EmpowHER: A Pink Entrepreneurship for Digital Success

Women’s entrepreneurship, recognized as a source of economic growth and social innovation, remains underrepresented in traditional male-dominated industries, where several structural, cultural and institutional barriers persist. This study investigates strategic pathways and orientations that shape women participation in the low-tech industry, thus addressing the following research questions: what are the distinctive entrepreneurial pathways through which women enter and dominate the low-tech industry? How do contextual factors influence these trajectories? This study employs a comparative multiple analysis approach focused on seven women-led wine startups. The findings show three different entrepreneurial pathways- the heritage-driven entrepreneur, the opportunity-based digital entrepreneur and the artisanal innovator- thus reflecting the heterogeneity of women leadership, with its own socio-demographic profiles, management characteristics and innovation trajectories. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.