Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2020 African American Women Bloggers’ Lived Experiences with Digital Entrepreneurship: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Melissa McDowell Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/dissertations Part of the African American Studies Commons, and the Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact ScholarWorks@waldenu. Walden University College of Management and Technology This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Melissa McDowell has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made.
Review Committee Dr. Daphne Halkias, Committee Chairperson, Management Faculty Dr. Michael Neubert, Committee Member, Management Faculty Dr. Sheryl Kristensen, University Reviewer, Management Faculty The Office of the Provost Walden University 2019 Abstract African American Women Bloggers’ Lived Experiences with Digital Entrepreneurship: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study by Melissa McDowell Ed., Harvard University, 2000 BA, Tuskegee University, 1998 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management Walden University November 2019 Abstract The professionalization of blogs has elevated blogging to an organizational field whereby bloggers develop a legitimate career path.
For many minority women bloggers, the transition from being traditionally employed to managing a one-person digital enterprise is often met with racial and gender imbalances created by nontraditional modes of work. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of how African American women bloggers described their lived experiences with managing a one-person digital enterprise and the implications of their racial and gender identity within this nontraditional mode of work. To address this gap, a transcendental phenomenological method was used to collect data from African American women bloggers. This study was framed by 3 key concepts focused on African American women bloggers: Brydges and Sjöholm’s concept of personal style blogger, Martinez Dy et al’s concept of women digital entrepreneurs, and Gabriel’s concept of Black female identity online.
Data were gathered using 9 virtual semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the modified Van Kaam method. Eight themes emerged when answering the research question. The findings of the research showed that being an African American woman blogger means conducting entrepreneurial activity, working towards financial solvency, being proud of racial identity, and creating and delivering content as a blogger. Results gleaned from this transcendental phenomenological study may help promote social change by bringing awareness to policymakers on the issues of equity, access, and opportunity for marginalized populations who seek to become digital entrepreneurs.
African American Women Bloggers’ Lived Experiences with Digital Entrepreneurship: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study by Melissa McDowell Ed., Harvard University, 2000 BA, Tuskegee University, 1998 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management Walden University November 2019 Dedication I dedicate my dissertation to my mom, Christine T. Harvard, my dad, William C. McDowell, and my stepdad, Christopher A. To all the Black women bloggers: I see you.
Acknowledgements A special thank you to my Chair, Dr. Daphne Halkias, my Committee Member Dr. Michael Neubert, and my University Research Reviewer, Dr. Your contribution to my success is priceless and immeasurable.
Thank you to all my friends and family for your support. Table of Contents List of Tables. v List of Figures. vvi Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study.
1 Background of the Study. 5 Purpose of the Study. 7 Nature of the Study. 15 Scope and Delimitations.
17 Significance of the Study. 18 Significance to Practice. 19 Significance to Theory. 20 Significance to Social Change.
22 Summary and Transition. 22 Chapter 2: Literature Review. 24 Literature Search Strategy. 27 i Personal Style Blogger.
28 Women Digital Entrepreneurs. 29 Black Female Identity Online. 32 African American Women and the Traditional Workplace. 32 Women Entrepreneurs in the United States Today.
44 The Evolution of Blogging. 55 African American Women and Online Identity. 57 African American Women as Digital Entrepreneurs. 60 Literature Gap in Studies on African American Women Bloggers as Digital Entrepreneurs.
62 Summary and Conclusions. 63 Chapter 3: Research Method. 65 Research Design and Rationale. 65 Role of the Researcher.
69 Participant Selection Logic. 72 Procedures for Recruitment, Participation, and Data Collection. 75 Data Analysis Plan. 84 Issues of Trustworthiness.
102 Preliminary Coding or Horizonalization. 111 Individual Textual Description. 112 Individual Structural Descriptions. 121 Evidence of Trustworthiness.
140 Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations. 142 Interpretation of Findings. 142 Limitations of the Study. 159 Positive Social Change.
161 Implications for Practice. 166 Appendix A: Letter of Introduction and Recruitment. 230 Appendix B: Interview Protocol. 231 Appendix C: Permission to Use Interview Protocol.
234 iv List of Tables Table 1. Participants’ Demographics and Characteristics. Themes from Participants’ Responses. Theme Formulation Based on Participant’s Quotes.
Theme Formed Relative to Participant’s Responses to Interview Questions. Comparison of Themes to Conceptual Framework and Theories. 145 v List of Figures Figure 1. Moustakas’ empirical phenomenological research model.
79 vi 1 Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study Within the context of technological changes, labor market instability, and minority women’s search for greater career mobility, female digital entrepreneurship in the form of blogging has emerged as disruptive to employment in terms of traditional on- ground jobs for women of color (Duffy, 2017; Novoselova & Jenson, 2018). For many minority women bloggers, the transition from being a salaried employee to managing a one-person digital enterprise is often met with racial and gender imbalances created by nontraditional modes of work (Duffy, 2017; Hatfield, 2018; Martinez Dy, Martin, & Marlow, 2018). A recent meta-analysis of female digital entrepreneurship literature indicates the underrepresentation of women of color, particularly in studies of top-ranked bloggers (Duffy & Pruchniewska, 2017). This literature gap holds particularly true for studies on digital entrepreneurship among women of color, and specifically African American women (Harris, 2015; Juma, & Sequeira, 2017).
Blogging as digital entrepreneurship places Black women in a unique position to open new meanings of racial and gender identity within the entrepreneurship field (Gabriel, 2016; Steele, 2018); however, these women may find their lived experiences with digital entrepreneurship thwarted by financial challenges, lack of access to financial credit, and gaps in entrepreneurial skills (Krieger-Boden & Sorgner, 2018; Martinez Dy, Marlow, & Martin, 2017). This qualitative study of African American women bloggers’ lived experiences with managing a one-person digital enterprise may contribute to social change by launching original exploratory research on racial and gender bias within the context of entrepreneurial online blogging. Such an in-depth exploration of the challenges 2 faced by African American women digital entrepreneurs may inform policymakers to initiate more accessible funding and mentoring programs for minority women entrepreneurs (Edelman & Brush, 2018). This chapter discusses the problem statement development and outlines the gap in the literature.
Following is information regarding the problem, purpose and research questions, and conceptual framework of the study. Lastly, this chapter discusses the significance, assumptions, and limitations of the study along with definitions of key terms used throughout this study. Background of the Study Digital technologies and societal shifts are reconfiguring traditional forms of work and labor markets (Robinson, 2017). Long and Wilhoit (2018) found that women bloggers grapple with tensions related to transitioning into full-time blogging, authenticity, and brand loyalty.
Blogger participants in this study incorporated consistent 8-hour workdays to mirror the schedule of productivity they were accustomed to prior to transitioning from the traditional workplace. This study highlighted having an authentic blogging voice as essential for loyal followership and marketability, although conflicts exist between being true to oneself and advertising for brands. Blogger influencers create a massive amount of advertisement content for brands that is recirculated freely, often with little to no compensation (Abidin, 2016). Bloggers have a unique opportunity to position themselves as influencers.
Lepkowska-White and Kortright (2018) posited that independent bloggers have an intentional strategy for portraying a curated image that supports personal branding. A 3 majority of bloggers endorsed privileged lifestyles that readers may or may not be able to aspire to in reality; yet they are in many cases able to capture loyal followers and convert them to consumers. Personal branding that was once limited to celebrities is now an equal opportunity for anyone (Safitri, 2017; Erz & Christensen, 2018), including bloggers. Bloggers and other social media personalities are regarded as more credible than high profile personalities because they are relatable for everyday people, specifically young women (Djafarova & Rushworth, 2017).
Individuals from an array of social backgrounds have taken up fashion blogging as a hobby or as a means for earning a living (Armstrong & McDowell, 2018). Duffy (2017) conducted an extensive 3-year study exploring the lived experiences of women bloggers, video bloggers, and social media influencers on Instagram in their quest to become full-time profitable bloggers, and found success as an independent entrepreneurial blogger was closely tied to the same social and racial constructs that guide the success of traditional creative and tech economies; lacking racial diversity, and ethnically marginalized groups. For example, many successful bloggers are economically privileged, and their image closely mirrors the fashion industry stereotype of being young, thin, and White (Armstrong & McDowell, 2018). Juma and Sequeira (2017) applied disadvantage theory and protected market theory to explore the success of venture performance of African American women; a group understudied and inadequately represented in the management literature.
Juma and Sequiera found that individual factors such as social capital and psychological capital and external factors such as environment and financial capital have implications for venture 4 performance. Neumeyer, Santos, Caetano, and Kalbfleisch (2019) found that social capital and networks are critical to the success of women entrepreneurs in their entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, African American women entrepreneurs have unique barriers, bounded by race and gender that cause them to trail behind White women entrepreneurs. Bloggers have begun transforming the blogosphere into an organizational field (Erz & Christensen, 2018); it is important that African American women bloggers are included in the development and economic success of this emerging organizational market (Steele, 2018).
Roca-Sales and Lopez-Garcia (2017) conducted a study of lifestyle blogs written and edited by women bloggers compared to the traditional content of women’s magazines, examining themes such as beauty and fashion, relationships, and traditional roles of women in the home, and concluded that lifestyle blogs have writing tones that are more progressive and mirrored portrayals of femininity via themes similar to those found in the content of popular women’s magazines, with style and beauty being the most prevalent. However, African American women have a different perspective of beauty compared to mainstream beauty standards. Beauty and fashion are intrinsically connected to race and identity in the United States (Mannur, 2017), particularly for the African American woman. Steele (2018) argued that blogging provides an online environment for political resistance and cultural discourse traditionally expressed in the African American community.
These online spaces create opportunities to participate in debate and dialogue that excludes marginalized groups, such as mainstream media. Blogs naturally create a 5 space for marginalized groups to converge and discuss topics and issues that are not traditionally a topic of focus in the majority culture (Steele, 2016). Problem Statement Within the context of technological changes, labor market instability, and minority women’s search for greater career mobility, female digital entrepreneurship in the form of blogging has emerged as a disruptive technology to traditional modes of work among women of color, and specifically African American women (Martinez Dy, 2017, 2018; Steele, 2018).