Revisiting the gender gap in innovation: A qualitative comparative analysis of high-tech new ventures in China

Prevailing deficit logic suggests that women entrepreneurs underperform in innovation due to resource disadvantages; yet, growing evidence shows that gender does not consistently exert a statistically significant effect. We address this puzzle through a contextual–configurational approach, examining how entrepreneurs not only do gender but also do context in achieving a high innovation outcome. Using qualitative comparative analysis on a sample of high-tech new ventures in China, we identify three distinct innovation archetypes and make several key contributions. Thus, by integrating multiple theoretical perspectives, we develop a contextualised understanding of innovation in high-tech new ventures shaped by the interplay between gender, intangible resources and environmental dynamism. In addition, we reveal that the conjunction of women, gender and resource disadvantage can, under conditions of environmental turbulence, foster high levels of innovation, and finally, we reconcile the ongoing debate regarding the role of gender in innovation, offering a more holistic understanding of gender differences in entrepreneurship.