Structured Agency and Motherhood among Copreneurs in the Czech Republic

We interviewed separately partners in twelve CR copreneurial couples to understand their possibly divergent perspectives on motives for copreneurship. Blenkinsopp and Owens argue that family businesses are a uniquely hybrid organizations that blend economic and caring concerns. Our analysis is guided by a structured-agency approach that focuses on how societal norms, the economy, and government policies influence entrepreneurial decisions. Our findings reveal how women’s caring concerns can converge with traditional entrepreneurial motives and the country context to encourage business ownership. The men in our study rarely discussed concerns about parenting duties, and their contextual concerns differed from those of the women. These findings are significant as they facilitate an understanding of how the entrepreneurial agency converges with social structures in a transitional country, such as the CR.