Women entrepreneurs comprise a growing portion of the business world, though little to no researc... more Women entrepreneurs comprise a growing portion of the business world, though little to no research exists on women entrepreneurs as a cohort unto themselves. In response to glass ceilings, women embark upon entrepreneurial activities for many reasons, not excluding the potential to earn more income without the confines of management deciding what their work is worth. From a framework of cognitive-behavioral analysis and using a mixed method qualitative-quantitative approach with a combination of inductive interviews and surveys, a pilot study was conducted to ascertain the level and definition of risk by a small number of women business owners, specifically referencing their cognitive processes at the inception of the entrepreneurial activity. Using Elaboration Likelihood Models, an analysis of their arguments and counter-arguments unfolded to reveal how each chose her specific business concept. Risks fell primarily into a few specific categories of fear, but because each pushed past the fear, this research sought to explore the possibility of mitigating factors to risk that potentially create a pathway more assured of success by way of increased confidence in herself. Additionally, this research, by focusing solely on service-oriented businesses and social entrepreneurship, looked at the business itself as an extension of the individual’s ideal self-concept and how cognitive appraisals overlap in the business becoming an extension of each’s definitions of personal and professional success.
The objectification of women by society at large exists as a deeply-ingrained, millenia-long soci... more The objectification of women by society at large exists as a deeply-ingrained, millenia-long social norm, pervading nearly every area of prosaic life. Advertising employs objectification by way of pictorially defining the archetypal woman: who she is; what she is permitted to do; how she should feel; what clothing she should wear. By doing so, the marketing of women’s fashion has created an accepted standard definition of women. This case study of three women’s clothing firms – White House Black Market, Ann Taylor, and New York & Company – explores the potential shift in direction toward a modern form of objectification, that of objectification of women by women, versus objectification of women by men. These companies all state on their website’s info pages that they understand women, market as women to their women customers, and their clothing is intended to empower women. How do these firms redefine women’s purpose in life, in the family, in the career world? How has that purpose shifted from the mid-twentieth century? How have the items of clothing designed, relative to that new definition? How does women’s fashion now seek to positively objectify women toward the end of their empowerment and participation in society? What quantifiable data exist that seem to support the existence and potential success of this type of objectification in advertising women’s clothing to the segmented markets? Lastly, how can these – and other – firms who market women’s clothing further develop their strategies, store designs, and business practices to greater impact by way of competitive advantage? This paper seeks to explore these questions, to elucidate this new, modern form of objectification, and to substantiate its positive impact on women and on advertising.
Women entrepreneurs comprise a growing portion of the business world, though little to no researc... more Women entrepreneurs comprise a growing portion of the business world, though little to no research exists on women entrepreneurs as a cohort unto themselves. In response to glass ceilings, women embark upon entrepreneurial activities for many reasons, not excluding the potential to earn more income without the confines of management deciding what their work is worth. From a framework of cognitive-behavioral analysis and using a mixed method qualitative-quantitative approach with a combination of inductive interviews and surveys, a pilot study was conducted to ascertain the level and definition of risk by a small number of women business owners, specifically referencing their cognitive processes at the inception of the entrepreneurial activity. Using Elaboration Likelihood Models, an analysis of their arguments and counter-arguments unfolded to reveal how each chose her specific business concept. Risks fell primarily into a few specific categories of fear, but because each pushed past the fear, this research sought to explore the possibility of mitigating factors to risk that potentially create a pathway more assured of success by way of increased confidence in herself. Additionally, this research, by focusing solely on service-oriented businesses and social entrepreneurship, looked at the business itself as an extension of the individual’s ideal self-concept and how cognitive appraisals overlap in the business becoming an extension of each’s definitions of personal and professional success.
The objectification of women by society at large exists as a deeply-ingrained, millenia-long soci... more The objectification of women by society at large exists as a deeply-ingrained, millenia-long social norm, pervading nearly every area of prosaic life. Advertising employs objectification by way of pictorially defining the archetypal woman: who she is; what she is permitted to do; how she should feel; what clothing she should wear. By doing so, the marketing of women’s fashion has created an accepted standard definition of women. This case study of three women’s clothing firms – White House Black Market, Ann Taylor, and New York & Company – explores the potential shift in direction toward a modern form of objectification, that of objectification of women by women, versus objectification of women by men. These companies all state on their website’s info pages that they understand women, market as women to their women customers, and their clothing is intended to empower women. How do these firms redefine women’s purpose in life, in the family, in the career world? How has that purpose shifted from the mid-twentieth century? How have the items of clothing designed, relative to that new definition? How does women’s fashion now seek to positively objectify women toward the end of their empowerment and participation in society? What quantifiable data exist that seem to support the existence and potential success of this type of objectification in advertising women’s clothing to the segmented markets? Lastly, how can these – and other – firms who market women’s clothing further develop their strategies, store designs, and business practices to greater impact by way of competitive advantage? This paper seeks to explore these questions, to elucidate this new, modern form of objectification, and to substantiate its positive impact on women and on advertising.
Uploads
Papers by Sadie L