The Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College conducts research that focuses on the economic value that women, as business leaders, create. Our studies also focus on the context and influence of women as organizational leaders and the ways in which organizations are transforming themselves to most effectively tap the diversity of managerial talent.
Research Update
- Elaine Allen, Mathematic and Science/Entrepreneurship, and Nan Langowitz, Management, are collaborating on "The Leadership Profile of Established Women Entrepreneurs in Massachusetts: 2000-2006". This project will look longitudinally at established women entrepreneurs in Massachusetts.
- Mary Godwyn, History and Society, is conducting in-depth interviews this summer for her book manuscript, Narratives and Images of Minority Women Entrepreneurs. The interview data and work-in-progress will be presented at the American Sociological Association conference in August 2007.
- Donna Kelley, Entrepreneurship, had her work "Adaptation and Organizational Connectedness in Corporate Radical Innovation Programs" accepted for publication in the Journal of Product Information Management. This paper will be presented at the Academy of Management Conference in August 2007.
- Julie Levinson, Arts and Humanities, completed "Success Reassessed: Ambitious Women/Midlife Men". This chapter focuses on work and professional achievement as the cornerstones of success. It investigates gender in Hollywood movies in relation to American ideologies about work and success. These movies dealing with professionally ambitious women and professionally disaffected men point to a crack in the consensus about what constitutes success and how gender, work, and success are intertwined.
New Research
View The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2007 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2006 Report on Women and Entrepreneurship
Professor I. Elaine Allen, PhD, Professor Nan Langowitz DBA, Professor Maria Minniti, PhD
The GEM Report on Women and Entrepreneurship provides an in-depth global look at women's entrepreneurship and highlights the important role that women play in developing and developed economies. More on GEM Report on Women and Entrepreneurship >>>
The Top Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts:
2005 Results
Professor Nan Langowitz DBA, Professor I. Elaine Allen PhD
The Top Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts research study was co-developed by The Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College and The Commonwealth Institute. This study, finds that woman-run businesses are engines of wealth creation, exhibiting strong revenue growth. Results of the study show that 55 percent of woman-led businesses in Massachusetts grew by more than five percent in 2005, more than double the state average, and nearly double the national growth rate. The Top Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts: 2005 Results report also found that woman-run businesses are strong sources of philanthropic activity.
The success of Massachusetts woman-led companies can be attributed to many factors, including: a management philosophy that focuses on creating future growth through enhancing and extending customer relationships, new product development and strategic alliances.
More on Top Woman-Led Businesses in Massachusetts Report>>>
Active Research
Corporate Women's Network Research
Professor Anne Donnellon and Professor Nan Langowitz
Women’s networks and affinity groups are once again multiplying in both large corporations and smaller organizations of all types. This might be good news, bad news or both. But surprisingly little attention has been paid to this recent phenomenon and questions abound about best practices, opportunities and challenges of such organizations. The Center for Women's Leadership is conducting a research project on the value of women's networks to organizations and the variety of practices in use. Through a structured interview process, Professor Anne Donnellon and Professor Nan Langowitz will survey the territory of women’s networks (affinity groups) to discover what has been done, what the outcomes have been, and what remains to be done in the arena of women’s networks.
If you are involved in a women’s network in your organization and are interested in participating in this project or can connect us to the appropriate person for participation, please contact Professor Anne Donnellon at 781 239-4314 or donnellon@babson.edu.
The Diana Project
Professor Patti Greene
Professor Candy Brush
Babson is a partner on the Diana Project. Named after the goddess of the hunt, the Diana Project is a multiyear and multiuniversity study of female business owners and business growth activities. One of the five leading female scholars who have written the Diana Project is a Babson faculty member, Patricia Greene, Dean Undergraduate School and President's Endowed Professor of Entrepreneurship. The Project is sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the National Women's Business Council. More on The Diana Project >>>
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Report on Women and Entrepreneurship
Professor Maria Minniti, PhD, Professor I. Elaine Allen, PhD, Professor Nan Langowitz DBA,
The GEM Report on Women and Entrepreneurship provides an in-depth global look at women's entrepreneurship and highlights the important role that women play in developing and developed economies. More on GEM Report on Women and Entrepreneurship >>>
Completed Research
The Impact and Influence of Women's Business Centers in the United States (June 2005)
Professor Mary Godwyn, PD, Professor Nan Langowitz, DBA, Professor Norean Sharpe, PhD
A research study looking at Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) nationwide found that these community-based programs are drivers of entrepreneurship among a wide range of women entrepreneurs, particularly those formerly underserved --- socially and economically disadvantaged women.
The study shows that the success of Women’s Business Centers can be attributed to shared business practices targeted specifically to women’s needs. Business and consulting specific practices, tailored educational programs, a relationship-oriented approach, and seminars that develop social capital and marketable enterprises are key practices consistently used by Women’s Business Centers nationwide. Women’s Business Centers, created through the federal Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988, provide an effective, longstanding model for entrepreneurship training and business consulting for women.
More on The Impact and Influence of Women's Business Centers in the United States >>>
Women in Family-Owned Businesses (August 2003)
Professor Nan Langowitz DBA, Professor I. Elaine Allen PhD
This ground-breaking first look at what makes woman-owned family businesses different was led by CWL and sponsored by MassMutual Life Insurance Company. The study compares and contrasts the businesses owned by women versus men.
