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

Rosanna Garcia; Rachel M. B. Atkins; Ezekiel Bonillas; Candida Brush; William B. Gartner; Friederike Welter; Haya Al-Dajani; Josè Ernesto Amorós; Karin Berglund; Anne de Bruin; Pascal Dey; Sarah Dodd; Laura Galloway; Diana M. Hechavarria; Debora Jackson; Jan Keim; Alexander Lewis; Jessica Lindbergh; Cathy Yang Liu; Christina Lubinski; Anil Nair; Arielle Newman; Jay O'Toole; Gregory Price; Miruna Radu-Lefebvre; Monder Ram; Angela Randolph; Eunki Ro; Birgitta Schwartz; Tabitha Sindani; Florence Villesèche; R. Daniel Wadhwani; Anna Wettermark; Mirela Xheneti

doi:10.1177/10422587251347048

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

Rosanna Garcia^*
, Rachel M. B. Atkins
, Ezekiel Bonillas
, Candida Brush
, William B. Gartner
, Friederike Welter
, Haya Al-Dajani
, Josè Ernesto Amorós
, Karin Berglund
, Anne de Bruin
, Pascal Dey
, Sarah Dodd
, Laura Galloway
, Diana M. Hechavarria
, Debora Jackson
, Jan Keim
, Alexander Lewis
, Jessica Lindbergh
, Cathy Yang Liu
, Christina Lubinski

Anil Nair, Arielle Newman, Jay O'Toole, Gregory Price, Miruna Radu-Lefebvre, Monder Ram, Angela Randolph, Eunki Ro, Birgitta Schwartz, Tabitha Sindani, Florence Villesèche, R. Daniel Wadhwani, Anna Wettermark, Mirela Xheneti

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Social Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review

11 Citations (SciVal)

93 Downloads (Pure)

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	355-397
Number of pages	43
Journal	Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Volume	50
Issue number	2
Early online date	22 Oct 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251347048
Publication status	Published - Mar 2026

Keywords

optimal distinctiveness theory
inclusive entrepreneurship
marginalized entrepreneurs
heterogeneity in research
epistemological considerations

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Garcia, et al., "How should we study heterogeneity in entrepreneurship? Moving the field to an inclusive approach". Journal of Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. ??. iss. ??, 202?. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251347048 © The Author(s) 2025.
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Garcia, R., Atkins, R. M. B., Bonillas, E., Brush, C., Gartner, W. B., Welter, F., Al-Dajani, H., Amorós, J. E., Berglund, K., de Bruin, A., Dey, P., Dodd, S., Galloway, L., Hechavarria, D. M., Jackson, D., Keim, J., Lewis, A., Lindbergh, J., Liu, C. Y., ... Xheneti, M. (2026). How Should We Study Heterogeneity in Entrepreneurship? Moving the Field to an Inclusive Approach. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 50(2), 355-397. 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{\textquoteright}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.",

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year = "2026",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1177/10422587251347048",

language = "English",

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pages = "355--397",

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Garcia, R, Atkins, RMB, Bonillas, E, Brush, C, Gartner, WB, Welter, F, Al-Dajani, H, Amorós, JE, Berglund, K, de Bruin, A, Dey, P, Dodd, S, Galloway, L, Hechavarria, DM, Jackson, D, Keim, J, Lewis, A, Lindbergh, J, Liu, CY, Lubinski, C, Nair, A, Newman, A, O'Toole, J, Price, G, Radu-Lefebvre, M, Ram, M, Randolph, A, Ro, E, Schwartz, B, Sindani, T, Villesèche, F, Wadhwani, RD, Wettermark, A & Xheneti, M 2026, 'How Should We Study Heterogeneity in Entrepreneurship? Moving the Field to an Inclusive Approach', Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 355-397. https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587251347048

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T1 - How Should We Study Heterogeneity in Entrepreneurship? Moving the Field to an Inclusive Approach

AU - Garcia, Rosanna

AU - Atkins, Rachel M. B.

AU - Bonillas, Ezekiel

AU - Brush, Candida

AU - Gartner, William B.

AU - Welter, Friederike

AU - Al-Dajani, Haya

AU - Amorós, Josè Ernesto

AU - Berglund, Karin

AU - de Bruin, Anne

AU - Dey, Pascal

AU - Dodd, Sarah

AU - Galloway, Laura

AU - Hechavarria, Diana M.

AU - Jackson, Debora

AU - Keim, Jan

AU - Lewis, Alexander

AU - Lindbergh, Jessica

AU - Liu, Cathy Yang

AU - Lubinski, Christina

AU - Nair, Anil

AU - Newman, Arielle

AU - O'Toole, Jay

AU - Price, Gregory

AU - Radu-Lefebvre, Miruna

AU - Ram, Monder

AU - Randolph, Angela

AU - Ro, Eunki

AU - Schwartz, Birgitta

AU - Sindani, Tabitha

AU - Villesèche, Florence

AU - Wadhwani, R. Daniel

AU - Wettermark, Anna

AU - Xheneti, Mirela

PY - 2026/3

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N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - optimal distinctiveness theory

KW - inclusive entrepreneurship

KW - marginalized entrepreneurs

KW - heterogeneity in research

KW - epistemological considerations

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U2 - 10.1177/10422587251347048

DO - 10.1177/10422587251347048

M3 - Editorial

SN - 1042-2587

VL - 50

SP - 355

EP - 397

JO - Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice

JF - Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice

IS - 2

ER -

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

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Keywords

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