The Entrepreneurship and Inequality Workshop is a small-scale, in-person research workshop designed to bring together scholars working on how inequalities shape entrepreneurial processes and outcomes, and how entrepreneurship may alleviate, reproduce, or exacerbate inequalities across individuals, organizations, communities, and labor markets. We aim to create a highly interactive environment with ample time for constructive feedback, cross-disciplinary exchange, and collaboration.
The workshop will take place on June 11, 2026, scheduled back-to-back with the DRUID conference (June 8–10, 2026, also in Copenhagen), making it convenient for DRUID participants and others attending events in the area.
Examples of topics of interest
We welcome full-paper submissions that engage with entrepreneurship and inequality broadly defined, including (but not limited to) work on:
- Gender gaps in entrepreneurship (entry, funding, growth, persistence, outcomes, and intersectional dynamics)
- Immigrant vs. native entrepreneurship and inequalities in opportunities, performance, and social mobility
- Entrepreneurship and inequalities affecting marginalized groups, including (for example):
- Refugees and forcibly displaced individuals
- Individuals with criminal records or prior incarceration
- Entrepreneurs with disabilities
- Other racial/ethnic, religious, linguistic, sexual orientation, or minority identities
- Inequalities in the pre-entry stage (e.g., aspirations, skill acquisition/training, role models, discrimination, experimentation with entrepreneurship)
- Inequalities in resource mobilization (e.g., financing, investor attention, hiring, organizational or personal networks, mentorship, institutional support, legitimacy)
- Inequality in startup hiring, early team formation, and scaling (e.g., who gets hired-when and by which founders/startups, inclusive practices, wages and other rewards in startup jobs, startup hiring strategies, job seekers' perceptions of startup jobs)
- The role of entrepreneurial ecosystems, institutions, and policy in shaping unequal entrepreneurial opportunities and outcomes
- Novel approaches and work that bridges levels of analysis (individual–team–venture–ecosystem-regions-countries) and speaks to mechanisms (e.g., discrimination, networks, narratives, evaluation, institutional frictions, cumulative (dis)advantages)
These topics are intended to be illustrative and are certainly not all-inclusive. Contributions from diverse fields and disciplines like entrepreneurship, organizational theory, management, strategy, sociology, economics, and others are encouraged. We also welcome a variety of theoretical perspectives and empirical approaches (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, experimental).
Practical information
- Full paper submission required (PDF format). Submission deadline: April 10, 2026
- Please submit your paper via email to: entship@cbs.dk
- File naming convention: LASTNAME_Firstname.pdf
- Notification of decisions: by end of April 2026 (tentative)
- Accepted participants are expected to attend and present in person.
- The organizers will cover one night of accommodation at a local hotel for accepted participants/presenters (details will be shared upon acceptance).
- Lunch, coffee breaks, and dinner on the day of the event will be provided by the organizers.
- Travel costs are at participants' own expense, and any additional nights beyond the covered night are also the participant's responsibility.
Organization and contact
For questions, please contact: entship@cbs.dk
Organizers: Vera Rocha (vr.si@cbs.dk), José Mata (jm.si@cbs.dk), Ali Mohammadi (amo.si@cbs.dk)
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Vera Rocha
Copenhagen Business School
Kilevej
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