{"title":"The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings: The case of sex toys by women for women","authors":"Neva Bojovic , Raghu Garud , Mohammed Cheded","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusvent.2024.106449","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Entrepreneurs seeking legitimacy for their stigmatized products with mainstream audiences must deploy strategies to redefine their products' cultural significance. This paper investigates how the body, often a focal point of stigma, serves as the foundation for these strategies. Through an analysis of exemplary cases in the sex toy industry, we identify three strategies—visibilizing, obfuscating, and transforming—used by entrepreneurs to deal with different sources of stigma, including tribal stigma, blemishes, and abominations associated with the products. Our findings provide novel insights into the role of the body in entrepreneurial strategies to tackle stigma and gain legitimacy for their products, thereby contributing to the literatures on entrepreneurship in stigmatized settings and cultural entrepreneurship.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51348,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Venturing","volume":"40 1","pages":"Article 106449"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Business Venturing","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883902624000715","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Entrepreneurs seeking legitimacy for their stigmatized products with mainstream audiences must deploy strategies to redefine their products' cultural significance. This paper investigates how the body, often a focal point of stigma, serves as the foundation for these strategies. Through an analysis of exemplary cases in the sex toy industry, we identify three strategies—visibilizing, obfuscating, and transforming—used by entrepreneurs to deal with different sources of stigma, including tribal stigma, blemishes, and abominations associated with the products. Our findings provide novel insights into the role of the body in entrepreneurial strategies to tackle stigma and gain legitimacy for their products, thereby contributing to the literatures on entrepreneurship in stigmatized settings and cultural entrepreneurship.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Business Venturing: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Finance, Innovation and Regional Development serves as a scholarly platform for the exchange of valuable insights, theories, narratives, and interpretations related to entrepreneurship and its implications.
With a focus on enriching the understanding of entrepreneurship in its various manifestations, the journal seeks to publish papers that (1) draw from the experiences of entrepreneurs, innovators, and their ecosystem; and (2) tackle issues relevant to scholars, educators, facilitators, and practitioners involved in entrepreneurship.
Embracing diversity in approach, methodology, and disciplinary perspective, the journal encourages contributions that contribute to the advancement of knowledge in entrepreneurship and its associated domains.