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The Ties That Bind Us - Integrating Male Homosexuality & Entrepreneurship

Cunningham, Ashley LU and Flanagan, Thomas LU (2017) ENTN19 20171
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
In recent years, there has been an increase in the research of minority entrepreneurs, including ethnic minorities and women, but entrepreneurship amongst members of the LGBT community remains a subject rarely studied. Studies which have contributed to knowledge of gay professionals and entrepreneurs typically position homosexuality as an obstacle to be overcome. The aim of this study is to establish homosexuality as an asset for the entrepreneur. We investigate sexuality as a context in entrepreneurship, endeavoring to understand when, where, why, and how entrepreneurship begins and is carried out amongst gay male entrepreneurs. We also analyse the entrepreneur’s connection to a local gay community and the effectiveness of this network by... (More)
In recent years, there has been an increase in the research of minority entrepreneurs, including ethnic minorities and women, but entrepreneurship amongst members of the LGBT community remains a subject rarely studied. Studies which have contributed to knowledge of gay professionals and entrepreneurs typically position homosexuality as an obstacle to be overcome. The aim of this study is to establish homosexuality as an asset for the entrepreneur. We investigate sexuality as a context in entrepreneurship, endeavoring to understand when, where, why, and how entrepreneurship begins and is carried out amongst gay male entrepreneurs. We also analyse the entrepreneur’s connection to a local gay community and the effectiveness of this network by aiding the entrepreneur in the establishment and operation of his business, drawing parallels to the concept of mixed embeddedness previously established and applied in the study of ethnic entrepreneurship. We aim to broaden the current understanding of social capital by expressing the use of sexuality as social capital amongst this segment of entrepreneurs. To accomplish our aim, we have carried out a qualitative analysis of data collected from interviews with ten gay male entrepreneurs located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Due to the view in this paper of entrepreneurship as a heterogeneous discipline, this study relies on a broad definition of entrepreneurship to include freelancers and self-employed. (Less)
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author
Cunningham, Ashley LU and Flanagan, Thomas LU
supervisor
organization
course
ENTN19 20171
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
entrepreneurship, gay, homosexuality, LGBT, identity, context, network, community, social capital, mixed embeddedness
language
English
id
8914673
date added to LUP
2017-06-14 13:57:01
date last changed
2017-06-14 13:57:01
@misc{8914673,
  abstract     = {{In recent years, there has been an increase in the research of minority entrepreneurs, including ethnic minorities and women, but entrepreneurship amongst members of the LGBT community remains a subject rarely studied. Studies which have contributed to knowledge of gay professionals and entrepreneurs typically position homosexuality as an obstacle to be overcome. The aim of this study is to establish homosexuality as an asset for the entrepreneur. We investigate sexuality as a context in entrepreneurship, endeavoring to understand when, where, why, and how entrepreneurship begins and is carried out amongst gay male entrepreneurs. We also analyse the entrepreneur’s connection to a local gay community and the effectiveness of this network by aiding the entrepreneur in the establishment and operation of his business, drawing parallels to the concept of mixed embeddedness previously established and applied in the study of ethnic entrepreneurship. We aim to broaden the current understanding of social capital by expressing the use of sexuality as social capital amongst this segment of entrepreneurs. To accomplish our aim, we have carried out a qualitative analysis of data collected from interviews with ten gay male entrepreneurs located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Due to the view in this paper of entrepreneurship as a heterogeneous discipline, this study relies on a broad definition of entrepreneurship to include freelancers and self-employed.}},
  author       = {{Cunningham, Ashley and Flanagan, Thomas}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Ties That Bind Us - Integrating Male Homosexuality & Entrepreneurship}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}