Passion

Recent research has argued that entrepreneurial leadership, which is the main research field of this study, is a new paradigm that explores the common themes and linkages between entrepreneurship and leadership. Entrepreneurial leadership is defined variously in the literature but for the purpose of this study, it is defined as individuals who identify and exploit opportunities and add value through influencing and mobilizing internal and external stakeholders who support the vision they have created for their enterprise. The field of entrepreneurial leadership is emerging as something quite distinctive owing to the immense change in contexts and environments characterized by uncertainty and immeasurable risk within which entrepreneurs find themselves.

Within this emerging domain of research, gender issues have been largely ignored, even though there is a growing body of research on gender issues in the domains of entrepreneurship and leadership respectively. In this paper, we follow a gender-specific approach by focusing on women in the under-explored context of rural, regional and remote (RRR) Australia. In doing so this article builds on the contextualization argument of Harrison, Leitch and McAdam where gender is part of the context. They argue that, as in the field of entrepreneurship more generally, it is impossible to discuss entrepreneurial leadership separately from the context within which it is demonstrated because context affords both opportunities and constraints owing to the actions of individuals through spatial and institutional norms.

This study is important for several reasons. First, we do not fully understand the global phenomenon of the underrepresentation of women in entrepreneurship, regardless of cultural and political contexts. Women-owned entrepreneurial ventures comprise only 13% of all entrepreneurial ventures in Australia. In addition, within Australia, global start-ups with at least one female founder secured only 23.7% of all venture funding. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the various aspects of women entrepreneurship in a broader context and scale, including in RRR contexts. Examining women entrepreneurs' leadership identity in RRR ventures will contribute to the scarce research on how they start or grow their businesses. Additionally, to better explain the uniqueness of women's entrepreneurship as research inquiry, it is necessary to expand the theoretical concepts that are currently available. To empower RRR women entrepreneurs, it is necessary to understand the reasons behind their inability to leverage their skills to grow their businesses. Therefore, studying the role of RRR women entrepreneurs' entrepreneurial leadership in their intention to grow their businesses is important.

Second, the stacked context of being a woman and living in RRR Australia is problematic for women entrepreneurs. Natural disasters such as the recent floods and bushfires abound in RRR Australia, and there are fewer employment opportunities for women than for men in these areas. Women are trying to diversify on-farm activities, find off-farm income, and grow their ventures. Women living in rural towns are seeking to improve their economic situation through entrepreneurial activities. They pursue these actions within a rural context plagued by deep-seated cultural implications, owing to the general patriarchal norms still operating in rural Australia. Women also lack access to capital and place-based education; they are being underrepresented in business and government in their regions. Compared to their urban counterparts, RRR women entrepreneurs feel isolated and navigate significant barriers in their entrepreneurship journey such as the problems caused by their distance from main centers, lack of access to entrepreneurship incubation facilities and reliable internet, lack of like-minded peers, confidence, and access to mentors. A greater understanding of the link between entrepreneurial leader identity, entrepreneurial passion, and the growth intentions of RRR women can create awareness and empower women in RRR settings to take steps to develop their entrepreneurial leader identity and overcome the barriers they face.

Third, understanding the factors that encourage the venture growth intentions of RRR women will not only help to empower women but will also assist in addressing the increasing priority for the innovation agenda in Australia and elsewhere to cultivate more successful, growth-oriented women-owned start-ups. Supporting women-led start-ups presents opportunities to develop the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Australia and help the country become a global leader in cultivating a diverse entrepreneurship culture. Finding ways to enhance women's entrepreneurial leadership identities, address their barriers, and support their entrepreneurial passion could be an important catalyst to increase the number of RRR Australian women entrepreneurs, which in turn could have a significant positive impact on the economic benefits that would flow from addressing these barriers to the venture growth of women-owned ventures.

This study fills a theoretical gap because although the topic areas of entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurial passion, and venture growth, respectively, have been addressed in the context of women entrepreneurship, the construct of 'entrepreneurial leadership identity' and how it relates to entrepreneurial passion and venture growth represent a novel approach in this context. Although RRR women entrepreneurs are contributing to household revenue through their off-farm entrepreneurial activity, their self-identity as entrepreneurial leaders and their passion for entrepreneurial activity as enablers of their intention to grow their ventures is unknown. Furthermore, even though much more has been discovered about what drives the growth of small businesses and what factors influence business growth intentions, there is still a theoretical gap regarding whether RRR women entrepreneurs as leaders view business growth as desirable and feasible. Finally, owing to this lack of knowledge about the growth intentions of RRR women, there is a lack of conceptualization of explanatory growth theories regarding RRR women's entrepreneurship.

This study also fills a practical gap. In view of the lack of understanding of how RRR women entrepreneurs identify with entrepreneurial leadership and how this relates to venture growth, there is an absence of initiatives focusing on the topic area of entrepreneurial leadership as a bridge between entrepreneurship and leadership. A greater understanding of how these variables interact can inform government policy decisions regarding funding initiatives that can enhance the supply of female entrepreneurial leaders through tailor-made entrepreneurial leadership development and venture growth programs.

Given these gaps, the main aim of this study is to examine whether entrepreneurial leadership identity and entrepreneurial passion can forecast venture growth intention.