Challenging the context: mumpreneurship, copreneurship and sustainable thinking in the entrepreneurial process of women – a case study in Ecuador Chávez Rivera, María Eulalia Fuentes Fuentes, María Del Mar Ruiz Jiménez, Jenny María Women entrepreneurship Mumpreneurs Mumpreneurship Sustainable thinking Entrepreneurial process Emprendimiento de mujeres Copreneurship Pensamiento sostenible Proceso emprendedor The authors would like thank the three blinded reviewers and editors whose contributions enhanced the quality of this paper. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support lent by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities [ECO2016-80677-R] and the European Union (FEDER Grants). The authors are grateful to the Economic Promotion Agency of the Municipality of Quito CONQUITO, the Chamber of Commerce and the US Embassy with its AWE -DreamBuilder programme, the Entrepreneurship Centre at Universidad de Guayaquil, for having collaborated with databases and contacts, as well as with their facilities to carry out the field research. Purpose The purpose of this article is to determine the factors in the context of entrepreneurship that are evident in Ecuador, a country that has the highest rate of female entrepreneurship worldwide with 34% according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) (2019). Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study was carried out with 39 cases, applying in-depth personal interviews and focus groups to selected cases in the main cities of Ecuador. Findings The results suggest that "mumpreneurship", copreneurship and sustainable thinking arise in response to the environment. Deepening then in the perspective of the 5M proposes by Brush et al. (2009) that give us a framework of the macroenvironment of women entrepreneurship and offers a holistic understanding of women's entrepreneurship, adding a sixth "M" which is "Environmental Thinking" or the environmental thinking that is present in the current context. Originality/value This article is one of the first to analyse the context of female entrepreneurship in Ecuador and determine the context factors that influence the identification of opportunities and the exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities. It also presents the expectations and challenges of the women who shape the authors' case studies and give voice to Ecuadorian women. Consequently, this research will support the configuration of policies that supports each of the stages of women's entrepreneurial processes. Propósito – Este artículo pretende determinar los factores del contexto del emprendimiento que se evidencian en el Ecuador, país que ostenta la tasa m as alta de emprendimiento femenino a nivel mundial con un 34% de acuerdo al GEM (2019). Diseño/metodología/enfoque – Se realizó un estudio cualitativo con 39 casos, aplicando entrevistas personales a profundidad y grupos focales a casos seleccionados en las principales ciudades del Ecuador. Resultados – Los resultados sugieren que el “mumpreneurship”, el copreneurship y el pensamiento sostenible surgen como respuesta al entorno. Profundizando entonces en la perspectiva de las 5Ms propuesta por Brush et al. (2009) que ofrece una comprensión holística del emprendimiento de mujeres, añadiendo una sexta “M” que es el “Medioambiental Thinking” o el pensamiento ambiental que está presente en el contexto estudiado. Originalidad/valor – Este artículo es uno de los primeros en analizar el contexto del emprendimiento femenino en Ecuador y determinar los factores del contexto que influyen en la identificación y en la explotación de oportunidades emprendedoras. Además presenta las expectativas y retos de las mujeres que configuran nuestros casos de estudio y dan voz a las mujeres ecuatorianas. En consecuencia nuestra investigación servir a de apoyo para la configuración de políticas que apoyen cada una de las etapas del proceso emprendedor de las mujeres. 2021-06-22T10:35:46Z 2021-06-22T10:35:46Z 2021-05-19 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Chávez Rivera, M.E., Fuentes Fuentes, M.d.M. and Ruiz-Jiménez, J.M. (2021), "Challenging the context: mumpreneurship, copreneurship and sustainable thinking in the entrepreneurial process of women – a case study in Ecuador", Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. [https://doi.org/10.1108/ARLA-07-2020-0172] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/69334 10.1108/ARLA-07-2020-0172 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España Emerald