TY - JOUR
T1 - Female Entrepreneurs’ Leadership Communication in China
T2 - Strategies and Institutional Determinants
AU - Chen, Zifei Fay
AU - Ji, Yi Grace
AU - Ji, Yingru
AU - Wang, Yan
AU - Men, Linjuan Rita
N1 - Funding information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the University of San Francisco Center for Business Studies and Innovation in Asia-Pacific (CBSI-AP) Research Grant.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/11/1
Y1 - 2025/11/1
N2 - In the post-COVID China, entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, faced unprecedented challenges after the vibrant entrepreneurial landscape was profoundly disrupted during the COVID-19 lockdown. To explore Chinese female entrepreneurs’ leadership communication strategies and their institutional determinants, we conducted in-depth interviews with 30 Chinese female entrepreneurs in 2023. Findings revealed five major themes of effective leadership communication strategies for female entrepreneurs in China: the coupling of assertive and responsive communication, transparent communication, authentic communication, charismatic communication, and relationship-oriented communication. Normative institutional factors had the most prominent impact on shaping these communication strategies, with cognitive and regulatory factors also playing important roles.
AB - In the post-COVID China, entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, faced unprecedented challenges after the vibrant entrepreneurial landscape was profoundly disrupted during the COVID-19 lockdown. To explore Chinese female entrepreneurs’ leadership communication strategies and their institutional determinants, we conducted in-depth interviews with 30 Chinese female entrepreneurs in 2023. Findings revealed five major themes of effective leadership communication strategies for female entrepreneurs in China: the coupling of assertive and responsive communication, transparent communication, authentic communication, charismatic communication, and relationship-oriented communication. Normative institutional factors had the most prominent impact on shaping these communication strategies, with cognitive and regulatory factors also playing important roles.
KW - female entrepreneur
KW - institutional theory
KW - leadership communication strategies
KW - startup
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105020420444
U2 - 10.1177/23294884251383011
DO - 10.1177/23294884251383011
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:105020420444
SN - 2329-4884
JO - International Journal of Business Communication
JF - International Journal of Business Communication
ER -