Entrepreneurship through (Cognitive) Emancipation: Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice in Contexts of Oppression

Abstract

To help address the daunting reality of widespread human oppression, this paper offers a conceptual extension to a contemporary perspective on entrepreneurial activity that we suggest is of particular relevance for individuals living under oppressive conditions: emancipatory entrepreneurship theory. We extend this perspective by calling attention to the cognitive dynamics that precede the decision to engage in emancipation-motivated entrepreneurship within such environments, highlighting the specific importance of achieving cognitive liberation from the psychological state of learned helplessness that oppressed individuals often enact as a coping mechanism. We use the term “cognitive emancipation” to refer to this liberated state of mind, conceptualizing it as being characterized by mindfulness and an autonomous worldview. To help spur future research, we present and elaborate a process model delineating key cognitive factors that trigger—and are triggered by—this focal construct. We also offer various suggestions for the design and delivery of practical initiatives attentive to the importance of cognitive emancipation as a necessary psychological precursor to the pursuit of emancipation-motivated entrepreneurial endeavors within contexts of oppression.

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