The role of female-only business networks in rural development: Evidence from NSW, Australia
通过质性研究，探讨农村女性创业者加入女性专属商业网络的动机，发现该网络帮助她们调和女性与创业者角色的矛盾，增强自信并缓解社会孤立，对推动农村包容性发展有参考价值。
This qualitative paper explores rural women entrepreneurs' motives for joining a female-founded, female-only business network. Using a theoretical framework based on the collective identity, territorial capital and gendered networks, we found that rural women's underlying motives to join the network is to harmonise the perceived dichotomy between their roles as women and as entrepreneurs and pave the way for a successful entrepreneurial journey. Their narratives suggest they prefer to connect and learn in business networks that they feel are extensions of who they are; that is where their identities are maintained and produce a sense of belonging. Network members perceive each other as ‘like-minded’, which suggests interpersonal congruence and behavioural integration, where they expect social interactions to be conflict-free. Therefore, the women perceived the network as supportive and non-competitive, with the main benefits of building their self-confidence while mitigating the social isolation and feelings of loneliness that characterise rural contexts in Australia. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of female-founded FOBNs as neo-endogenous agents catalysts for shifting social paradigms and fostering a more diverse, equitable and inclusive rural landscape.