Motivations and Realities in Women's Business Networking: A Welsh Case

The aim of the paper is to highlight some interim findings from an ongoing action research project centred on a women's business network in South East Wales. This paper focuses on the motivations of women business owners for participation in the network and their actual experiences of dong so. It draws upon the business relationships literature social capital theory and previous entrepreneurship network research. It recognises the recent critique of the over-emphasis in the extant research on structural and quantifiable interactional dimensions and particularly the limitations in relation to providing an understanding of women's experience. It is proposed that women entrepreneurs need to better understand and draw upon the issues of demonstration of commitment, trust building, reciprocity information sharing and cooperation which lead to the building of social capital, in order to maximise the effectiveness of their business network activity.