Invisible Inequality in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: The Micro-Foundations of Navigating Marginalization

Abstract

While entrepreneurial ecosystems research has increasingly discussed inclusivity and systemic barriers facing women or racial minorities, it has largely overlooked how invisible inequalities restrict marginalized entrepreneurs. In this study, we focus on Dalits, a historically marginalized community in India facing invisible inequality (on caste lines), to examine how such inequalities manifest in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, turning the ecosystem into a non-cooperative space, and how marginalized entrepreneurs navigate such non-cooperative spaces. Drawing on qualitative interviews with entrepreneurs and other ecosystem actors within the Dalit community, we identify three ways in which invisible inequalities manifest in the entrepreneurial ecosystem: moral disqualification in economic opportunities, relational gatekeeping in entrepreneurial networks, and undermining social credibility. Furthermore, we find that marginalized entrepreneurs navigate this non-cooperative space by implementing three micro-practices: advocacy for targeted efforts, creation of alternate spaces, and clientelism. We contribute to research on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, entrepreneurship by marginalized groups, and caste in management.