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The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings: The case of sex toys by women for women

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings: The case of sex toys by women for women. / Bojovic, Neva; Garud, Raghu; Cheded, Mohammed.
In: Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 40, No. 1, 106449, 31.01.2025.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Bojovic, N, Garud, R & Cheded, M 2025, 'The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings: The case of sex toys by women for women', Journal of Business Venturing, vol. 40, no. 1, 106449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2024.106449

APA

Bojovic, N., Garud, R., & Cheded, M. (2025). The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings: The case of sex toys by women for women. Journal of Business Venturing, 40(1), Article 106449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2024.106449

Vancouver

Bojovic N, Garud R, Cheded M. The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings: The case of sex toys by women for women. Journal of Business Venturing. 2025 Jan 31;40(1):106449. Epub 2024 Sept 12. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2024.106449

Author

Bojovic, Neva ; Garud, Raghu ; Cheded, Mohammed. / The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings : The case of sex toys by women for women. In: Journal of Business Venturing. 2025 ; Vol. 40, No. 1.

Bibtex

@article{31dc513e38f74c05bb64fce194bd631f,
title = "The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings: The case of sex toys by women for women",
abstract = "Entrepreneurs seeking legitimacy for their stigmatized products with mainstream audiences must deploy strategies to redefine their products' cultural significance. This paper investigates how the body, often a focal point of stigma, serves as the foundation for these strategies. Through an analysis of exemplary cases in the sex toy industry, we identify three strategies—visibilizing, obfuscating, and transforming—used by entrepreneurs to deal with different sources of stigma, including tribal stigma, blemishes, and abominations associated with the products. Our findings provide novel insights into the role of the body in entrepreneurial strategies to tackle stigma and gain legitimacy for their products, thereby contributing to the literatures on entrepreneurship in stigmatized settings and cultural entrepreneurship.",
author = "Neva Bojovic and Raghu Garud and Mohammed Cheded",
year = "2025",
month = jan,
day = "31",
doi = "10.1016/j.jbusvent.2024.106449",
language = "English",
volume = "40",
journal = "Journal of Business Venturing",
issn = "0883-9026",
publisher = "Elsevier Inc.",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The body as a cultural resource for entrepreneurs in stigmatized settings

T2 - The case of sex toys by women for women

AU - Bojovic, Neva

AU - Garud, Raghu

AU - Cheded, Mohammed

PY - 2025/1/31

Y1 - 2025/1/31

N2 - Entrepreneurs seeking legitimacy for their stigmatized products with mainstream audiences must deploy strategies to redefine their products' cultural significance. This paper investigates how the body, often a focal point of stigma, serves as the foundation for these strategies. Through an analysis of exemplary cases in the sex toy industry, we identify three strategies—visibilizing, obfuscating, and transforming—used by entrepreneurs to deal with different sources of stigma, including tribal stigma, blemishes, and abominations associated with the products. Our findings provide novel insights into the role of the body in entrepreneurial strategies to tackle stigma and gain legitimacy for their products, thereby contributing to the literatures on entrepreneurship in stigmatized settings and cultural entrepreneurship.

AB - Entrepreneurs seeking legitimacy for their stigmatized products with mainstream audiences must deploy strategies to redefine their products' cultural significance. This paper investigates how the body, often a focal point of stigma, serves as the foundation for these strategies. Through an analysis of exemplary cases in the sex toy industry, we identify three strategies—visibilizing, obfuscating, and transforming—used by entrepreneurs to deal with different sources of stigma, including tribal stigma, blemishes, and abominations associated with the products. Our findings provide novel insights into the role of the body in entrepreneurial strategies to tackle stigma and gain legitimacy for their products, thereby contributing to the literatures on entrepreneurship in stigmatized settings and cultural entrepreneurship.

U2 - 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2024.106449

DO - 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2024.106449

M3 - Journal article

VL - 40

JO - Journal of Business Venturing

JF - Journal of Business Venturing

SN - 0883-9026

IS - 1

M1 - 106449

ER -