Entrepreneurial woman and territory: A cross-sectoral analysis

Current issues related to internationalization and woman entrepreneurship apply to all sectors. The present study focuses on the tourism sector and in particular investigates the influence of gender diversity on the propensity to internationalization and the decision making process of international development in the hotel business. The relationships between gender diversity, the degree of internationalization and cross-border barriers to expansion are also shown. The study concludes with a survey whose objective is to analyse the distinctive factors of woman-led businesses in the international hotel sector, in order to identify a feminine international business model from a gender perspective. This work contributes to understand the role of gender in the internationalization of hotel businesses. Keywords: Hotel firm; Gender diversity; Internationalization propensity; Degree of internationalization; Internationalization process; Internationalization barriers.