1st Edition
Disabled Entrepreneurs Stories, Spaces, and Ecosystems
Introduction
Chapter 1. Background
Chapter 2. The Entrepreneur
Chapter 3. The Ecosystem
Chapter 4. Workplaces
Chapter 5. Mobility
Conclusion
Biography
Julien Billion is a Professor at ICN Business School and an Affiliated Researcher at the CEREFIGE Laboratory, University of Lorraine, France.
Claire Doussard is a Professor at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris, France, and an independent researcher.
“Disabled entrepreneurs: Stories, Spaces, and Ecosystems provides a rich exploration of a critically under-studied topic. Drawing on a longitudinal comparative case study of twenty entrepreneurs with motor and sensory disabilities, Billion and Doussard offer a rich account of both the structural challenges that these entrepreneurs face and the strategies they deploy to navigate them, as they launch and grow their ventures. In doing so, the authors show that individual agency alone is not enough to ensure success. Instead, institutional infrastructures, mobility systems, support networks, digital accessibility, and regulatory frameworks also play a critical role in creating the necessary conditions for disabled entrepreneurs to flourish. This book is a must-read for scholars, educators, policymakers, and practitioners working at the intersection of entrepreneurship, disability studies, and inclusive economic development. It reminds us that boldness and courage are not merely individual attributes; they also require an enabling, nurturing ecosystem in which entrepreneurs can thrive.” Julie Battilana, Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
