Intention et non intention repreneuriale dans le contexte des cabinets d’expertise comptable. Une analyse comparative entre femmes – hommes des effets des facteurs sociodémographiques

This document presents a quantitative comparative study on the entrepreneurial intention and non-intention to take over accounting firms, focusing on gender differences and sociodemographic influences among French chartered accountants and trainees.
• Aging leadership and declining business transfers: The proportion of SME and ETI leaders aged 60 and over in France increased from 15% in 2005 to 25% in 2023, while business transfers dropped by a third between 2013 and 2016, leading to aging leadership and reduced business activity.
• Low female participation in business takeovers: Women represent only 7% of business takeovers compared to one-third of business creations, and only 15% of those undertaking specific takeover training are women, indicating both low intention and difficulties in the takeover process for women.
• Research focus on intention and non-intention: The study analyzes responses from 1,132 male and female chartered accountants and trainees regarding their intention or non-intention to take over an accounting firm, using the entrepreneurial intention framework based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior.
• Homogeneous sample to isolate gender effects: By focusing on chartered accountants, a regulated and homogeneous professional group regarding training and experience, the study controls for many contextual factors, highlighting gender differences more clearly.
• Gender and family situation impact on intention: Men show a higher takeover intention (43%) than women (39%), with non-intention higher among women (34%) than men (30%). Family status impacts genders differently: women’s non-intention rises sharply when in a couple and with children, whereas men’s intention increases with family formation.
• Motherhood reduces women’s takeover intention: The key factor for women’s non-intention is motherhood, linked to societal expectations and domestic responsibilities that disproportionately affect women, while fatherhood correlates with increased intention among men due to social roles and financial pressures.
• Social norms and persistent gender roles: The findings align with sociological studies in other liberal professions showing that traditional gender roles and domestic responsibilities continue to influence women’s professional trajectories, indicating that gender equality in entrepreneurial intentions remains incomplete.