105
COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE DIFFERENTIALS
FOR MALE- AND FEMALE-OWNED SMALL ACCOUNTING FIRMS
AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF A TEN YEAR PERIOD
Martha A. Fasci
The University of Texas at San Antonio
martha.fasci@utsa.edu
Jude Valdez
The University of Texas at San Antonio
jude.valdez@utsa.edu
Sung-Jin Park
The University of Texas at San Antonio
sungjin.park@utsa.edu
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to determine whether the performance gap over a period of ten
years between male- and female-owned small accounting firms has converged utilizing a
resource-based framework to assess performance. The relevant assets for these firms included
human, organizational, and entrepreneurial capital. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)
was used to determine whether the gender productivity gap converged over this period of
time. The response rates were 30 percent and 23 percent respectively for the 1993 and 2003
investigations. An analysis of the data indicates several important findings that (1) a
performance gap exists when measured by gross revenues between male- and female-owned
small accounting firms, (2) this performance gap has converged after ten years, and (3) the
performance gap as measured by the ratio of net profit to sales indicates that female-owned
small accounting firms do better than male owned accounting firms.
Keywords: male and female, small CPA firms, assessment, comparative financial
performance, gross revenues and net profit comparisons, longitudinal studies
INTRODUCTION
There is a significant body of research
documenting performance differentials
between male- and female-owned
businesses. The performance gap between
male- and female-owned businesses as
measured by numerous indicators has been
well reported. Such indicators include
business revenues (Fairlie and Robb, 2009;
S TRATEG Y
JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
106
Fasci and Valdez, 1998), four-year survival
rates (Robb, 2002), and business
discontinuance (Watson 2003).
Explanations offered for the performance
differential of male- and female-owned
businesses include management style
(Gibson, 2011), differences in goals (Rauch,
Wilklund, Lumpkin, and Frese, 2009),
different capital structure due to the gender
discrimination in credit market (Coleman,
2002), and differences in education and
experience of male vs. female owners
(Runyan, Huddleston, and Swinney 2006).
While the body of research investigating
gender differentials between male- and
female-owned businesses is significant, we
contend that very little research has been
performed to determine whether this gender
productivity gap is a stable or dynamic
phenomenon. Alternatively, we are
interested in the change of performance gap
over time between male- and female-owned
businesses.
This study investigates the implication of
gender for the performance of small
accounting firms at two points in time over
a period of ten years. Previously, Fasci and
Valdez (1998) found that a difference in
productivity exists between male- and-
female-owned small accounting firms. This
study replicates the performance
comparison between male- and female-
owned firms with ten-year interval and
finds that the performance gap still remains.
Nonetheless, we find that the gender
productivity gap has been narrowed down
during the ten year period. We provide an
explanation on the performance gap
convergence.
Conceptual Framework
Extant literature has discussed the
determinants of performance in small firms.
According to the “resource-based” view of
the firm, performance differentials between
male- and female-owned businesses can be
attributed to the resource heterogeneity
across firms (Alvarez and Busenitz, 2001).
Barney (1991) has classified firm resources
into three groups: physical capital
resources, human capital resources, and
organizational capital resources.
Considering that professional service firms
rely less on physical capital resources such
as buildings and equipment, it becomes
more critical to leverage human and
organizational capital to achieve a
competitive advantage and better firm
performance (Hitt, Bierman, Shimizu, and
Kochhar, 2001).
Owners’ influence on small professional
service firms may not be limited to their
contribution of firm resources per se.
Owner’s ability to identify more business
opportunities and growth potential should
facilitate enhanced firm performances.
Alvarez and Busenitz (2001) name this
ability as “entrepreneurial recognition”, and
consider this entrepreneurial factor as a
strategic resource to influence the firm
performance of small businesses.
The gender effect on small business
performance has been widely discussed.
This gender effect ranges from a relative
small influence on the firms productivity
(Collins-Dodd, Gordon, and Smart 2004) to
that of a significant influence (Chaganti and
Parasuraman, 1996). Likewise, the gender
effect on performance seems to vary among
industry sectors (Brush, 1992). In this
study, the focus is on the moderating role of
gender in the explanation of firm
performance and the study examines how
the moderating role has evolved throughout
the ten year period. Figure 1 represents the
conceptual framework for the resource-
based view of performance for service firms
and the moderating effect of gender.
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
107
Human Capital Resources
The role of human capital as a driver in the
profitability and growth of small businesses
is well-documented. Dyke, Fischer, and
Reuber (1992) identify that owner’s
previous experience in small business and
the particular experience in business startup
are critical success factors in industries like
computer-services with numerous small
independent firms. In the Federal Reserve’s
1998 Survey of Small Business Finances,
Coleman (2007) finds that education level
as well as prior business experience is a
significant variable in explaining firm
performance. Similarly, Fairlie and Robb
(2009) find that female-owned businesses
are less successful because they have less
human capital with prior work experiences.
Specifically, for the professional service
industry, Fasci and Valdez (1998) find a
positive relationship between owner’s prior
work experience and firm performance in
small accounting firms. In their study of
professional legal service firms, Hitt,
Bierman, Shimizu, and Kochhar (2001) use
total experience in the firm as a proxy for
the firm-specific knowledge effect of
human capital. An implication from these
studies is that some of the cross-sectional
variation of firm performance in the
professional service industry can be
explained by the heterogeneity of human
capital resources. Considering that the
client-base is a proprietary asset of
accounting firms built up throughout a
professional’s tenure at a specific firm,
owner’s firm-specific experience becomes
an important human capital resource in
small accounting firms.
Organizational Capital Resources
Organizational capital includes a firm’s
internal management system, informal
relations among groups within a firm and
between firms in its environments (Barney,
1991). In the professional service industry
where the quality of human capital is a
dominant resource, the internal
Entrepreneurial
Capital
Human Capital Firm
Performance
Organizational
Capital
Gender Effect
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
108
management of human resources becomes a
strategic resource for firm performance.
Estimating a production function in the
public accounting industry, Banker, Chang,
and Cunningham (2003) incorporate the
service diversification and the leverage into
their specification of the production
function. They measure the output of each
accounting firm with the net revenue from
three different service groups: accounting
and auditing, tax services, and management
advisory services. The leverage is
considered with the number of professional
employees and the number of other
administrative personnel. In the context of
accounting firms, the leverage can be
defined as the total number of full-time
professional employees; the service
diversification may be measured by the
percentage of work performed in mainly
five possible practice areas for accounting
firms (financial and estate planning,
investment analysis, management
consulting, tax, and write-up). However, in
the case of small accounting firms where
Certified Public Accountants are limited,
service diversification would not represent
the strength of organizational capital
because it may simply reflect the human
resources available in the context of
available capital investment to successfully
complete the work.
Entrepreneurial Capital Resources
Although the resource-based view of the
firm emphasizes the differences in the
resource endowments across firms to
explain performance differences (Barney,
1991), the way of applying the firm
resources in the production process may
also influence the outcome of small
businesses. Entrepreneurs may be able to
recognize business opportunities and to
organize the firm resources effectively to
exploit the opportunities. Wiklund and
Shepherd (2005) call this attribute of
entrepreneurs as “entrepreneurial strategic
orientation or EO”. They argue that “EO”
affects small business performance. “EO” is
associated with a willingness to innovate, to
exploit market opportunities, to take risks,
to venture with a new product or service, to
obtain first mover’s advantage, or to
become more proactive to cope with
emerging business opportunities and
competitors (Alvarez and Busenitz, 2001;
Wiklund and Shepherd, 2005).
While the resource-based view is focusing
on the cross-sectional heterogeneity of firm
resources, “EO” focuses on the
heterogeneity in an entrepreneur’s beliefs
about the value of firm resources and his or
her willingness to market and promote the
firm. The performance implication of “EO”
may be context-specific. Su, Xie, and Li
(2011) postulate that the relationship of
“EO” and performance between established
firms and new ventures is not comparable.
Without sufficient firm resources or solid
organizational structures, “EO” may not be
able to induce more positive firm
performance.
Gender Performance Gap
The question of gender effect on small
business performance has continued to
interest many researchers. Some studies
strongly acknowledge that there is a
performance gap attributable to the gender
of the small business owner. For instance,
Chaganti and Parasuraman (1996) examine
impacts of gender on business performance
and management patterns. They find that
female-owned businesses had lower sales
than male-owned businesses, but significant
differences existed in financial and
motivation goals between female and male
owners of businesses. Meanwhile, Collins-
Dodd, Gordon, and Smart (2004) report that
gender is not a significant direct
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
109
explanatory variable for financial
performance gap among accounting firms.
Financial performance is found to be
different between female-owned sole
proprietorships and male-owned ones but
can be explained by practice characteristics,
motivations, and individual owner
characteristics. Bardwell, Spiller, and
Andersen (2003) find that female
entrepreneurs with home-based businesses
have fewer employees, work fewer hours,
are more likely to hold second jobs, are not
involved in international business activity,
and are most often located in suburban and
rural areas. To provide an explanation of
these conflicting results on the gender
performance gap, Cron, Bruton, and Slocum
(2006) argue that firm performance is
determined by some resource-based factors
including industry experience, hours
worked, and financial motivation, and these
factors are affected by gender.
Prior studies based on the resource-based
view suggest that the difference in firm
performance may be explained away by the
heterogeneous endowment of firm
resources. To the extent that human capital,
organization capital, and entrepreneurial
capital play a dominant role in the
explanation of firm performance, gender
might become a second-order effect that
may indirectly affect the performance. In
this respect, the gender effect on firm
performance requires an empirical test to
isolate the unique contribution of gender
difference to cross-sectional variation in
small business firm performances. For this,
the following hypotheses are used in this
study to investigate the relationship
between firm performance and the gender
of small business owners, controlling for
variables associated with the resource-based
framework for small service firms. In
addition, the gender performance gap, if it
still exists, is tested to see whether the gap
converged during the ten year period since
Fasci and Valdez’s (1998) finding.
Furthermore, to investigate the relationship
between firm performance and the gender
of small business owners, the study will
extend its review to include how the male-
and female-firm performance compare on
their annual profit ratio.
H1: Controlling for human,
organizational, and
entrepreneurial capital, there is no
performance gap between male-
and female-owned small
accounting firms.
H2: Controlling for human,
organizational, and
entrepreneurial capital, there is no
narrowing of the performance gap
over a ten-year period between
male- and female-owned small
accounting firms.
H3: Controlling for human,
organizational, and
entrepreneurial capital, there is no
performance gap relating to the net
profit ratio of the firm over a ten-
year period between male- and
female-owned small accounting
firms.
Research Design
The primary objective of this study is to
determine whether the performance gap
over a period of ten years between male-
and female-owned small accounting firms
has changed utilizing a resource-based
framework to assess performance.
Consistent with Fasci and Valdez (1998),
we used a field-test questionnaire to collect
data in 1993 and 2003. For each year, a
sample of 1000 female owners and 1000
male owners of small accounting firms was
randomly selected by the American Institute
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
110
of Certified Public Accountants from their
database. In the first survey, a total of 604
usable surveys were returned including 328
responses from female owners and 276
responses from male owners of small
accounting firms. In the second survey, a
total of 466 usable surveys were returned
including 250 responses from female
owners and 216 responses from male
owners. Response rates are 30% and 23%
for the 1993 and 2003 survey, respectively.
Considering that our sample is restricted to
individual owners of small accounting
practices who face higher time cost to
commit to the survey instrument, these
response rates are acceptable. Given that
our main variables are composite measures
representing human-, organizational-, and
entrepreneurial capital resources, the
relative response rates of 30% and 23%
does not bias the inference from our
analysis (Curtin et al. 2000; Keeter et al.
2000). The survey questionnaire included
over 47 items regarding the business and
owner. A profile of responses for select
items is provided in Table 1.
Table 1: 1993 and 2003 Profile Small Accounting Practices
Business Characteristics
1993 2003
M F M F
Sole Proprietorship 78% 81% 72% 76%
Home Based 14% 42% 19% 47%
Sole Practitioner 64% 82% 68% 77%
Age of Practice 10.9 6.2 16.1 11.5
Owner Characteristics
Age of Owner/Principal 43.9 39.4 49.9 46.4
Education – Graduate Degree 25% 24% 25% 30%
Accounting Experience Prior to Practice 7.7 6.6 11.3 8.7
Married 82% 73% 84% 76%
Highest Salary before Practice $35,840 $32,720 $46,860 $43,400
Since the objective of the study is to
determine whether a performance gap
between male- and female-owned small
accounting firms has changed over a ten
year period, an analysis of covariance
(ANCOVA) method is used to evaluate the
performance gap while controlling for other
resource-based covariates. Given that the
resource-based view implicitly assumes the
context of market competition, the gross
revenue was selected for small accounting
firms as the dependent variable because it is
an unmitigated, straight-forward variable
for measuring the overall performance of
the small accounting service industry firms.
The net profit rates of the firms was
employed as a second dependent variable to
indicate productivity. To make an
inferential comparison over the two survey
periods, the Chi-square test is used to
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
111
determine the homogeneity of the groups.
We find no significant difference between
two surveys for the gender distribution, χ2
= 0.0329, p = 0.36. This result demonstrates
that the two groups are comparable.
Homogeneity of groups can also be inferred
from the fact that both sample years were
selected from the same universe (the
membership list of the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants), but at two
different times. Table 2 presents the mean
annual gross revenue by gender and year of
survey for all the small accounting firms in
the study.
Table 2: Mean Gross Revenue by Gender and Year of Survey
GENDER Survey Year Mean Standard Deviation N
FEMALE 1993 74,043 90.75 328
2003 114,462 108.97 246
MALE 1993 147,496 146.79 276
2003 207,990 197.78 213
In reporting the results of the earlier survey,
Fasci and Valdez (1998) find that a gender
performance gap existed between male- and
female-owned small accounting firms. A
similar performance gap is recognized in
the later survey and this study indicates how
the gap has changed over 10 years. In order
to determine the gender differential of the
small accounting firms’ performance,
explanatory variables under the resource-
based conceptual framework are controlled.
Specifically, control variables in the
ANCOVA include the proxy variable--
HUMCAP, which represents human capital
resources for the business such as the
owners previous experience, type of
experience, and the length of that
experience; the proxy variable-- ORGCAP,
which represents organizational capital
resources such as the number and type of
employees, and age of firm; and the proxy
variable ENTRCAP to represent
entrepreneurial capital resources. which
includes the location of the business
business location or home-based, the goals
of the business owner, age and start-up
capital. Tests of Multicollinearity and
Homogeneity of Variance (Levene’s test)
are conducted. The results of the tests are
well within acceptable research standards.
In addition, a Test of the Homogeneity of
Regression Slopes is conducted. The results
show no evidence of violation of the equal
slopes assumption. The results of
ANCOVA are presented in Table 3.
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
112
Table 3: ANCOVA Results of Gross Revenue by Gender and Year Controlling for Three
Resource Variables
Variables Type III Sum of Squares df Mean Square
F-
value p-value
Corrected Model *6,065,718.44 6 1010953.07 72.45 0.000
Intercept 786,253.13 1 786,253.13 56.35 0.004
ORGCAP 2,807,952.69 1 2,807,952.69 201.24 0.002
HUMCAP 334,377.95 1 334,377.95 23.97 0.000
ENTRCAP 115,969.52 1 115,969.52 8.31 0.004
Gender 625,041.23 1 625,041.23 44.80 0.012
Survey year 66,077.28 1 66,077.28 4.74 0.030
Gender*Survey year 17,197.11 1 17,197.11 3.23 0.040
Error 14,734,389.55 1,056 13,953.02
Total 38,574,084.56 1,063
Corrected Total 20,800,107.99 1,062
* R2 = .692 (Adjusted R2 = .688)
The variable “Survey year” represents the
year in which the survey was completed a
ten year period between the first and second
survey. The ANCOVA supported the main
effect for Gender, yielding an F ratio of
44.80, p < .01. This indicates that male-
owned small accounting firms’ annual gross
revenue is higher than that of female-owned
firms in the study. Specifically, a
performance gap exists between male-
owned and female-owned small accounting
firms, which is consistent with Fasci and
Valdez (1998).
The main effect for “Survey year”, yielding
an F ratio of 4.74, p <.03 is significant. This
indicates that the performance change over
the ten year period was significant for male-
and female-owned small accounting firms
in the survey. Hypotheses 1 can be rejected
as there is a performance gap between
male-and female-owned small accounting
firms in both years of the study.
More importantly, the interaction effect
(Gender*Survey year) is significant, F =
3.23, p < .04, indicating that over the ten
year period there has been a decrease in the
gender performance gap as measured by
annual gross revenue and controlling for the
three resource variables human,
organizational, and entrepreneurial capital.
Because the performance gap has
decreased, Hypotheses 2 can also be
rejected.
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
113
The ANCOVA estimates the means for
annual gross revenue for small accounting
firms in the study. The estimated marginal
means for annual gross revenue for male-
and-female owned small accounting firms
over the ten year period are plotted in
Figure 2. This strongly suggests that
women-owned small accounting firms in
the study are closing the performance gap
as measured by the firm’s annual gross
revenue.
Figure 2: Plots of Estimated Marginal Means of ANNUAL GROSS REVENUE by Year
for Male and Female-owned Firms
A second ANCOVA analysis was
undertaken utilizing the net profit ratio (net
profit to gross sales) as the independent
variable. Net profit to gross ratio
demonstrates productivity of the firm, and it
was felt that a second ANCOVA analysis
should reinforce the study’s hypothesis.
Interestingly, the net profit ratio for female
accounting entrepreneurs in the sample was
stronger than for male accounting
entrepreneurs, yet a gap existed between the
two. Table 4 presents the results of the
ANCOVA analysis using net profit ratio as
the independent variable.
200-
Male
180-
160- Female
140-
120-
100-
80-
60-
1993 2003
Survey Year
E
st
im
at
ed
M
ar
gi
na
l
M
ea
ns
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
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Table 4: ANCOVA Results of NET Profit Ratio by Gender and Year
Controlling for Three Resource Variables
Variables
Type III Sum
of Squares
df
Mean
Square
F-value p-value
Corrected Model *4.732 6 .676 18.547 0.005
Intercept 30.936 1 30.936 848.751 0.002
ORGCAP .955 1 .955 26.202 0.001
HUMCAP 2.488 1 2.488 68.270 0.006
ENTRCAP 2.079 1 2.079 2.179 0.040
Gender 1.480 1 1.480 13.180 0.010
Survey Year 1.682 1 1.682 18.711 0.010
Gender *Survey Year 1.002 1 1.002 .050 0.022
Error 33.751 926 0.36
Total 302.328 934
Corrected Model 38.483 933
R Squared = .599 Adjusted R Squared = .582
As can be seen the results and conclusions
are similar to the first ANCOVA analysis.
In particular, the interaction effect (Gender
* Survey year) is significant, F =.050 < .02,
indicating that over the ten year period there
has been a convergence in the productivity
gap as measured by profit rates and
controlling for the three resource variables.
Accordingly, Hypothesis 3 can be rejected.
Figure 3 plots the estimated marginal means
for annual net profit ratio for male and
female-owned small accounting firms over
the ten year period.
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
115
Figure 3: Plots of Estimated Marginal Means of ANNUAL NET PROFIT RATIO by
Year for Male and Female-owned Firms
.49- Female
.48-
.47-
Male
.46-
.45-
.44-
.43-
.42-
1993 2003
E
st
im
at
ed
M
ar
gi
na
l
M
ea
ns
Survey Year
Conclusion and Implications
A significant body of research confirms that
women have had to face different and
additional challenges than men to succeed
in their businesses which have resulted in
different levels of performance. This
phenomenon has historically been referred
to as the “gender performance gap”. This
study examines this gender performance
gap with respect to small accounting firms.
Specifically, the study examines this
performance gap between male- and
female-owned small accounting firms over
a ten year period, utilizing the same study
population selected from the membership
list of the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants. The small accounting
firms are studied through the resource-
based framework, which views business
performance and productivity (output) as a
result of human, organizational and
entrepreneurial capital resources (input).
The implication underlying the resource-
based framework would suggest that the
“gender performance gap” might be
explained away once the firm’s human,
organizational and entrepreneurial capital
resources are held constant across all firms
in the study regardless of gender ownership.
Nonetheless, the study finds that
performance differentials continue to exist
between male- and female-owned small
accounting firms, even after controlling for
variations in firm resources. First, we find
that the performance differential between
male- and female-owned businesses exists
for both the initial study group and for the
second study group ten years later. It is
interesting to note that approximately 69%
Journal of Small Business Strategy Vol. 25, No. 1
116
of the variance between male and female
small accounting firms is accounted for by
the variables in the resource-based model.
Second, while a real performance gap
remains between male-and female-owned
small accounting firms in both study
groups, we find that the performance gap
has decreased or converged. This is most
encouraging as women owned small
accounting firms are “catching up” to their
male owned counterparts. Most
significantly, this study further extends the
comparison between male- and female-
owners of small accounting firms by
exploring the comparison performance
based on the firms’ net profit ratio. This
additional analysis provided an interesting
finding in that the female entrepreneurs
achieved a higher net profit ratio in their
firms’ financial performance as compared
to the male entrepreneurs. This result could
be explained by the different circumstances
for managing the firm between the two
groups. Compared to the male
entrepreneurs, more female entrepreneurs
locate their practice in their home, more of
them have been seeking a graduate degree,
and more of them are sole practitioners.
The changes that have occurred in this
comparison are interesting and compelling.
We show that, to the extent that the gaps in
human capital, organizational capital, and
entrepreneurial capital resources are
mitigated, female-owned small accounting
practices are trending towards increasing
firm performance. Therefore, we argue that
more effort and attention should be invested
on fostering the firm’s resources to promote
the success of female-owned small
accounting firms instead of focusing on the
impact of social norm and culture. The
study will be replicated to determine
whether there is a continuation of the
narrowing of the performance gap between
these two groups in the subsequent decade.
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Dr. Martha Fasci is an associate professor
of accounting at The University of Texas at
San Antonio. Her research interests are in
small business, entrepreneurship, and
accounting.
Dr. Jude Valdez is adjunct professor of
small business management at The
University of Texas at San Antonio. His
research interests are small business and
economic development.
Sung-Jin Park is a doctoral student of
accounting at The University of Texas at
San Antonio.