How should we study heterogeneity in entrepreneurship? Moving the field to an inclusive approach

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Garcia, Rosanna and Atkin, Rachel M. B. and Bonillas, Ezekiel and Brush, Candida and Gartner, William B. and Welter, Friedericke and Al-Dajani, Haya and Amorós, José Ernesto and Berglund, Karin and de Bruin, Anne and Dey, Pascal and Dodd, Sarah and Galloway, Laura and Hechavarria, Diana M. and Jackson, Debora and Keim, Jan and Lewis, Alexander and Lindbergh, Jessica and Liu, Cathy Yang and Lubinski, Christina and Nair, Anil and Newman, Arielle and O'Toole, Jay and Price, Gregory and Radu-Lefebvre, Miruna and Ram, Monder and Randolph, Angela and Ro, Eunki and Schwartz, Birgitta and Sindani, Tabitha and Villesèche, Florence and Wadhwani, R. Daniel and Wettermark, Anna and Xheneti, Mirela (2025) How should we study heterogeneity in entrepreneurship? Moving the field to an inclusive approach. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 50 (2). pp. 355-397. ISSN 1042-2587 (https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251347048)

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Abstract

Entrepreneurship scholarship faces challenges related to diverse populations, striving to balance inclusivity with the recognition of unique entrepreneurial identities. Applying optimal distinctiveness theory, we explore the relationship between belongingness and uniqueness in entrepreneurship research. Catalyzed by Bakker and McMullen’s 2023 article on inclusivity in entrepreneurship, we utilized natural language processing to examine responses about inclusive entrepreneurship from 29 scholars dedicated to marginalized populations. Findings suggest that employing varied research methods and integrating structural and epistemological considerations can enhance our understanding of entrepreneurial heterogeneity. We advocate for entrepreneurship research that values individual experiences while promoting inclusive practices, highlighting the need for evolving scholarly paradigms to reflect entrepreneurial differences.

ORCID iDs

Garcia, Rosanna, Atkin, Rachel M. B., Bonillas, Ezekiel, Brush, Candida, Gartner, William B., Welter, Friedericke, Al-Dajani, Haya, Amorós, José Ernesto, Berglund, Karin, de Bruin, Anne, Dey, Pascal, Dodd, Sarah ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3140-8194, Galloway, Laura, Hechavarria, Diana M., Jackson, Debora, Keim, Jan, Lewis, Alexander, Lindbergh, Jessica, Liu, Cathy Yang, Lubinski, Christina, Nair, Anil, Newman, Arielle, O'Toole, Jay, Price, Gregory, Radu-Lefebvre, Miruna, Ram, Monder, Randolph, Angela, Ro, Eunki, Schwartz, Birgitta, Sindani, Tabitha, Villesèche, Florence, Wadhwani, R. Daniel, Wettermark, Anna and Xheneti, Mirela;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)