Starting a venture has its difficulties and its rewards, surrounded by achievements and learning. And women in this sense are a special group as the object of this research.

This Research was done following the Resource-Based View Theory in which 3 main groups of resources were studied thoroughly: Capabilities, Intangible and Tangible Resources. These resources were measured using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) Hierarchical Regression to identify their influence in the performance of a start-up, taking 3 elements into account: Sales Growth, Performance Growth and Number of New Products.

This research is exploratory and the method of research used was questionnaires. The questionnaires’ questions were done following the literature review specialized in women entrepreneurship at the international and local level. Moreover, 2 interviews with women entrepreneurs were held. Among Taiwanese remarkable authors that address women start-up issues in English are Huang, Wu and Wang.

The results can be summarized under 4 main conclusions:
1) Funding is very important in the start-up phase and has a direct relation with sales growth.
2) Human Resources are very significant in the business performance of a woman.
3) Early entrants in a business are mostly followers, being innovative products or services relatively rare.
4) The work experience is very important in the number and level of networks a woman has. Education above a master’s degree level is determinant in sales, human resources and new products.

Keywords: women, entrepreneurship, business, resources and performance.

References

Allen, S., & Truman, C. (Eds) (1993). Women in Business: perspectives on women entrepreneurs. London: Routledge, pp 46-149.
Allen, E., Langowitz, N., & Minniti, M. (2006). 2006 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship. In Global Reports. Retrieved May, 2007, from http://www.gemconsortium.org/
Anna, A; Chandler, G; Jansen, E & Mero, N. (1999). Journal of Business Venturing. Women Business Owners in Traditional and Non-traditional industries. Vol 15. P-p 279-303.
Ardichvili, A; Cardozo, R & Ray, S. (2003). Journal of Business Venturing. A Theory of entrepreneurial opportunity identification and development. Vol 18. P-p 105-123.
Babson-College London Business School. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. (2001). Volumen II A- Adult Population Surveys.
Barney, J. (1991). Journal of Management. Firm Resources and Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Vol 17, Number 1. P-p 99-120.
Bosma, N., & Harding, R. (2006). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2006: Summary Results. In Global Reports. Retrieved 2006, from http://www.gemconsortium.org/
Botha, M; Nieman, G & van Nuuren, J (2006). Entrepreneurship Management. Enhancing female entrepreneurship by enabling access to skills, 2:479-493.
Bradley, F & Boles, K. (2003). Manchester Metropolitan University Business School Working Paper Series. Female Entrepreneurs from Ethnic Backgrounds: An Exploration of Motivations and Barriers. Vol 3.
Brinton, M. (Eds) (2001). Women's working lives in East Asia. California: Stanford University Press, pp 15-321.
Bruing, A; Brush, C. & Welter, F. (2006). Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Introduction to the Special Issue: Towards Building Cumulative Knowledge On Women’s Entrepreneurship. Vol 30. Number 5. P-p. 585-593.
Brush, C., Carter, N., Gatewood, E., Greene, P., & Hart, M. (Eds) (2006). Growth-Oriented Women Entrepreneurs and their Businesses. U.K: Edwards Elgar Publishing Limited.
Buttner, E. (2001). Journal of Business Ethics. Examining Female Entrepreneurs’ Management Style: An Application of a Relational Frame. Number 29. P-p. 253-269.
Chen, F (2000). Working women and State Policies in Taiwan. Great Britain: Palgrave, pp 67-194.
Coleman, S. (2002). Journal of Development Entrepreneurship. Constraints Faced by Women Small Business Owners: Evidence from the Data. Vol 7. Number 2. P. 151.
De Martino, R. & Barbato, R. (2003). Differences between women and men MBA entrepreneurs: exploring family flexibility and wealth creation as career motivators. Journal of Business Venturing 18, 815-832.
De Martino, R; Barbato, R. & Jacques, P. (2006). Journal of Small Business Management. Exploring the Career/Achievement and Personal Life Orientation Differences between Entrepreneurs and Non-Entrepreneurs: The Impact of Sex and Dependents. Vol. 44. Number 3. P. 350.
Dhaliwal, S. (1998). Silent Contributors: Asian Female Entrepreneurs and women in business. Women Studies International Forum, Vol. 21, No 5, 463-474.
Fahy, J. (2000). The resource-based view of the firm: some stumbling-blocks on the road to understanding sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of European Industrial Training. 24/2/3/4, 94-104.
Fielden, S., & Davidson, M. (Eds) (2005). International Handbook of Women & Small Business Entrepreneurship. U.K: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, pp 4-264.
Foss, N. (Eds) (2000). The Theory of the firm, Vol 4. New York: Routledge, pp 123-152.
Foss, N., & Mahkne, V. (Eds) (2000). Competence, Governance, and Entrepreneurship. New York: Oxford, pp 146-165.
Foss, N. (2005). Strategy, Economic Organization, and The Knowledge Economy. New York: Oxford, pp 61-118.
Foss, N. (Eds) (1997). Resources, Firms And Strategies. New York: Oxford, pp 117-225.
Foss, N. & Ishikawa, I. (2006). SMG Working Paper. Towards a Dynamic Resourced-
based View: Insights from Austrian capital and Entrepreneurship Theory. Copenhaguen: Center for Strategic Management and Globalization. Number 6.
Fuller-Love, N; Lim, L. & Akehurst, G. (2006). Entrepreneurship Management. Guest
Editorial: Female and Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship. Number 2. P-p. 429-439.
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2005).Informe Ejecutivo, Venezuela. Retrieved August, 2006, from http://www.gemconsortium.org/.
Godwin, L; Stevens, C. & Brenner, N. (2006). Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. Forced to Play by the Rules? Theorizing How Mixed-Sex Founding Teams Benefit Women Entrepreneurs in Male-Dominated Contexts. Vol. 30. Number 5. P-p. 623-642.
Grant, R. (1991: Spring). The Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage: Implications for Strategic Formulation. California Management Review. No 33:3
p.114
Gundry, L; Ben-Yoseph M & Posing, M. (2002). New England Journal of
Entrepreneurship. The Status of Women’s Entrepreneurship: Pathways to Future Entrepreneurship Development and Education. Vol 5. Number 1. P 39.
Gundry, L. & Welsch, H. (2001). Journal of Business Venturing. The Ambitious Entrepreneur: High Growth Strategies of Women-Owned Enterprises. Number 16. P-p 453-470.
Hall, R. (1993). Strategic Management Journal. A Framework Linking Intangible
Resources and Capabilities to Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Vol 14. Number 8. P. 607.
Harvard Business Review on Entrepreneurship. (1999, v, 217). Boston, Mass :Harvard Business School Press.
Hsueh, L., Lin, A., & Stewart, B., (2007). White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Taiwan. Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs. Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Hunt, S., Autio, E., Lopez-Garcia, P., & Servais, I., (2001). Data Collection-Operations Manual (Vol II: A). Retrieved March, 2002, from http://www.gemconsortium.org/
Judd, E. (2005). Pacific Affairs. Women in the New Taiwan: Gender Roles and Gender Consciousness in a Changing Environment. Vol 78, Number 2. P. 302.
Kaur, A (Eds) (2004). Women workers in industrializing Asia: costed not valued. New York: Palgrave Mc Millan LTD.
Kephart, P & Schumacher, L. (2005). Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. Has the “Glass Ceiling” Cracked? An Exploration of Women Entrepreneurship. Vol 12. Number 1. P 2.
Kung, L (1983). Factory women in Taiwan. Michigan: UMI Research Press, p 4
Lee, C (1998). Gender and the South China miracle. Berkeley: University of California Press LTD.
Lee, S (2007). Journal of Financial Planning. 10 Questions with Noteworthy People. July, 2007, p 20.
Lerner, M., Brush, C., & Hisrich, R. (1997). Israeli women entrepreneurs: an examination of factors affecting performance. Journal of Business Venturing. No 12, 315-339.
Linan, F; Rodriguez-Cohard, J & Rueda-Cantuche, J. (2005). Factors affecting entrepreneurial intention levels. Amsterdam: 4th Congress of the European Regional Science Association. August 23rd-27th.
Lin, Mei-Hsueh. (2007. Entrepreneurial Women and SMEs in Chinese Taipei. Australia: 12th Women’s Leaders’ Network Meeting. June 25th-27th.
Lucas, L. (2009). New England Journal of Entrepreneurship. Capital Accessibility, Gender, and Ethniticity: The Case of Minority Women-owners. Spring 2006. Vol 9. Number 1. P 41.
Marlow, S. & Patton, D. (2005). Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. All Credit to Men? Entrepreneurship, Finance ad Gender. Vol 29. Number 6.
Menzies, T; Diochon, M. & Gasse Y. (2004). Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. Examining Venture-related Myths Concerning Women Entrepreneurs. Vol 9. Number 2. P. 89.
Minniti, M & Nardone C (2007). Being in Someone Else’s Shoes: the Role of Gender in Nascent Entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 28:223-238
Mirrless, J., (personal communication, December 11, 2007). At At National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan
Montgomery, C. (Eds) (1995). Resourced-Based and Evolutionary Theories of the Firm. Massachussets: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 147-178.
Morris, M; Miyasaki, N; Watters, C. & Coombes, S. (2006). Journal of Small Business Management. The Dilemma of Growth: Understanding Venture Size Choices of Women Entrepreneurs. Vol 44. Number 2. P. 221.
Mueller, S. (2004). Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. Gender Gaps in Potential for Entrepreneurship Across Countries and Cultures. Vol. 9. Number 3. P. 199.
National Youth Commission, Executive Yuan (2007). History. Retrieved July, 2007 from http://english.nyc.gov.tw/
Ndubisi, N. (2003).The Journal of Business in Developing Nations. Women Entrepreneurs and IT Usage: The Impact of Traits. Vol 7.
Orham, M & Scott, D (2001). Women in Management Review. Why women enter into entreprenurship: an explanatory model. MCB University Press. Vol 16. Number 5/6. P 232-243
Reynolds, P., & Nardone, C. (2007). Being in Someone Else’s Shoes: the Role of Gender in Nascent Entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 28:223-238.
Robert, C.(1991). California Management Review. Eastern Europe’s Troubles Open Door for Japanese Expansion. Vol 33. Number 3. P. 58.
Robb, A. (2002). Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial Performance by Women and Minorities: The Case of New Firms. Vol.7. Number 4. P.383.
Robichaud, Y; Zinger, J & Le Brasseur, R (2007). International Entrepreneurial Management Journal. Gender differences within early stage and established small enterprises: An exploratory study, 3:323–343.
Shelby, H & Robert, M. (1996). Journal of Marketing. The resource-advantage theory of competition: Dynamics, Path Dependencies and Evolutionary Dimensions. October, 1996. Vol 60. Number 4. P. 107.
Shelton, L. (2006). Journal of Small Business Management. Female Entrepreneurs, Work-Family Conflict, and Venture Performance: New Insights Into the Work-Family Interface. Vol. 44. Number 2. P. 285.
Sinha, S. (2005). Trade and Investment Division for Asia and the Pacific. Developing Women Entrepreneurs in South Asia: Issues, Initiatives and Experiences. Thailand: UNESCAP
Stockman, N; Bonney, N & Xuewen, S. (1995). Women’s work in East & West: the dual burden of employment and family life. London: UCL Press.
Swinney, J; Runyan, R & Huddleston, P. (2006). Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. Differences in Reported Firm Performance by Gender: Does Industry Matter? Vol 11. Number 2. P-p 99-115.
Timmons, J. (1999). New Venture Creation. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
Verheul, I; Uhlaner, L & Thurik, R. (2005). Journal of Business Venturing. Business Accomplishments, gender and entrepreneurial self-image. Vol 20. P-p 483-518.
Wang,S. (2007). CACCI Journal. Women’s Status in Taiwan. Vol 2007. Delivered at 21st CACCI Conference. November 1, 2006. Taipei, Taiwan.
Warbington, R. (2000). Women in Business. Women Entrepreneurs Make Large Gains. Vol. 52, number 2. P. 10.
Wernerfelt, B. (March 1995). The Resource-Based View of the Firm: Ten Years After. Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 16, No. 3, 171-174.
Wernerfelt, B. (Apr.-Jun., 1984). A Resource-Based View of the Firm. Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2, 171-180.
Wilson, F; Martino, D. & Kickul, J. (2004). Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship. Our Entrepreneurial Future: Examining the Diverse Attitudes and Motivations of Teens Across Gender and Ethnic Identity. Vol 9. Number 3. P. 177.
Wu, R. & Huang, C. (2003). Entrepreneurship In Taiwan: Turning Point to Restart. Presented at the Global Forum Entrepreneurship in Asia: 4th U.S.-Japan Dialogue. April 16.