Edited by Colette Henry, Slavica Singer, Jian Gao, Jacqueline Winstanley and Dinah Bennett

While the topic of inclusive entrepreneurship is gaining increasing attention from academics, researchers and practitioners, there remains a dearth of research in this area (Sreenivasan & Suresh, 2023; Schaltegger, Beckmann & Hockerts, 2018). Adopting an inclusive approach helps ensure fair treatment for everyone. More specifically, it helps eradicate prejudice and discrimination based on an individual’s protected characteristics (Bakker & McMullen, 2023). Protected characteristics are those that are beyond the control of an individual and include age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation (Equality and Human Rights Commission)[1]. Given recent world events, forced migration could also justifiably be included here. In many countries, it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on protected characteristics.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity by the year 2030. The 17 SDGs are interconnected, recognising that development must be balanced between social, economic, and environmental sustainability areas, and that action in one area may affect outcomes in another (https://sdgs.un.org/goals). Inclusive entrepreneurship is now recognized as being critical to the sustainability agenda.

Accordingly, our purpose with this book is to augment the current body of knowledge in the field of inclusive entrepreneurship and highlight its relevance in contributing to the well-being of people, as stipulated in the UN SDGs (UN, 2022). This will be achieved by bringing together leading-edge contemporary research contributions that demonstrate the current state of the art in the field, signpost researchers and practitioners toward research gaps, and identify the next critical steps in this important agenda.

This book will fill a gap in current knowledge by collating a high-quality collection of international research-based chapters on inclusive entrepreneurship and highlighting the link to the sustainable development goals. Chapters will be authored by leading international scholars and will draw on a range of geographical and cultural contexts. The book should be of value to academics, researchers, doctoral students, and those with a stake in the entrepreneurship, inclusivity, and SDG agenda.

We invite chapters – conceptual, empirical, or thought pieces, including contributions that rely on secondary data – that seek to:

  • Conceptualize inclusive entrepreneurship in the context of the SDGs (theoretical chapters; (overviews of the field; systematic literature reviews; syntheses of current debates in the field; research agendas)
  • Critically discuss parallels and intersections between academic, practice and policy debates on inclusiveness and the SDGs
  • Identify challenges and approaches to solving the issues articulated in the SDGs (e.g., debating which groups are best placed to offer solutions; which groups are excluded; the role of inclusivity in helping to solve these problems)
  • Debate gender and cultural differences in conceptualising and addressing the SDGs
  • Consider entrepreneurship as it relates to migrants, youth, seniors, and people with special needs, exploring how it can be made more accessible
  • Identify frameworks, systems, practices, and processes for promoting and measuring inclusive entrepreneurship and the incorporation of the SDGs
  • Analyse country contexts (empirically based research chapters exploring how inclusive entrepreneurship and the SDGs are shaped in specific countries, parallels, and differences between developed and underdeveloped countries)
  • Analyse sector contexts (empirically based research chapters exploring how inclusive entrepreneurship and the SDGs ae shaped in specific sectors, such as manufacturing, circular economy, health, food, mobility, energy, digitalization). Within these domains, topics addressing deep tech will be especially welcome
  • Signpost readers toward future approaches and mindsets required to address the SDGs for a more inclusive society.

The above list of topics is not exhaustive, and we welcome proposals for chapters in other areas that offer an appropriate fit with the book’s theme. Authors should adhere to the ethical research guidelines of their respective institutions where required. Please note that all chapters will be peer reviewed, and chapter authors may be expected to review at least one submitted chapter.

In terms of methodological approach, we invite chapters that adopt both quantitative and qualitative inquiry and that facilitate a deep understanding of the relevance of inclusive entrepreneurship theory and practice to the UN SDGs. However, contributors may also potentially consider adopting a mixed methods approach wherein positivistic, objective approaches can be complemented with interpretivist, subjectivist techniques to analyse inclusive entrepreneurship practices and experiences.

Target audience

We are targeting this book at academics, researchers, postgraduate and doctoral students – all in the field of entrepreneurship, sustainability, inclusivity; those with an interest or stake in these fields, from a research, policy and/or civil society perspective and senior managers in HEIs. However, we believe the book will also be of value to undergraduate students and educators in the field of entrepreneurship, sustainability, and inclusivity; civil society institutions and lobbyists interested in having evidence-based research to inform their policy recommendations; those engaged in enterprise promotion; academic departmental leaders and enterprise support managers.

Important Dates

by 1st December 2024

  • Chapter authors receive reviews with feedback: Early February 2025
  • Final revised chapters: by 1st May 2025
  • Expected publication date: Early 2026

Should you wish to discuss your potential contribution in advance, please feel free to contact any of the editors below.

Colette Henry 
Slavica Singer 
Jian Gao 
Jacqueline Winstanley 
Dinah Bennett  

References

Bakker, R. M. & McMullen, J. S. (2023). Inclusive entrepreneurship: A call for a shared theoretical conversation about unconventional entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, Volume 38, Issue 1, ISSN 0883-9026, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2022.106268.

Schaltegger, S., Beckmann, M., & Hockerts, K. (2018). Collaborative entrepreneurship for sustainability. Creating solutions in light of the UN sustainable development goals. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 10(2), 131-152.

Sreenivasan, A. & Suresh, S. (2023). Exploring the contribution of sustainable entrepreneurship toward sustainable development goals: A bibliometric analysis, Green Technologies and Sustainability, Volume 1, Issue 3, ISSN 2949-7361, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.grets.2023.100038.

United Nations, General Assembly (2022). Entrepreneurship for sustainable development. Report of the Secretary-General, Seventy-seventh session, Item 18, A/77/254 chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/a77d254_en.pdf

[1] Equality and Human Rights Commission – available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/equality-act/protected-characteristics (last accessed 7th December, 2021)