WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATION: STATE OF THE ART AND RESEARCH CHALLENGES

This paper answers the call for a deeper understanding of innovation issues in relation to female entrepreneurship. It aims, in particular, to offer a comprehensive picture of the state of the art of management research on innovation in women-owned firms drawing on data from a systematic literature review. In so doing, we identify two main areas around which today’s conversation is centered, namely the analysis of those factors able to affect innovation in women-owned firms, and how innovation affects these firms’ outcomes. Interesting food for thought for scholars and policy makers emerges and the need to foster research in this issue is highlighted.