En praktisk implikation från de genomförda studierna är att hänsyn bör tas till kontextuella faktorer vid genomförandet av utvecklingsprogram. Något som fungerar i en region eller i ett land kanske inte alls fungerar i ett annat. Ett konkret exempel på det var den finansiella bot som Zhang och Hamilton (2010) hade med i sin tillitsmodell, vilket endast fyra av projekten i den svenska studien angav att de hade. I samband med att den kontextuella betydelsen diskuteras bör också frågan om socialt kapital alltid är bra lyftas. Även om trygghet i en grupp underlättas av homogenitet i gruppen så kan det innebära inlåsningseffekter i exempelvis lokala företagarnätverk. Därav kan det finnas anledning till att stimulera en utökning av nätverken med relationer utanför den lokala kontexten och även se till att det råder en viss grad av heterogenitet i utvecklingsprogram.
En relevant fråga efter genomförda studier är om det finns någon nytta med att utforma och genomföra utvecklingsinsatser för att stimulera kvinnors företagande. I avhandlingen har inga uppföljande resultatstudier genomförts genom att fråga deltagare i utvecklingsprogram direkt, men däremot har projektledarna i Främja
kvinnors företagande uttalat sig positivt om deltagarnas utveckling och utveck-lingen av företagaridentiteten hos deltagarna i Kvinnor & Tillväxt tyder även på detta. Med det sagt, så indikerar resultaten att det finns fördelar med att satsa på utvecklingsprogram riktade till företagande kvinnor. En fråga i det sammanhanget är dock om fortsatta satsningar ska vara separerande, det vill säga enbart riktade till kvinnor, eller integrerande, med satsningar på både kvinnor och män i samma utvecklingsprogram? Så länge det råder en underordning av kvinnor i samhället, i förhållande till företagandet och med företagaren som manligt kodad norm, så finns det starka argument för att utvecklingsinsatser till enbart företagande kvin-nor kan vara betydelsefulla. Däremot bör det kanske inte vara enbart sådana, utan snarare i kombination med andra satsningar som är könsneutrala.
Till anordnare och finansiärer av utvecklingsprogram hoppas jag nu att den här avhandlingen har gett ett bidrag när det gäller att tydliggöra betydelsefulla aspek-ter i processerna där socialt kapital skapas. Resonemanget utifrån resultatet i kapitel fem ger mängder av uppslag för den som anordnar utvecklingsprogram i fråga om hur utvecklingen av socialt kapital kan stödjas och stimuleras. En av-görande aspekt är till exempel vikten av att tidigt skapa tillit i deltagargruppen. Detta kan ske genom att gruppen är tillräckligt homogen men även med hjälp av symboliska dokument såsom sekretessavtal. Dessutom utvecklas både relationer och tillit genom social aktivitet i form av nedlagd tid och engagemang, både från deltagarnas och organisatörernas sida. Det finns också anledning att betona att del-tagargrupper bör vara tillräckligt heterogena så att det blir ett fruktbart erfaren-hetsutbyte mellan deltagarna.
ENGLISH SUMMARY
Introduction
Women´s enterprises are seen as a resource in the development of both regions and countries (OECD, 2004). However, previous research has shown that women's businesses do not grow at the same extent as men's businesses (DuRietz & Henrekson, 2000; Haynes & Haynes, 1999). It is therefore of interest to identify the problems and obstacles women entrepreneurs face that negatively affect their companies’ growth, and how supportive efforts should best be structured. Studies have shown that a lack of access to financial capital has been a major obstacle in the development of women's enterprises (Brush et al., 2006b, 2006c; Gatewood et al., 2009) and also that entrepreneurship has been dominantly male-coded where men as entrepreneurs are seen as the norm in society (Ahl, 2002, 2006; Berglund, 2007; Hamilton, 2013; Holmquist et al., 2011; Holmquist & Sundin, 2002; Ljunggren, 2002; Sundin, 2002; Sundin & Holmquist, 2015). In addition, studies have shown that women business owners have limited networks and do not use network contacts as efficiently as men (Ehrich, 1994; Klyver & Grant, 2010; Sing, Kumra & Vinnicombe, 2002), plus that they lack role models (Klyver & Grant, 2010). The importance of financial capital for growth of enterprises has been discussed over the years, but the importance of social capital has not received as much interest. Social capital, however, is regarded as an important driver of entrepreneurship (Aldrich & Martinez, 2010; Thornton & Flynn, 2003), high trust in society contri-butes to the welfare of nations (Fukuyama, 1996) and previous studies have shown a positive correlation between social capital and business performance (Schutjens & Völker, 2010; Westlund & Adam, 2010). Developing social capital, leading to increased opportunities to gain access to resources (Renzulli et al., 2000), can lead to development in women's businesses. Previous studies on social capital as a contribution to enterprise development often focus either on relationships (eg Johannisson, 2000) or trust (eg Tillmar, 2002) and further studies on the develop-ment processes from which social capital evolves (Aaltio, 2008) are needed. The aim of this thesis is to increase the knowledge of how the development of social capital can be understood by illustrating and analyzing the characteristics of rela-tionships and trust, and to give examples of how this can be stimulated in develop-ment programs for women entrepreneurs.
Theoretical framework
The theoretical framework includes previous research and theoretical reasoning on women's entrepreneurship, social capital, relationship building and trust-building processes. The following text summarizes the key content in this thesis.
Even if enterprises owned by women do not grow to the same extent as men’s enterprises, business women want to develop their businesses (Tillväxtverket,
2012; Dalborg, 2014). It is societal structures that hamper growth (Hirdman, 1990), for example, that the entrepreneur and entrepreneurship often are based on male norms (Ahl, 2002, 2004; Berglund, 2007; Holmquist & Sundin, 2002; Johansson & Malmström 2012; Malmström & Johansson, 2015; Marlow & McAdam, 2013; Sundin & Holmquist, 2015), which means that women entrepreneurs have to struggle against these norms and expectations about how business owners are perceived to be. Previous studies have highlighted a lack of access to financial capi-tal as an obstacle to business development (Brush et al., 2006b, 2006c; Gatewood et al., 2009), while this thesis highlights the potential of social capital for the develop-ment of women's enterprises.
Social capital is seen as a resource where relationships enable access to different resources (Coleman, 1988, 1994, 2000; Lin, 1999, 2001, 2008; Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998; Putnam, 1993, 1995, 2000) that can be beneficial in the development of women’s enterprises. Trust between people is positive for regional development (Putnam, 1993), while too strong norms and social control may hinder develop-ment (Portes, 1998). Thereby, social capital can be both positive and negative. In this thesis, social capital is considered primarily as something positive with both relationships and trust seen as important elements of social capital, and are consi-dered together when discussing the development of women’s enterprises.
Relationships and trust are discussed based on opportunities to develop more social capital for women entrepreneurs. Relationships evolve over time, and more and more professional networking relationships are included in the entrepreneurs' networks when they have run their companies for some time (Lin, 1986; Greve & Salaff, 2003; Klyver & Terjesen, 2007; Hill et al., 1999; Larson & Starr, 1993). Trust also develops over time, something that Zucker (1986) highlights as process-based trust. Individual characteristics, such as the background of the participants in a development program and the degree of institutional trust for the programs’ organizers, affect how trust develops in a development program (Zucker, 1986; Zhang & Hamilton, 2010). Moreover, there is a contextual dimension to consider, where the existing level of trust in regions and countries is important (Rotstein & Stolle, 2002, 2003; Westlund & Adam, 2010).
Researchers who have combined relationships and trust with regard to social capital have been an inspiration for this thesis, in order to capture the development processes of social capital. Patulny and Svendsen (2007) highlight the norms and networks of social cooperation, Putnam (1995) emphasizes the importance of networks, norms and social trust while Nahpiet and Ghoshal (1998) emphasize the importance of trust and friendship within networks.
Research method
Three studies have been carried out in this thesis, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. A case study was conducted over a period of two years, using different methods, of a development program with women entrepreneurs
from Norway and Sweden. One survey was directed at women business owners in Norway and in Sweden, and another survey was of project managers responsible for development projects with the aim of stimulating women's entrepreneurship in Sweden.
The aim of the first study was to find out what kind of network relationships were perceived as supportive for women entrepreneurs. Another objective was to see if existing network relationships had an impact on the willingness of women entrepreneurs to be included in new relationships. An online survey was distri-buted to 5,769 women entrepreneurs in the regions of Jämtland and Trøndelag. This study resulted in Article I, Networking women entrepreneurs: fruitful for business growth?
The second study, which was a case study, focused on investigating how rela-tionships and trust develop over time and how business identity develops for wo-men entrepreneurs. The developwo-ment program Wowo-men & Growth with 24 partici-pants was studied for a period of two years. This study examined how the rela-tionships between participants developed, how their own business identities evol-ved and the importance of trust in this kind of development program as well as what characterizes the development of relationships and trust, and how this can be stimulated. This study resulted in Article II, Social capital for business development – developing relationships and trust in development programs for women entrepreneurs, and Article III, The female entrepreneur - developing business identity.
In the third study the aim was to further develop Zhang and Hamilton's (2010) theoretical model for trust-building processes by developing and examining ques-tions of different trust elements and to study how projects have dealt with various trust-building elements. An online survey was distributed to project leaders in 165 development projects in Sweden. This study resulted in Article IV, Trust building processes in women´s entrepreneurship.
Findings
The results of this thesis on social capital development show that personal net-working, family, relatives and friends are perceived as supportive relationships for the women entrepreneurs. Those who exhibit a more heterogeneous network showed a greater willingness to enter into new relationships than those who did not. The degree of trust affects willingness to develop relationships in develop-ment programs. When it comes to developing relationships and trust over time in a development program, homogeneity and bonding social capital are important initially, while the heterogeneity and bridging social capital become more impor-tant over time. Regarding the development of business identity, increased pro-fessionalization of the entrepreneur's network was demonstrated over time. Social activity with time spent and engagement in a development program contribute to the development of both relationships and trust. The time aspect is important when it comes to trust in the program's organizers.
Based on these results, several aspects of relationships and trust that can be stimulated for the development of social capital in development programs have been identified. How motivated and interested participants are to participate in a development program can be captured by their demonstrated willingness to deve-lop. When working with the composition of groups, homogeneity and hetero-geneity should be taken into account. Social activity, the time participants spend and the commitment they show, strengthen the development of relationships and trust. A confidentiality agreement, which was an important symbolic document, contributes to increased trust between all involved in the program. The program organizers' social credentials, skills and organizational affiliation are aspects that can be studied for institutional trust as well as their social activity in the program. Stimulating the development of both relationships and trust is an important reason for revising a program´s structure and content.
Conclusions
The conclusions from this thesis are that women entrepreneurs with a hetero-geneous network demonstrate willingness to enter into new relationships, that both relational and trust-building processes are important for the development of social capital, and that the context needs to be taken into account when designing development programs.
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