Unpacking the black box of non-opportunity for disadvantaged individuals

Papadopoulou, Foteini (2018) Unpacking the black box of non-opportunity for disadvantaged individuals. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2018 (1), 18461. (doi:10.5465/AMBPP.2018.18461abstract).

Abstract

This paper theorizes the mechanisms responsible for the exclusion of disadvantaged individuals to two types of opportunities, namely the opportunity to act entrepreneurially and the opportunity to succeed. Exploring opportunity in its institutional and social context we concentrate on the cognitive-cultural level in order to identify the taken-for-granted beliefs that make the domain of “non- opportunity” possible for different types of disadvantaged groups. In an attempt to fathom the cultural mechanisms responsible for the unequal access to entrepreneurial opportunities we pay special attention to the less conscious processes that lead to the exclusion of certain individuals. The advantage of following this research orientation is twofold. First, it helps us appreciate that in order to more effectively integrate disadvantaged individuals in entrepreneurial processes we should start paying closer attention to the role of social stakeholders responsible for their marginalization. Second, it offers a remedy to false assumptions in mainstream entrepreneurship literature that entrepreneurial creativity and alertness (personality qualities and adequate resources alone) are alone sufficient for opportunity actualization. Failing to address the structural problems of entrepreneurial ecosystems may only hinder the prospects of inclusion; while imbalanced policy attempts may even further marginalize disadvantaged individuals by victimizing them for their limited success in entrepreneurial undertakings.

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