Navigating Innovation: Gender Differences in Entrepreneurial Decision‐Making Logics in Platform‐Based Firms

ABSTRACT This article investigates the bidirectional interdependent relationship between gender and entrepreneurial decision‐making, specifically concentrating on the roles of bricolage, effectuation, and causation in fostering innovation. Although existing literature has explored these decision‐making logics individually, a considerable gap continues to exist in comprehending how they interact and differ across genders. Using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), we analyze a survey‐based dataset of 142 entrepreneurs operating in platform‐based businesses in Iran. Our findings indicate that male and female entrepreneurs exhibit distinct preferences for specific combinations of decision‐making principles, which, in turn, influence their innovation outcomes. The research highlights the necessity of considering gender influences within the process of decision‐making, revealing that contextual factors exert a vital role in shaping the entrepreneurial strategies adopted by men and women. By proposing an integrative theoretical framework, this study elucidates how the integration of effectuation, causation, and bricolage can be tailored based on gender, providing significant perspectives for both practitioners and scholars within the domain of entrepreneurship.