Navigating Spousal Support and Work–Family Conflict: A Qualitative Dyadic Study of Female Entrepreneurs and Their Spouses
This study explores work–family conflict crossover and the meaning of spousal support among female entrepreneurs and their husbands as dyadic units. A qualitative exploratory design was employed involving six married couples, comprising six female entrepreneurs and their husbands. Data were collected through separate semi-structured interviews with each spouse, followed by joint confirmation sessions. Reflexive thematic analysis and a dyadic framework method were used to compare individual and within-couple narratives. Four themes were identified: work–family conflict evolved from women’s individual burdens into shared experiences, spousal support functioned as both a resource and a constraint on business growth, dyadic coping involved role redistribution, emotional regulation, communication, and boundary management, and entrepreneurial success was negotiated through shared family values. Spousal support varied along a continuum comprising facilitative, adaptive, authority-centered, and restrictive patterns, reflecting differences in needs alignment, decision-making authority, and entrepreneurial autonomy. Work–family conflict, spousal support, and entrepreneurial success should be understood as relational processes that couples continuously negotiate. The findings extend the spillover–crossover perspective by identifying spousal support as a relational continuum that can simultaneously facilitate entrepreneurial activity and constrain professional autonomy.
Keywords: Female entrepreneurs, Work–family conflict, Spousal support, Crossover, Dyadic analysis.
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