http://www.thejournalofbusiness.org/index.php/site 40 Influence of Emotions on Decision-Making Michele Franco 1 , Cida Sanches 2 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to verify whether emotions and feelings influence the decisions of entrepreneurs differently in terms of gender using data collected via instruments i.e. questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The findings suggest that out of 13 factors under study, 8 showed significant differences in the responses given by the two groups: love, unfairness, compassion, dissension, individualism, insecurity, anger and surprise. Men tend to face a decision situation as an intellectual challenge. They avoid listening to other people and decide rapidly, as they understand these actions as a sign of capacity and independence. The results showed that male and female entrepreneurs are significantly affected by feelings and emotions. Women showed a greater tendency than men did towards the following factors: love, jealousy and dissension. This study contributes to the entrepreneurship liteature and broadens the empirical base of studies related to the influence of emotions and feelings of male and female entrepreneurs, providing a possible new perspective regarding decisions, taking into account the gender of the decision maker. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship in Brazil, decision and emotion. JEL Codes: L26; D71; M21 Available Online: 22-02-2016 This is an open access article under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, 2016. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Entrepreneurship is a theme that has been widely addressed in the academic and business communities in recent times. It is the role of innovation in the entrepreneurial process that results in the creation of new production methods, products and markets (Timmons and Spinelli, 2004). The entrepreneur identifies, seizes and takes advantage of opportunities, seeking resources to transform an opportunity into successful business. According to the study conducted by the Global 1 Michele Franco, Master’s Program in Business Administration, FACCAMP, Rua Guatemala, 167, CEP 13231 -230, Campo Limpo Paulista - SP, Brazil. E-mail: michellysfranco@gmail.com 2 Cida Sanches, Professor and researcher at the Master’s Program in Business Administration, FACCAMP, Rua Guatemala, 167, CEP 13231-230, Campo Limpo Paulista - SP, Brazil. E-mail: cidasanches@uol.com.br International Journal of Business and Social Research Volume 06, Issue 01, 2016