Exploitation discouragement: gender differences in entrepreneurial opportunity identification and exploitation intention

Purpose This study aims to examine whether gender dynamics vary across two distinct stages of entrepreneurial decision-making: opportunity identification and exploitation intention. Given the masculine stereotype of entrepreneurship and the socially evaluative nature of the exploitation stage, we posit that women report lower willingness than men to act on identified entrepreneurial opportunities despite no significant gender differences in reported identification. We refer to this stage-specific gender gap as exploitation discouragement. Design/methodology/approach We analyze a cross-national dataset comprising 84,929 individual-level observations from 42 countries. Using multiple linear regression models, with ordered logit and multilevel linear models employed as robustness checks, we examine whether gender is differently associated with reported opportunity identification and exploitation intention. We also use interaction models to examine whether exploitation discouragement varies with perceived gender inclusivity in leadership, perceived desirability of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and prior entrepreneurial investing experience. Findings Gender is not significantly associated with reported opportunity identification, while women report significantly lower opportunity exploitation intention than men. The relationship between perceived gender inclusivity in leadership and the gender gap is non-linear in the sample: the gap narrows over part of the observed range but widens at the upper end. The gap is also narrower where entrepreneurship is perceived as more desirable and among individuals reporting higher entrepreneurial self-efficacy or prior entrepreneurial investing experience. Research limitations/implications This study does not directly examine actual exploitation behaviors or empirically test the underlying theoretical mechanisms, such as anticipated external evaluations and stereotype threat. However, its findings offer important insights into stage-specific gender gaps in entrepreneurial entry through a stereotype-based lens. Future research could build on this work by leveraging finer-grained data and employing complementary methods, including experimental designs and qualitative approaches, to further unpack the behavioral processes and underlying mechanisms. Originality/value This study advances research on gender and entrepreneurial entry by theorizing the gender gap as stage-specific, distinguishing private opportunity identification from the more socially exposed judgment of whether to exploit an opportunity. It also contributes to institutional research on women's entrepreneurship by distinguishing domain-general gender inclusivity from entrepreneurship-specific legitimacy. Finally, it extends the entrepreneurial opportunity view by integrating stereotype-based interpretations and providing cross-national empirical evidence with a large sample.