Purpose – The aim of this paper is to add to the theorization of the entrepreneurship context(s) by examining the influence of rural context in family business decision-making through a gender lens. Undertaking a contextualized view, by applying Welter’s (2011) typology of where and when contexts, and adding “who” (Whetten, 1989) as an element of context enables us to identify an array of factors that encourage or discourage various forms of entrepreneurial activity (Welter & Baker, 2021). This paper takes its point of departure that not only entrepreneurship shapes the context but also context shapes entrepreneurial processes.

The context of the study is family businesses in rural areas, which often are faced with depopulation due to the closing of basic services thus, the younger population, particularly educated women, move to urban areas. Thus, rural family businesses risk closing or moving due to losing customers and family successors for the continuation of the business. The empirical site of our study is rural family firms in Sweden, mainly characterized by a high level of gender equality and culture but also traditional and gender-conservative business structures in the rural. 

 Design/methodology/approach - The empirical case in this paper builds on a qualitative study of twenty-four life course narratives of women and men entrepreneurs in a rural region in Southern Sweden who are engaged in their family businesses. The authors’ view is that women and men as agents navigate their lives and that their life story narratives can provide reflections and insights that inform their perceptions on the influence of the rural context in their family business decision-making.

 Findings – The preliminary findings suggest that the proximity to urban areas plays an important role for rural family businesses as the infrastructure of rural location influences decision-making and business development. 

 Contributions:  This paper contributes to the discussion about the context and agency which has gained increased interest in the last decades (Welter et al., 2019; Welter & Baker, 2021). The contributions extend to the proximity theory where distance to urban areas plays an important role for rural family businesses as the infrastructure of rural locations influences decision-making and business development. Finally, this study contributes to the regional development literature regarding the mobility of women and young men engaging within entrepreneurial places.