Shawna Chen, Brock University

Michael Lounsbury, University of Alberta

Chris Zhang, University of Houston Downtown

This special issue addresses a significant gap in entrepreneurship scholarship by focusing on 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, whose experiences remain underexplored despite growing recognition of identity's importance in entrepreneurial processes. The special issue seeks to advance conceptual, empirical, and methodological understanding of how sexuality and gender identity intersect with entrepreneurial ecosystems and institutional structures.

The editors welcome diverse theoretical frameworks including identity theory, queer-feminist perspectives, intersectionality, and institutional theory. They are particularly interested in how 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs navigate visibility, stigma, belonging, and legitimacy within institutional contexts and across geographic scales. The issue encourages methodological diversity, including qualitative research, mixed methods, and innovative research approaches, with particular interest in collaborations between scholars and practitioners.

Appel publié par Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship. Voir l'appel sur le site de l'éditeur. Fiche de l'appel sur kerostig.

Potential topics

• LGBTQ+ identity and entrepreneurial identity work
• Coming out, concealment, and impression management in venture contexts
• Intersectionality and layered entrepreneurial experiences
• Institutional barriers to legitimacy, funding, and recognition
• Emancipatory entrepreneurship and structural constraints
• Entrepreneurial ecosystems and LGBTQ+ inclusion
• Policy and programmatic responses to LGBTQ+ small business development
• Entrepreneurial wellbeing, belonging, and non-economic goals
• Comparative studies of LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship across contexts
• Methodological approaches for studying LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs

Timeline

• November 1, 2025: Opening date for manuscript submissions
• December 31, 2026: Closing date for manuscript submission