A computer-assisted discourse analysis of the original contribution of research on gender and entrepreneurship

In this paper, I analysed abstracts of 2000 articles on gender and entrepreneurship using a corpus-assisted discourse analysis approach, with the focus on the statements of the original contribution to the field. The study also examined whether gendered assumptions are embedded in the language used by scholars in the field. The themes that were identified are the gathering of the empirical evidence, conceptual development, theory exemplification, theory development, and theory advancement. The analysis has shown that the majority of studies focus on providing a better understanding to gender and entrepreneurship research (theory exemplification), whereas studies that contribute to the theory advancement are still scarce. This study is one of the first attempts to adopt corpus linguistics methods to examine the use of language in research on gender and entrepreneurship and to uncover hidden connections and thematic patterns.