Sociocultural outsidership in entrepreneurship: Rethinking the double-edged role of marginalisation

This editorial introduces the special issue on marginalisation and entrepreneurship. While entrepreneurship research has long examined the impact of economic deprivation and structural barriers, far less attention has been given to sociocultural elements of outsidership – such as status incongruence, class-based identity conflict or cultural misalignment, among other related facets. We bring these dynamics to the fore, offering a conceptually rich yet ideologically neutral lens through which to understand how outsider dynamics can shape entrepreneurial cognition, legitimacy and venture development. Further, by synthesising emerging work across fragmented literatures, we propose a research agenda that explores sociocultural outsidership not only as a source of constraint, but also as a potential source of creativity and differentiated value creation. In doing so, this issue expands the boundaries of entrepreneurship theory and invites new inquiry into the diverse experiences and approaches of entrepreneurial actors.