TY - JOUR
T1 - Absent or overlooked? Promoting diversity among entrepreneurs with public support needs
AU - Owalla, Beldina
AU - Vorley, Tim
AU - Coogan, Tom
AU - Smith, Helen Lawton
AU - Wing, Katy
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper is based on a research project titled Diversity and Inclusion in Business Innovation funded by Innovate UK-UKRI and undertaken by the Innovation Caucus during the period November 2018 – October 2019. We would like to thank focus group and interview participants for sharing their experiences with us, and the advisory group members for their contributions and feedback. The authors are also grateful for the constructive comments received from the guest editors and two anonymous reviewers.
Funding Information:
Katy Wing is Research Development Manager, Loughborough University. She has a varied professional background involving developing partnerships, collaborations and networks across the academic, non-profit and statutory sectors. Her PhD from the University of Nottingham focused on cross-sector strategic partnerships (CSSPs) between businesses and non-profit organisations. She has project managed the ESRC/Innovate UK funded Innovation Caucus, a UK-wide innovation evidence network, comprising social science academics, with the aim of ensuring that the UK’s innovation policies and practices benefit from research insights from across the social sciences. She has extensive experience of working collaboratively to coordinate activity across different partner organisations and sectors, including directing projects funded by the Department of Health, the Department of Education and the Ministry of Justice, as a voluntary sector strategic partner. She also sits on the Management Board of Community Action Derby.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
PY - 2021/8/4
Y1 - 2021/8/4
N2 - Despite the widely recognised importance of diversity for business performance, knowledge concerning the support needs of under-represented groups is still limited. We adopt an intersectional approach to analyse the challenges and support needs of ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and those with disabilities, to participate in entrepreneurial activity in the UK. Our qualitative data is based on focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that engagement in entrepreneurship is influenced not just by minority status, but by the specific relations to other socio-demographic categories within which that status is embedded. Intersectional counter-frames form part of the strategies utilised by individuals to gain access to otherwise limited resources. We develop a conceptual model for promoting greater equality, diversity and inclusion, within an entrepreneurial ecosystem, and recommend a more holistic approach to realising inclusive economic growth. This includes adopting a hybrid/blended approach that combines targeted programs with the development of mainstream support programs.
AB - Despite the widely recognised importance of diversity for business performance, knowledge concerning the support needs of under-represented groups is still limited. We adopt an intersectional approach to analyse the challenges and support needs of ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and those with disabilities, to participate in entrepreneurial activity in the UK. Our qualitative data is based on focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that engagement in entrepreneurship is influenced not just by minority status, but by the specific relations to other socio-demographic categories within which that status is embedded. Intersectional counter-frames form part of the strategies utilised by individuals to gain access to otherwise limited resources. We develop a conceptual model for promoting greater equality, diversity and inclusion, within an entrepreneurial ecosystem, and recommend a more holistic approach to realising inclusive economic growth. This includes adopting a hybrid/blended approach that combines targeted programs with the development of mainstream support programs.
KW - Counterframes
KW - Diversity and inclusion
KW - EDI
KW - Entrepreneurial ecosystem
KW - Equality
KW - Intersectionality
KW - Policy initiatives
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85112380300&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Absent_or_overlooked_Promoting_diversity_among_entrepreneurs_with_public_support_needs/16558023
UR - https://figshare.shef.ac.uk/
U2 - 10.1504/IJEV.2021.116841
DO - 10.1504/IJEV.2021.116841
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85112380300
SN - 1742-5360
VL - 13
SP - 231
EP - 261
JO - International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing
JF - International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing
IS - 3
ER -
