How Should We Study Heterogeneity in Entrepreneurship? Moving the Field to an Inclusive Approach

Authors Information: 
Rosanna Garcia, Sara Dodd, Anna Wettermark, Birgitta Maria Schwartz, Karin Berglund, Jessica Lindbergh, Miruna Radu-Lefebvre, Jan Keim, Pascal Dey, Florence Villeseche, Cathy Yang Liu, Jay O'Toole, A. Randolph, Adil Nair, Alexander Lewis, Debora Jackson, Diana Hechavarria, Mirela Xheneti, Tabitha Sindani, Anne DeBruin, Arielle M. Newman, Monder Ram, Haya Al-Dajani, Candida Brush, José Ernesto Amorós Espinosa, Gregory N. Price, Friederike Welter, Laura Galloway, Rachel Atkins


Journal:
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2025

Summary:
This editorial challenges conventional categorizations in entrepreneurship research and, drawing on optimal distinctiveness theory and multi-method analysis of expert responses, calls for a paradigm shift toward inclusive scholarship that values both belonging and uniqueness, contextualizes entrepreneurial identity, and embraces epistemological diversity to better reflect the heterogeneity of entrepreneurial experiences.

Research Questions:

• What constitutes an “inclusive” approach to entrepreneurship research?
• How can optimal distinctiveness theory help categorize current approaches to studying entrepreneurial heterogeneity?
• How do structural, epistemological, and contextual factors shape research on marginalized entrepreneurs?
• What are the risks of assimilationist or deficit-based framings in entrepreneurship theory?
  

What We Know:
This work matters to anyone committed to building a more just, relevant, and reflective entrepreneurship field. As entrepreneurship research increasingly engages with diverse and marginalized populations, this editorial challenges scholars to reexamine the assumptions, categories, and methods that shape our understanding of who counts as an entrepreneur and what entrepreneurship is. It matters to scholars, journal editors, policymakers, and educators who want to avoid reproducing systems of exclusion through research practices. By advocating for a shift toward inclusive epistemologies and contextualized understandings, this project helps redirect the field away from assimilationist or homogenizing tendencies and toward a more pluralistic, representative, and equitable scholarly agenda.

As one of the invited contributors, I saw this as a rare and important opportunity to help shape the trajectory of entrepreneurship scholarship by bringing in underrepresented voices, challenging gatekeeping logics, and advocating for research that not only studies difference but values it.

Novel Findings:

The originality of this editorial lies in its collaborative genesis and methodological innovation. Unlike traditional academic articles authored by a small research team, this piece emerged from a global, multi-vocal conversation among scholars deeply engaged in studying marginalized entrepreneurs. It responds to a foundational provocation in the field (Bakker & McMullen, 2023) not with a single theoretical stance, but through a rich, collective dialogue that surfaces diverse perspectives, tensions, and critiques from across the entrepreneurship research community.

The editorial is also methodologically distinctive: it combines natural language processing, thematic analysis, and traditional qualitative synthesis to analyze written reflections from 29 scholars, blending human and machine-led inquiry to distill insight. This approach not only democratizes knowledge production but also models an inclusive research process that reflects the paper’s core argument.

As one of the invited scholars, my personal contribution lies in offering an individual voice that was integrated into this broader scholarly tapestry, helping to shape how inclusion, identity, power, and epistemology are understood and theorized within entrepreneurship. The collaborative format itself—where lived expertise and scholarly critique were not just cited, but included as the data—is a powerful and original feature that distinguishes this work from anything else in the field.

Implications for Research:

This work calls for a radical rethinking of how we study marginalized entrepreneurs. By centering heterogeneity, context, and inclusive epistemologies, it challenges the field to move beyond assimilationist frames and build truly inclusive entrepreneurship research.

Full Citation:

Garcia, R., Sara Dodd, Anna Wettermark, Birgitta Maria Schwartz, Karin Berglund, Jessica Lindbergh, Miruna Radu-Lefebvre, Jan Keim, Pascal Dey, Florence Villeseche, Cathy Yang Liu, Jay O'Toole, A. Randolph, Adil Nair, Alexander Lewis, Debora Jackson, Diana Hechavarria, Mirela Xheneti, Tabitha Sindani, ... Atkins, R. (Accepted/In press). How should we study heterogeneity in entrepreneurship? Moving the field to an inclusive approach. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice.

Abstract:

Entrepreneurship scholarship faces challenges related to diverse populations, striving to balance inclusivity with the recognition of unique entrepreneurial identities. Applying optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT) we explore the relationship between belongingness and uniqueness in entrepreneurship research. Catalyzed by Bakker and McMullen (2023), 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.