thematic analysis. Findings indicate that accelerator mentoring practices operate through intertwined environmental, relational, and cognitive mechanisms that can both strengthen and erode self-efficacy. High-quality, relationally attuned mentoring; credible sponsorship; structured opportunities for reflection; and psychologically safe feedback processes functioned as efficacy-building levers that supported agency, learning, and venture action. In contrast, misaligned mentor–founder fit, ambiguous or inconsistent feedback, and credibility gaps, produced efficacy-erosive conditions that constrained participants’ confidence and diminished the developmental value of the accelerator experience. These insights are synthesized in the Accelerator Self-Efficacy Development (ASED) Framework, which models accelerators as developmental architectures in which program design, mentoring quality, social capital activation, and identity dynamics recursively shape belief and behavior. The study extends Social Cognitive Theory to organizationally designed ecosystems, advances HRD theory by positioning mentoring as developmental infrastructure for equity and capability-building, and offers practical guidance for funders, accelerator leaders, and HRD practitioners seeking to design ethical, equity-centered learning systems that more effectively support women entrepreneurs.