The emergence of a new era: towards fostering queer entrepreneurship through bonding and bridging capital

The emergence of a new era: towards fostering queer entrepreneurship through bonding and bridging capital | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The emergence of a new era: towards fostering queer entrepreneurship through bonding and bridging capital Shoaib Ahamed Khan, Dr. Lubna Ambreen, Krithika J This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8651752/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper attempts to reconceptualise inclusive entrepreneurship as a negotiated, processual phenomenon rather than a static outcome. Using constructivist grounded-theory study of 42 semistructured interviews with queer founders and ecosystem actors across India (July 1, 2024- September 30, 2025), the analysis highlights how inclusion is produced, stabilised, or unexecuted through frequent negotiation moves among founders, families, customers, intermediaries, and financiers. Three tightly intertwined mechanisms structure these negotiations: (1) structural/institutional boundary conditions (e.g., asymmetric verification burdens, family finance norms, identity-segmented demand) that delimit feasible moves; (2) founders’ identity-work and disclosure strategies that manage visibility and credibility; and (3) convertibility mechanisms- the interactional practices (third-party vouching, blinded assessments, programmatic bridging) that transforms bonding capital into bridging capital. Ecosystem actors function as active mediators whose methods and procedures can stabilise convertibility or regenerate exclusion. Cross-case comparison yields a typology of negotiation states (Bridged alliances, strategic negotiators) and five process propositions linking structure, disclosure, convertibility, stakeholder transparency and intersectionality. This study contributes theoretically by reframing inclusion as a dynamic negotiation, introducing convertibility to social capital theory, and treating ecosystem practices as mechanisms. It also offers executable implications for intermediaries, investors, and policymakers aiming to stabilise inclusive outcomes. Inclusive entrepreneurship queer entrepreneurship identity work social capital convertibility constructivist grounded theory Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 23 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 02 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 23 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 20 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8651752","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":610452056,"identity":"d38520ee-0bfc-4e78-b1bc-e4f66cb55050","order_by":0,"name":"Shoaib Ahamed Khan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCSBObGBgMODhYXwMFmFmbiBaC7MxkAJqYSRCCyNEC5s0WAsDAS3ys5sPfni4g0HenOfsseqCij/R/O1ALT8qtuHUYnDnWLJE4hkGw529fWm3Z5wxyJ1xmLGBsefMbdxaJHIMJBLbGBg3nOcxu83bZpDbANTCzNiGW4v8jBzjH0At9iAtxSAt8wlpYbiRYwayJXHD2R4zZpCWDYS0GNxIS7NIPCORvOHMGWNpnjPGuRuBWg7i84v8jOTDN3/usLHdcCbH8DNPhVzuvPOHDz74UYHHYRAggco9QEj9KBgFo2AUjAL8AAATQVkGV3L2CwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Jain University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shoaib","middleName":"Ahamed","lastName":"Khan","suffix":""},{"id":610452058,"identity":"493783c3-0f45-44a2-8d99-e355be06e132","order_by":1,"name":"Dr. Lubna Ambreen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jain University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"Dr.","firstName":"Lubna","middleName":"","lastName":"Ambreen","suffix":""},{"id":610452059,"identity":"ee70668d-f8dd-45f4-8387-dbd284a98dc0","order_by":2,"name":"Krithika J","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Krithika","middleName":"","lastName":"J","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-20 17:45:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8651752/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8651752/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107707055,"identity":"1fdbea8f-b687-4e9d-a507-378d90accafb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-24 09:19:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":323946,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Response.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8651752/v1_covered_2e67a029-d080-4dac-8bda-f598eedf4597.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eThe emergence of a new era: towards fostering queer entrepreneurship through bonding and bridging capital\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":false,"email":"","identity":"sn-business-and-economics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"43546","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/43546/3","title":"SN Business \u0026 Economics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"VoR Journals","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Inclusive entrepreneurship, queer entrepreneurship, identity work, social capital, convertibility, constructivist grounded theory","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8651752/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8651752/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper attempts to reconceptualise inclusive entrepreneurship as a negotiated, processual phenomenon rather than a static outcome. 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