ABSTRACT
Introduction Germany allows for a unique comparison between women’s entrepreneurship in a mature market economy (West Germany) versus entrepreneurship in a former socialist economy (East Germany). After more than a decade of re-unification one would expect little differences between West and East German entrepreneurs, because the transformation in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) was facilitated by a considerable transfer of capital, knowledge and institutions from West Germany. On the other hand, East German female entrepreneurship also might show distinctive characteristics because of the rapid transformation process, which was accompanied by a massive loss of employment and a renaissance of conservative values. This question so far has not been explored systematically.
