Disadvantage and Entrepreneurship: from Shadow to the Light

Special Issue

European Management Review

CFP EMR Disadvantage and entrepreneurship 

Guest Editors:

Adnane Maâlaoui, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, PSB Paris School of Business,

France

Vanessa Ratten, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, La Trobe University, Australia

Alan Carsrud, Visiting Research Professor of Entrepreneurship, ÅboAkademi University, Finland & PSB Paris School of Business, France

Malin Brännback, Chair of International Business, Åbo Akademi University, Finland

Sibylle Heilbrunn, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Kinneret Academic College, Israel

Thomas M. Cooney, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

Description

Despite the increased interest in recent years regarding social and gender-based entrepreneurship studies, there remains a significant lack of research relating to the topic of entrepreneurship amongst disadvantaged communities. In 2012, The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation featured a Special Issue on ‘Silent Minorities’ (Vol 13,2) but otherwise entrepreneurship literature has remained relatively quiet on this topic. This special issue will discuss disadvantaged entrepreneurship by exploring what is meant by the term and then taking a broad approach towards its understanding as a research field worthy of more attention. The special issue will additionally consider if entrepreneurship supports the social and economic integration of disadvantaged people through their creation of new enterprises. Although the focus is on the positive benefits of entrepreneurship for disadvantaged people, we also acknowledge the undesirable realization that it can often be a necessity for those facing societal marginalisation.

For many years, researchers did not believe that any disadvantage might occur because of one’s profile and that all entrepreneurs should be treated as a homogenous group. However, some initial works regarding people suffering from discrimination put forward gender as one of the principal ways that some entrepreneurs were disadvantaged. As proposed by Fischer (1993:151) “liberal feminist theory suggests that women are disadvantaged relative to men due to overt discrimination and/or to systemic factors that deprive them of vital resources like business education and experience”. Previous research had suggested that gender was not a difference in terms of cognitive and intellectual capacities but mainly in terms of access to resources. Therefore, women were considered as one of the most disadvantaged people, not only in terms of employment, but also in terms of socialization and value creation (Marlow and Patton, 2005). Much research has now taken place regarding the additional and distinctive challenges faced by women when starting a business, while more recently significant amounts of research have highlighted the trials faced by immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurs. Collectively the studies on these communities have substantiated the argument that entrepreneurs are not a homogeneous group and that each community is deserving of detailed attention regarding the unique attributes that might influence their ability to start and grow a business.

The term disadvantaged entrepreneurship has also been referred to as inclusive entrepreneurship (OECD Report, 2016) or necessity entrepreneurship (Hart & Acs, 2011), but in this special issue we are also examining the physical, mental, and health conditions of an entrepreneur and how they may help or hinder their entrepreneurial capabilities. Hence, disadvantaged entrepreneurs incorporate a range of individuals that vary depending on their socio-demographic characteristics such as young people and students (Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud, 2000), women (Marlow, 2014), seniors (Kautonen, 2008 ;Kautonen et al. 2011; Maâlaoui, et al. 2013, Curran and Blackburn, 2013), unemployed, immigrants (Aliaga-Isla and Rialp, 2013), ethnic minorities ( Aldrich and Waldinger, 1990 ; Carter et Al, 2015; Dana, 2007; Zhou, 2004), immigrants ( Nonna et al., 2017), ex-prisoners (Cooney, 2012) and disabled people including those with developmental challenges (Dimic and Orlov, 2014; Logan, 2009; Pagán, 2009). Other types of disadvantaged people are also emerging due to continuous political and economic changes (e.g. refugee entrepreneurs) who are newly classified as disadvantaged (Bernatd, 1976; De Clercq and Honig, 2011). These disadvantaged people due to their different characteristics such as having a disability or illhealth should be examined distinctively to understand their entrepreneurial intentions.

As suggested by Miller & Miller (2017: 7), “some critical drivers of entrepreneurship come in the form of serious life challenges rather than personal advantages and strengths, or favorable contexts”. This special issue aims to better understand the inclusive entrepreneurship literature through the theory of disadvantage by considering different areas of research, such as psychology, sociology and small business. Topics of interests include, but are not limited to:

• Disadvantage and cultural theory versus disadvantaged entrepreneurs
• Entrepreneurial alertness and disadvantaged entrepreneurs
• Disadvantage Entrepreneurship and Circular Economy
• Entrepreneurial motivation and cognitive aspects of disadvantaged entrepreneurs
• Entrepreneurial ecosystem of disadvantage entrepreneurs
• Geography, culture, building network and social capital of disadvantaged
• entrepreneurs
• Social integration of disadvantaged entrepreneurs
• Entrepreneurial rebound of disadvantaged entrepreneurs
• Financing small business creation by disadvantaged entrepreneurs
• Innovation, performance and disadvantaged entrepreneurs

The special issue is seeking papers that will offer new insights and knowledge relating to entrepreneurship in disadvantaged communities and will enhance the broader understanding that entrepreneurship is not a ‘one size fits all’ activity. Moreover, researches related to the socio-Economic Approaches and sustainability/environmental considerations are welcome.

Submission and Timetable for the special issue:

• 5th June 2018: Submission deadline
• 5th October 2018: Round 1 review
• 5th December 2018: Revisions/resubmissions
• 5th February 2019: Round 2 review
• 25th March 2019: Revisions/resubmissions
• 5th Mai 2019: Final editorial and delivery to EMR
• Journal Volume SI published September-December 2019

Email submission: a.maalaoui @ psbedu.paris; malin.brannback @ abo.fi and v.ratten @ latrobe.edu.au

All submissions should conform to EMR style guidelines detailed: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1740-4762/homepage/ForAuthors.html

References:

 Aldrich, H. E., & Waldinger, R. (1990). Ethnicity and Entrepreneurship. Annual Review of Sociology, 16(1), 111-135.

Aliaga-Isla, R., & Rialp, A. (2013). Systematic review of immigrant entrepreneurship literature: previous findings and ways forward. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 25(9-10), 819-844.

Bjerregaard, T., & Lauring, J. (2012). Entrepreneurship as institutional change: Strategies of bridging institutional contradictions. European Management Review, 9(1), 31-43.

Carter, S., Mwaura, S., Ram, M., Trehan, K., & Jones, T. (2015). Barriers to ethnic minority and women’s enterprise: Existing evidence, policy tensions and unsettled questions. International Small Business Journal, 33(1), 49-69.

Cooney, T.M. (2012) – Reducing Recidivism Through Entrepreneurship Programmes Inside Prison – International Journal for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Vol 13, No 2, 2012, pp 99–107

Dana, L. P. (Ed.). (2007). Handbook of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship: A Co-Evolutionary View on Resource Management. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Evans, D. S., & Leighton, L. S. (1989). Some empirical aspects of entrepreneurship. The American Economic Review, 79(3), 519-535.

Fischer, E. M., Reuber, A. R., & Dyke, L. S. (1993). A theoretical overview and extension of research on sex, gender, and entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 8(2), 151-168.

Kautonen, T., Tornikoski, E. T., & Kibler, E. (2011). Entrepreneurial intentions in the third age: the impact of perceived age norms. Small Business Economics, 37(2), 219-234.

Krueger, N. F., Reilly, M. D., & Carsrud, A. L. (2000). Competing models of entrepreneurial intentions. Journal of Business Venturing, 15(5), 411-432.

Loarne-Lemaire, S. L., Maalaoui, A., & Dana, L. P. (2017). Social entrepreneurship, age and gender: toward a model of social involvement in entrepreneurship. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 31(3), 363-381.

Levesque, M., & Minniti, M. (2006). The effect of aging on entrepreneurial behavior. Journal of Business Venturing, 21(2), 177-194.

Light, I. (1979). Disadvantaged minorities in self-employment. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 20, 31.

Maâlaoui, A., Castellano, S., Safraou, I., & Bourguiba, M. (2013). An exploratory study of seniorpreneurs: a new model of entrepreneurial intentions in the French context. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 20(2), 148-164.

Marlow, S., & Patton, D. (2005). All credit to men? Entrepreneurship, finance, and gender. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(6), 717-735.

Miller, J. (2008). The ongoing legitimacy project: corporate philanthropy as protective strategy. European Management Review, 5(3), 151-164.

Miller, D., & Breton‐Miller, L. (2017). Underdog Entrepreneurs: A Model of Challenge‐Based Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice,41(1), 7-17.

Kushnirovich, Nonna, Sibylle Heilbrunn, and Liema Davidovich. “Diversity of Entrepreneurial Perceptions: Immigrants vs. Native Population.” European Management Review (2017).

Stevenson, L. A. (1986). Against all odds: The entrepreneurship of women. Journal of Small Business Management, 24, 30.

Volery, T. (2007). Ethnic entrepreneurship: a theoretical framework. Handbook of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship, 1, 30-41.

Zhou, M. (2004). Revisiting ethnic entrepreneurship: convergencies, controversies, and conceptual advancements. International Migration Review, 38(3), 1040-1074.

Guest editor’s information

Dr. Adnan Maalaoui is the Head of the chair Entrepreneurship and diversity at Paris School of Business. His researches mainly focus on entrepreneurship issues and especially on disadvantaged entrepreneurs (elderly, refugees, disabled entrepreneurs, etc.). He is interested in topics such as: entrepreneurial intention and cognitive approach to entrepreneurship. He mainly applies those questions to cases of diversity and social entrepreneurship. Adnan Maalaoui is the author of 20+ articles published in academic journals. Likewise, he is the author of articles published in professional journals, and in edited books. Adnane is also the author of a series of French speaking MOOCs on entrepreneurship.

Vanessa Ratten is Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at La Trobe Business School Melbourne Australia. She received her PhD from the UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Australia. Her research publications include six edited books by Routledge, Springer and Edward Elgar; and publications in journals including Entrepreneurship & Regional Development; Journal of Business Research, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business amongst others. Her main research interests include social entrepreneurship, gender entrepreneurship and international entrepreneurship.

Alan Carsrud is Visiting Research Professor at Åbo Akademi University and PSB Paris School of Business. He previously was the Loretta Rogers Chair of Entrepreneurship at Ryerson University in Toronto. He is widely published in entrepreneurship, family business, social and clinical psychology. He has nine books and over 225 research papers.

Malin Brännback is Dean and Chair of International Business at Åbo Akademi University where she received her doctoral degree in management science in 1996. She also holds a B.Sc. in pharmacy. Prior to her return to Åbo Aka- demi University in 2003, she served as Associate Professor in Information Systems at University of Turku, and Professor of Marketing at Turku School of Economics where she was head of the Innomarket research unit. She is Docent at the Turku School of Economics where she taught prior to returning to Åbo Akademi and she is Docent at Hanken. She has held a variety of teaching and research positions in such fields as Entrepreneurship, Market Research, Information Systems, International Marketing, Strategic Management and Pharmacy. She has published widely on en- trepreneurship, biotechnology business, and knowledge management. Her current research interests are in entrepreneurial intentionality, entrepreneurial cognition and entrepreneurial growth and performance in technology entrepreneurship.

Sibylle Heilbrunn, Ph.D., is Professor for Organizational Sociology and holds currently the position of Dean of School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Kinneret Academic College in Israel. Formerly she was Head of MA Studies in Immigration and Social Integration at the Ruppin Academic Center. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship of minority and migrant groups, cultural diversity issues and on forms of organizational behavior including perspectives of diversity and multi-culturalism.

Thomas M. Cooney is Professor in Entrepreneurship at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Academic Director of the DIT Institute for Minority Entrepreneurship and Adjunct Professor at the University of Turku (Finland). He is a former President of the International Council for Small Business (2012-13) and of the European Council for Small Business (2009-11), and was Chair of the ICSB 2014 World Entrepreneurship Conference. He was a Member of the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation ‘Entrepreneurship Forum’ (2013-14) and has been a policy advisor to the Irish Government, European Commission, OECD and other international organisations. He was a founding Director of Startup Ireland and works in various capacities with a range of businesses. He has researched and published widely on the topic of entrepreneurship and further details of his work can be found at www.thomascoon ey.com.