Entrepreneurship by Any Other Name: Self-Sufficiency Versus Innovation

Abstract

Entrepreneurship has been promoted as an innovative strategy to address the employment of people with disabilities. Research has predominantly focused on the self-sufficiency aspect without fully integrating entrepreneurship literature in the areas of theory, systems change, and demonstration projects. Subsequently there are gaps in services, policies, and research in this field that, in turn, have limited our understanding of the support needs and barriers or facilitators of entrepreneurs with disabilities. A thorough analysis of the literature in these areas led to the development of two core concepts that need to be addressed in integrating entrepreneurship into disability employment research and policy: clarity in operational definitions and better disability statistics and outcome measures. This article interrogates existing research and policy efforts in this regard to argue for a necessary shift in the field from focusing on entrepreneurship as self-sufficiency to understanding entrepreneurship as innovation.

Inclusive management for social entrepreneurs with intellectual disabilities: “how they act”

“…This research expands prior disability studies and entrepreneurship studies (Parker Harris, Caldwell, & Renko, ) to incorporate intellectual disability scholarship, an intersection not previously explored (Caldwell, Parker Harris, & Renko, ). Integrating these disciplines allows one to inform the other, addressing gaps in each field.…”

“…The terms self‐employment, entrepreneurship and microenterprise are often used interchangeably within disability employment research (Yamamoto, Unruh, & Bullis, ). This presents problems when it comes to creating policy, programmes and practice as the terms refer to different concepts within the business literature (Parker Harris, Caldwell, et al, ). Self‐employment is a customized employment strategy that presents an alternative to salaried employment with a goal of financial self‐sufficiency.…”

“…The goal of entrepreneurship is the creation of a profit‐ and growth‐oriented business that has the potential to employ others. As a result, entrepreneurship is both an employment strategy and anti‐poverty strategy (Parker Harris, Caldwell, et al, ). Social entrepreneurship is distinct in that it refers to a business intended to both create a monetary profit and address a social mission, which distinguishes it from commercial entrepreneurship (Parker Harris, Caldwell, et al, ; Parker Harris, Renko, & Caldwell, , ).…”

“…As a result, entrepreneurship is both an employment strategy and anti‐poverty strategy (Parker Harris, Caldwell, et al, ). Social entrepreneurship is distinct in that it refers to a business intended to both create a monetary profit and address a social mission, which distinguishes it from commercial entrepreneurship (Parker Harris, Caldwell, et al, ; Parker Harris, Renko, & Caldwell, , ). While a commercial business may be socially responsible, to be a true social enterprise, the social mission must be central to the business itself (Austin et al, ).…”

A social welfare perspective of market‐oriented social enterprises

“…A similar picture is obtained when one looks for a welfare perspective in leading social enterprise or non‐profit sector journals, such as the Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise Journal, The Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, Voluntas, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly and the Journal of Cooperative Studies (for an exception, see Fotheringham & Saunders, ). A parallel review of the journals on disability, such as Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, Journal of Disability Policy Studies, Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal, International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, Disability and Society, Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, Disability and Rehabilitation and Disability Studies Quarterly , yields similar results (for exceptions, see Buhariwala, Wilton, & Evans, ; Kirsh, Krupa, Cockburn, & Gewurtz, ; Parker Harris, Caldwell, & Renko, ).…”