Differently Abled Entrepreneurs: A Systematic Literature Review on Fifty Years of Research—Exploring Thoughts and Debate with Reference to Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Entrepreneurship in disadvantaged sections of society has always been in focus. Researchers have explored the entrepreneurship development phenomenon in various disadvantaged groups, namely tribal, rural, native, women, differently abled and other backward sections of society. There is an emergent stream of literature that explores the phenomenon among people with disabilities. Though in its infancy, this area has enriched entrepreneurship research in the past 50 years. This article aims to map and review the literature on differently abled entrepreneurs, with 130 articles contributing to this field. It highlights details about the top publications, major citations, authors, institutions and countries that have contributed over the years. Beyond a comprehensive bibliometric overview, the article performs a thematic analysis and identifies a spectrum of eight major themes, highlighting a pathway for future studies. Lastly, the implications for enhancing the adoption of entrepreneurship among the differently abled are discussed in brief.