Poznyakov V. P., Titova O. I. Entrepreneurs’ Attitudes to Competition: Gender Differences

(The Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Moscow University for the Humanities),
(The Siberian Institute of Business, Management and Psychology,
Astafyev Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University)

Abstract ♦ The article is another instalment in presenting the results of the authors’ research of gender differences in business interaction. Competition is one of the main areas of economic interaction, but its subjective side has so far got little attention in social psychology. Interaction between male and female entrepreneurs has an intercollective nature, since gender is one of the primary criteria of social categorization. This allows to easily establish group boundaries in communication. Moreover, the social and psychological density of male and female groups in business is quite high, since in the spheres of services and trade the percentage of male and female entrepreneurs is almost equal, and the intense competition increases the intensity of contact between them.

We define business interaction as the activities of entrepreneurs sharing resources (raw materials, markets, technologies, production, power, social connections, and money) in order to overcome the scarcity of resources and/or increase the available ones. In our previous study of entrepreneurs’ everyday perceptions of competition we have singled out such factors as the competition for economic resources (more common with females) and for personal achievements (more common with males).

The article presents the outcomes of an empirical study of the psychological attitudes to competition by male and female entrepreneurs (2001–2007, Moscow, Central region, East Siberia). The theoretical basis of our research is the concept of psychological relations between individual and collective subjects of joint economic activities and households. Among the subjective indicators of competition a special attention was paid to attitudes towards competitive motivation and competitiveness resources in business.

We have discovered that men assess the motivation for competition as equal for males and females. The female respondents disagree and consider that women entrepreneurs are motivated by the desire to compete for recognition and credibility in the business community, and men — by the desire for independence and the capacity to implement new projects.

In assessing the significance of resources which determine competitiveness between gender groups, both groups admit that the crucial factors are the awareness of their competitors and the professionalism of the staff. Gender differences in attitudes can be explained by the preference of different competitiveness resources: for male entrepreneurs it is risk capacity, and for females, an ability to find the right approach to people.

Keywords: entrepreneurs, social psychology, economic psychology, gender, psychological attitude, business interaction, competition, competitive motivation, competitiveness.

Poznyakov Vladimir Petrovich, Doctor of Psychology, Chief research fellow, Laboratory of the Social and Economic Psychology, Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, Department of Social and Ethnical Psychology, Moscow University for the Humanities, Corresponding member, International Academy of Psychological Sciences (IAPS). Postal address: 13 Yaroslavskaya St., Moscow, Russian Federation, 129366. Tel./fax: +7 (495) 682-72-70. E-mail: pozn_v@mail.ru

Titova Olga Ivanovna, Candidate of Psychology, Chair, Department of Psychology, Siberian Institute of Business, Management and Psychology; Associate Professor, Department of Management Psychology, V. P. Astafyev Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University. Postal address: 7A Moskovskaya St., Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation, 660037. Tel./fax: +7 (391) 264-55-29. E-mail: 944058@mail.ru

Citation: Poznyakov, V. P. and Titova O. I. (2014) Otnoshenie predprinimatelei k konkurentsii: gendernye razlichiia  [Entrepreneurs’ Attitudes to Competition: Gender Differences]. Znanie. Ponimanie. Umenie, no. 3, pp. 197–206. (In Russ.).

Submission date: 12.05.2014.

RUSSIAN VERSION

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