Nannetti, F. & Operti, E. (2026) “Equalizing networking opportunities: How women can leverage incubators in entrepreneurship”. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 104233.

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Entrepreneurship remains a male-dominated field, with women facing persistent disparities in areas such as representation and innovation. This paper examines whether and how incubators contribute to reducing the gender gap in entrepreneurial innovation. Using a mixed-methods approach—combining large-scale quantitative data with qualitative interviews—we find that women-led ventures benefit more from incubator participation, which helps them close the innovation gap. Women tend to engage with incubators more strategically across three dimensions: strengthening individual resources (e.g., confidence and expertise), building relationships with key stakeholders, and accessing role models and mentors who help them navigate gendered expectations. In contrast, men are more likely to use incubators in a targeted, transactional way, primarily to acquire technical or business knowledge. These findings suggest that incubators can serve as equalizing spaces that offer women critical support to overcome barriers and enhance innovation outcomes.

Nannetti, F. & Perry-Smith, J. (2023). “Social networks and creativity: A gender perspective”. In Handbook of organizational creativity (pp. 303-316). Academic Press.

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We consider creativity as a social process that is shaped by interactions with others and that is assessed by others’ judgment. We review the emerging body of research that employs a social network perspective of creativity and that considers various phases of the creative idea journey. We hint at embryonic evidence of a gender impact on creativity through social network differences. Considering the scarce research that explicitly integrates social networks, creativity, and gender simultaneously, we review two separate streams of research—literature exploring social networks from a gender perspective and literature investigating gender differences in creativity. We conclude with directions for future research investigating how gender advances a social network perspective of creativity.

Nannetti, F., & Operti, E. (2023). How Professional and Family Ties Affect Idea Elaboration for Men and Women. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2023, No. 1, p. 18713). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.

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The process of elaborating creative ideas often involves seeking support and feedback from others. We posit that men and women may require different types of network ties to elaborate creative ideas successfully. We derive predictions concerning the extent to which men and women may benefit from family and professional ties in the idea elaboration phase. We also explore the mechanisms behind the expected gender differences. Based on a sample of French entrepreneurs, we show that women reap more benefits from family ties than men. In contrast, men have higher returns in creativity by elaborating ideas with professional ties. An experimental study indicates that women’s disadvantage in elaborating ideas with professional contacts stems from stereotype threat and lower expected support in the interactions with ties related to the professional domain, considered gender incongruent domain. We provide additional support from qualitative interviews conducted with entrepreneurs.

Perry-Smith, J., Nannetti, F., Maoret, M. & Dufour, L. “Parenthood homophily, gender, and tie formation”, Title disguised for peer review

Nannetti, F., Operti, E., & Sgourev, S.V. “Gender and competition”, Title disguised for peer review

Nannetti, F., Aggarwal, A., Li, S. & Operti, E. “Who are you working for? Analyzing brokerage roles, gender congruity, and performance”

Negro, G., Lewis, D., Kaplan, S. & Nannetti, F. “Testing ideas from partial innovation: The role of tv pilots in the U.S. broadcasting industry”