Mompreneurship and resilience: Exploring entrepreneurship for mothers of children with additional needs

Abstract

By conducting a problematizing review, this study explores whether entrepreneurship could benefit mothers caring for children with additional needs (ANs). Through role conflict theory, we argue that entrepreneurship provides the time and space flexibility necessary to combine work and care roles and to experience the autonomy not available in paid employment. However, a supportive institutional framework, such as affordable child care, is needed. Based on role enrichment theory, we suggest that mothers caring for AN children possess skills, such as resilience and networking, which are beneficial to entrepreneurship. Furthermore, provided that a fair division of responsibilities exists within the household, AN children can strengthen the family unit and make it an important resource in entrepreneurship for mothers. We develop a future research agenda for mompreneurship with AN children in line with inclusive entrepreneurship.

JEL CLASSIFICATION: L26 Entrepreneurship

Introduction

Entrepreneurship can offer a unique, yet underexplored pathway for mothers caring for children with additional needs ¹ (AN henceforth), to form a meaningful career within the constraints of time, space, and caregiving responsibility. Mothers who identify as both caregivers and entrepreneurs represent a distinct group within society, with the potential to develop fulfilling and meaningful careers through mompreneurship. The concept of the mompreneur involves the creation of a new business venture led by a woman who prioritizes her role as a mother (and potentially caregiver) while seeking independence and flexibility through entrepreneurial pursuits (Jean & Forbes, 2012). The lead author of this study is both a mother of a child with AN and a former mompreneur, driven primarily by a desire to achieve work–life balance (Richomme-Huet et al., 2013, p. 256). This research arose from the experience of navigating the complexities of balancing multiple roles, along with the conflicts and enrichment associated with them. The aim of this paper is to challenge societal assumptions regarding the entrepreneurial potential of mothers caring for a child with AN. It seeks to highlight their capacity to engage meaningfully in entrepreneurship and to demonstrate how their acquired strengths can contribute to successful entrepreneurial ventures (Shepherd et al., 2021). Furthermore, in this context, this paper illustrates how entrepreneurship can serve as a strategy to support one’s family while simultaneously managing caregiving responsibilities within a liminal space.

The scarcity of entrepreneurship literature addressing the intersection of caregiving and entrepreneurship has created the misleading impression that the number of women impacted by caregiving responsibilities, often to the detriment of their careers, is limited to a small group. While parenting a child with AN may initially seem like a niche experience, the reality is that rising awareness and advancements in diagnosis have uncovered that approximately 291 million children and young adults globally are affected by some form of AN (Cheng & Lai, 2023). As of 2023, in the United States alone, 19.4% of families, representing approximately 14.1 million households, include a child with AN (Vrankić Pavon et al., 2023; Young, 2022; Zablotsky et al., 2023). This trend underscores the need to explore viable solutions for caregivers to balance caregiving responsibilities with employment, such as through entrepreneurship (Scott, 2018).

With most children with AN cared for at home, mothers predominantly take on the primary caregiver role, often leaving them without the option for (flexible) employment due to their additional caregiving responsibilities. Consequently, the cost to these mothers’ career aspirations, wellbeing, and personal goals within their multiple roles is profound and difficult to quantify (Baker & Drapela, 2010; Kaniamattam & Oxley, 2021). In addition, these mothers frequently assume other roles within their families and communities, such as volunteering or advocating for awareness of ANs to drive change and achieve personal fulfillment (Cheng & Lai, 2023; Nedungadi et al., 2023). Unfortunately, these contributions, which provide enrichment to the caregiving role, supported by role enrichment theory, are often overlooked, marginalized, or misunderstood, despite being rooted in skills developed through their caregiving experiences (Casteleijn-Osorno, 2024; Ryan et al., 2008).

To demonstrate how entrepreneurship could be seen as a viable career for mothers with AN children, we engage in a problematizing review (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2020) and draw from role theories (Anglin et al., 2022) to investigate research on the employment of mothers with AN children on one hand and the experiences of mother-entrepreneurs (mompreneurs) on the other hand. Role conflicts and stress related to the multiplicity of the mother–caregiver–work roles are well defined in the literature (Budak et al., 2018; Cronin, 2018; Skinner et al., 1999). The challenge of achieving a synergy of paid employment and family harmony has been identified as an onerous stressor for these mothers. Because of difficulties finding employment or the inflexibility of the working conditions in paid employment, mother-caregivers overwhelmingly spend much time underemployed and are often forced to cease working for long periods to fulfill their caregiving responsibilities (Brandon, 2007; Leiter et al., 2004; Lynch et al., 2022). Having meaningful employment, however, would provide these mothers with a much-needed respite from daily challenges and aid in increased wellbeing, both for mothers and their families (Lewis et al., 1999).

Consequently, we ask whether entrepreneurship could provide these mothers with reasonable access to paid work and alleviate the conflict between their work and care roles. However, we do not want to suggest entrepreneurship as a golden ticket to employment and wellbeing for these mothers, but we seek to problematize the conditions that are needed for this to happen. Although the literature regarding mothers with AN children focuses on their challenges and limitations in life and access to work in particular, we suggest a need to problematize these assumptions and investigate whether—through role enrichment theory—experience from mothering AN children and being in families with these children could actually be beneficial in mothers’ entrepreneurship journey.

Our review findings enable us to propose that entrepreneurship may be an opportunity for mothers with AN children to engage in paid employment within the time and space of their caring responsibilities (Ekinsmyth, 2013) if relevant family policies and support structures for them and their families are in place. However, future research should investigate how these mothers navigate time and space restrictions in their daily lives and how these influence their ventures, particularly profitability and related financial or other risks (Dhaliwal, 2022; Duberley & Carrigan, 2013). Specifically, research needs to consider the institutional contexts of families and entrepreneurship. If these contexts are not supportive of the many roles that mothers play, the tensions between them may increase.

Our review findings also enable us to propose that the embeddedness of mothers with AN children in their communities allows them to identify unique business opportunities related to ANs and that mothers with AN children possess developed skills, such as resilience, advocacy, and networking (Dillon-Wallace et al., 2013; Lee & Park, 2016; Ryan et al., 2008; Skinner et al., 1999), which may be beneficial in entrepreneurship. However, additional research is needed to identify whether these skills carry over from one role to another. The current study also challenges some of the extant assumptions that regard parenting AN children as simply a liability to mothers and their families. We suggest that they are positively influenced by children with ANs and do more than simply cope with challenges; rather, they grow together and are enriched (Goff et al., 2017). We propose that this strong family unit is a resource for mothers in entrepreneurship, but future research is needed to understand how the division of care and financial responsibilities within the household influences mompreneurs with AN children.

As far as we are aware, this is among the first few studies of its kind to connect entrepreneurship to mothers with AN children. The wellbeing lens and role theory allow us to explore and expand our understanding of motherhood, caregiving, and entrepreneurship (Budak et al., 2018; Houle et al., 2009; Weeratunge et al., 2013). Our primary contribution to the entrepreneurship and wellbeing literature, therefore, is determining the extent to which entrepreneurship could be applied by mothers with AN children to engage in (paid) employment within different socio-economic contexts. We suggest some positive outcomes of having AN children for mothers and their families. This further adds to emerging research aiming to illuminate the mother–AN child discourse in a positive and inclusive light. Therefore, we also aim to contribute to the debate on inclusive entrepreneurship (Bakker & McMullen, 2023).

Role theory: role conflict and role enrichment

“A role represents a core set of behavioural expectations tied to a social group or category that defines appropriate and permitted forms of behaviour for group members” (Anglin et al., 2022, p. 1470). Role theories are developed based on the idea that an individual has multiple roles that they perform in their daily lives. In this review, we rely on two core constructs in role theories: role conflict and role enrichment. Role conflict is “a phenomenon that occurs when the demands placed upon an individual are either in conflict or incompatible, such that complying with all of the demands would be difficult or even impossible” (Croom & Miller, 2018, p. 3). Role conflict has been studied particularly in the work–family domain, and extant research on it includes studies on the roles that mothers play and the relationship of these to career and family, including personal wellbeing (Gjerdingen et al., 2000; Mason & Pavia, 2006; Parchomiuk, 2020; Stephan et al., 2023). Research has investigated entrepreneurship both as a tool that aggravates role conflict for women entrepreneurs (Hundera et al., 2019), necessitating different coping strategies (i.e., committing to either one of their many social roles), and as a way of reducing role conflict for mothers because ventures can be created within family structures (Hudson Breen et al., 2017).

Role enrichment explains how experience in one role may improve the quality of experience in another (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006). Research on role enrichment has focused on how performance in a work role may be enriched or challenged by performing other nonwork roles. The key suggestion from existing research is that the work–family interface, often understood as a source of role conflict, can also be a source of role enrichment. While role conflict and enrichment may seem like opposite ends of a continuum, they are different concepts with different roots. Role conflict is driven by role demands, and role enrichment is developed through personal experiences in work and family roles. This also means that they are not dependent on each other; not experiencing role conflict does not imply role enrichment (Anglin et al., 2022). Therefore, experiencing role conflict does not exclude the potential for role enrichment at the same time. Role enrichment has been studied in hybrid entrepreneurship to investigate how skills and experiences transfer to entrepreneurial work from wage work or vice versa and how skills from entrepreneurial work (such as creativity) carry over to paid employment roles (Asante et al., 2022; Crider et al., 2024).

In this problematizing review, we integrate insights from role theory, including role conflict and role enrichment, with multidisciplinary literature to explore the influence of roles and their connection to our propositions and future developments. Drawing from research in entrepreneurship, motherhood, caregiving, career dynamics, and family wellbeing, we link role theory to these domains to foster novel theoretical perspectives (Post et al., 2020). This approach highlights how entrepreneurship intersects with role dynamics, uncovering potential conflicts and opportunities for role enrichment.

Review methodology

Our initial search (scoping), which included terms such as “additional/special needs child,” “needs child,” “with disability,” “mother,” “employment,” and/or “career limitations” AND “mompreneur,” “mumpreneur,” or “entrepreneurial mother(s),” yielded only one study on the topic of mompreneurs with AN children (Lowenstein & Jones, 2021). Separately, we could identify literature on mompreneurship (or mother-entrepreneurs and their experiences as entrepreneurs) as well as on the employment and career (limitations) of mothers with AN children. This initial finding illustrates the novelty of the topic in the literature (Figure 1) despite the increasing awareness of how ANs influence families (Cheng & Lai, 2023).

Figure 1.

The lack of entrepreneurial research on mompreneurs who care for children with ANs.

Problematizing review

To explore the potential wellbeing benefits or challenges of entrepreneurship for mothers of AN children and guide future research, we reviewed literature on mompreneurs and wellbeing. Drawing on role theories (role conflict and role enrichment), we problematize whether entrepreneurship supports or hinders these mothers’ wellbeing. Adopting the principles of problematizing reviews, we approached the literature reflexively, broadly, and selectively (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2020).

Following the study by Alvesson and Sandberg (2020), problematizing reviews aim to re-conceptualize existing thinking and inspire new ideas and theories. Unlike traditional systematic reviews, which build upon established approaches (Elsbach & van Knippenberg, 2020), this method opens up the literature through critical and broad exploration. For example, Dzhengiz et al. (2023) showed how such reviews help mitigate the overrepresentation of dominant studies.

Problematizing reviews avoid rigid “where, what, who, when, and why” questions typical of systematic reviews (Callahan, 2010), enabling unencumbered exploration of diverse literature. By avoiding reliance on keyword searches, we critically engage with topics and studies that might otherwise remain overlooked. Adopting a “less is more” approach, we selectively focus on literature that enhances understanding and enriches the research agenda, incorporating unique and reflective insights (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2020). See Figure 2 for review process.

Figure 2.

Review process.

Selection of studies

Stage 1: Initial scoping for literature on the topics

• (a) We produced a search on the chosen topic of mompreneurship according to the search criteria in Table 1.

• (b) We manually checked 125 relevant abstracts with a search limitation of studies published between 2014 and 2024. Those that failed to discuss mothers who were entrepreneurs and focused primarily on families, women entrepreneurs (without children), and only fathers were excluded.

• (c) The process listed in a and b was repeated for our second main topic: the work (limitations) of mothers caring for children with ANs. We manually checked 222 abstracts for relevance by skimming through them. In this initial selection, the relevant studies were narrowed down to 82. Those excluded from the corpus predominantly failed to discuss mothers who were caring for children with ANs and included all types of caregiving that were not relevant to our aim.

Table 1.

Search criteria for Stage 1 of the problematizing review process.

	Research on mompreneurs	Work and work limitations of mothers with AN children
Search terms	ALL = (mompreneur OR mumpreneur OR mother AND entrepreneur OR mom AND entrepreneur)	TS = (“mothers” AND “children” AND (“intellectual disabilities” OR “special health care needs” OR “disabilities”) AND (“employment” OR “resilience”))
Restriction 1	Published in 2014–2024	Published in 2014–2024
Restriction 2	Articles + review articles	Articles + review articles

Stage 2: Identifying the core studies for the corpus

• (a) We carefully read the 32 studies on mompreneurship, resulting in the selection of nine studies for the review. This selection was based on these studies discussing the experiences of mompreneurs from multiple perspectives and together representing a broad spectrum of the wellbeing benefits of mompreneurship. Some studies were selected because they included well-known assumptions regarding mompreneurship (but not all to avoid reaffirming the extant research evidence) and its connection with family and networks; others were chosen because they identified mompreneurship in relation to institutional contexts.

• (b) As mentioned earlier, we carefully read the 82 studies on the work and work limitations of mothers caring for their AN children. Some studies focusing on negative biases regarding caregiving and employment were included, but others were excluded to avoid negative dominance. Some that failed to address employment and focused on policymaking or education were excluded. From this screening, 12 studies were selected as representative of the domains of employment and wellbeing of mothers with AN children. They focused on the experiences of mothers with AN children from various perspectives and represented a broad spectrum of research on wellbeing and employment in relation to caring for AN children. Studies that included the positive aspects of mothering were also selected, including the influence of families/households on employment while caring for AN children. Others were chosen because they addressed resilience and the skills acquired from parenting children with ANs. Furthermore, studies focusing on the connection with family and networks in relation to institutional contexts were chosen because this topic aligned with our mompreneurship search.

Stage 3: Enriching the corpus with broad reading

• (a) Before moving on to the analysis, we critically reviewed the 21 studies (9 from mompreneurship and 12 from employment and mothers with AN children) to identify elements that were missing when discussing the overarching theme of our research, identifying whether entrepreneurship is suitable for mothers with AN children. In alignment with the problematizing review, we shifted our focus to consider reading broadly, addressing 5–10 relevant avenues in either an adjacent area of our domain or avenues that are relevant to put the perspective of our review into focus. Here, we drew on our personal knowledge and understanding of the topic (Shepherd et al., 2021) to expand our literature review; the goal was to not only broaden but also enrich this review by specifically searching and including research addressing the purpose and meaning, as well as the other positive influences, of having AN children in families.

• (b) We identified 26 studies (listed in Appendix 1, Tables 2 and 3) with a broad and possibly indirect impact on the research domain defined in stage 2. This was done to enhance our understanding of the positive effects of parenting AN children, as well as to comprehend the mother–child dyad, resilience, and role conflicts.

• (c) In this stage, additional studies (five) on the topic of work and the work limitations of mothers caring for children with ANs were included in the review despite them falling outside the set temporal limitations of our research scope. They were selected because their relevance to the topic was considered valuable to our main purpose of enriching research on the benefits of wellbeing, entrepreneurship, and employment, as well as research on advocating mothers to not commence working along with fulfiling their caregiving responsibilities. They were also relevant to our purpose of comprehensively looking at work–family policies and childcare issues in relation to parenting children with ANs. All relevant studies (n = 52) that were used are found in Appendix 1, Tables 2 and 3.

Stage 4: Analysis

For the analysis, we adopted an abductive reasoning approach, inspired by Dzhengiz et al. (2023), as it was most suitable for the topic, the methods used, and the theories referred to. According to Lipscomb (2012), abductive reasoning “can be envisaged as the creative, imaginative or insightful moment in which understanding is grasped—or is thought to be grasped . . . abduction is both an everyday event and, it will be argued, a problematic one” (p. 244). All studies were critically analyzed, compared, and contrasted. We framed the analysis within the boundaries of our set assumptions regarding mompreneurship and employment for mothers with AN children and analyzed them through role conflict/role enrichment theories. In doing so, we addressed two assumptions from several perspectives, which contributed to our problematization process and our broad reading on the topic of mompreneurship.

• Assumption 1: Mompreneurship is a way through which mothers with NAN (non-additional needs henceforth) children balance personal goals with household (caregiving) responsibilities.

Assumptions regarding mompreneurship were addressed by identifying and challenging assumptions related to several dimensions of mompreneurship. We started by conceptualizing mompreneurship and acknowledging the challenges with known assumptions regarding work–family balance and personal motivation (Ekinsmyth, 2013; Foley et al., 2018; Hudson Breen & Leung, 2020; Rodrigues et al., 2023). Next, we addressed the risks associated with female entrepreneurship and the importance of support networks (excluding family; Humbert & Brindley, 2015; Vershinina et al., 2022), including identifying the factors that mitigate role stress and conflict in the form of support and flexibility of employment. We followed up our analysis with an examination of work–family balance and the effects of mompreneurship on the household (Markowska et al., 2023; Welsh & Kaciak, 2019). We concluded with an in-depth examination of wellbeing and entrepreneurship as connected with mompreneurs’ wellbeing (Kadhi & Hamrouni, 2023; Stephan et al., 2023). Through our reading, we were able to identify challenges in our current assumptions of mompreneurship, including the ease of venture creation in certain cultural contexts. We were also able to identify the necessary support structures to mitigate risks and enhance the success of ventures created by mothers.

• Assumption 2: Parenting AN children is a detriment to the wellbeing of mothers and to family harmony.

Based on our analysis, we identified that the assumptions regarding employment challenges for mothers caring for children with ANs were inextricably linked to wellbeing. We first focused our reading on our addressed assumption that parenting children with AN needs is a detriment to the wellbeing of mothers and families by identifying known assumptions (Dillon-Wallace et al., 2016; Halstead et al., 2018; Lloyd & Hastings, 2009; Marks, 1998; Sekułowicz et al., 2022; Sperling & Mowder, 2006). Using a role conflict theory lens, we then looked at employment and mothers with AN children. This included challenges in securing employment, support for/against employment with regard to the roles and conflicts therein, and the effects of employment on the mother–child dyad (Baker & Drapela, 2010; Lewis et al., 2000; Morris, 2012; Schuster et al., 2009). Next, we examined employment for mothers with AN children and its impact on work–family balance. We uncovered literature highlighting the resilience of both mothers and families with AN children, challenging our second assumption (Bolbocean et al., 2022; Chou et al., 2014; Goff et al., 2017; Greeff & Nolting, 2013; Heiman, 2002; Nursanti, 2024; Olshansky, 1962). This led us to uncover the positive effects of having AN children on family dynamics and the wellbeing of mothers (Barnett et al., 2003; Brock, 2014; De Schauwer & Davies, 2015; Jess et al., 2018; McStay et al., 2014; Migerode et al., 2012; Sunderland et al., 2009).

We continued with the analysis of the necessary support of networks and the empowerment felt by mothers caring for AN children through their role as advocates/warriors. Part of this role included finding strength and support in networks and communities for and within AN parenting. We identified this unpaid role as one of vital importance to the wellbeing of not only mothers but also their families and networks for the support given (Ammari & Schoenebeck, 2015; Blake et al., 2019; Kirchhofer et al., 2022; Lukemeyer et al., 2000; Musyaropah et al., 2023; Sousa, 2011). We concluded our analysis on the joy of having AN children in the family (Landsman, 2015; Munsell & O’Malley, 2019).

Our in-depth analysis led us to create propositions regarding how entrepreneurship can potentially be an option for mothers caring for AN children and provided us with a breadth of reading outside the scope of entrepreneurship and parenting. This analysis enabled us to suggest areas for future research that were not considered at the beginning of our analysis.

Review findings

We now present the findings from our review of research on the work, careers, and wellbeing of mothers with children diagnosed with AN, contrasting these with our review of existing literature on mothers’ entrepreneurship. This comparison aims to explore whether, and under what conditions, entrepreneurship could serve as a viable option for mothers of children with AN. We outline four propositions to guide future research in this area.

Transitioning into motherhood is a life-changing experience and involves navigating multiple roles and aligning aspirations with societal ideals of “good” motherhood (Blum, 2007; Collett, 2005). Despite progress in gender equality, mothers often assume primary caregiving roles, influenced by rigid work structures for fathers (Hytti et al., 2023). As a result, mothers need to negotiate their roles.

Mompreneurship as an option to address the work-related challenges of mothers with AN children

Role conflicts causing difficulties in accessing employment

Existing research has clearly established the conflict of roles concerning mothers’ caregiving responsibilities and employment (Chou et al., 2014). Mothers with AN children experience lower paid employment opportunities than mothers with NAN children and overwhelmingly spend long periods of time in unstable and underemployment (Chou et al., 2018; Morris, 2012). Employed mothers with AN children have been framed in an unfavorable bias because of their caregiving roles, and they face harsher criticisms than their NAN counterparts (Morris, 2012). Their challenges in finding employment may also be related to social norms and expectations, their own and the society’s, such as the image that a good mother is somebody who is selfless, nurturing, and ever-present (Johnston & Swanson, 2006; Murnieks & Mosakowski, 2007). This constructed image of selflessness, which is understood as quality mothering, applies not only to how a mother should look but also to how a woman should prioritize mothering first and set aside other roles for an undetermined amount of time to focus on caring for her children (Duberley & Carrigan, 2013; Wyk & Leech, 2016).

Mothers have been identified as internalizing struggles relating to the mothering of AN children because of their own limitations or coping mechanisms. Furthermore, societal stigmatization in the form of mother blaming, where the behavior of the child is seen as a reflection of a mother’s behavior, is particularly challenging to mothers’ wellbeing (Colker, 2015; Sekułowicz et al., 2022). Due to the intricate complexities of the mother–child dyad, negatively expressed judgment and open societal criticism concerning their children with invisible AN is therefore internalized by some mothers. These mothers have been identified as being acutely sensitive to mother blaming and overt societal criticism (of their children’s behavior; Blum, 2007; You & McGraw, 2011). They may suffer from low self-esteem and wellbeing because of societal responses (stigma). It was not long ago that mothers were seen as the causes of their children’s disabilities and the resulting family imbalance (Dillon-Wallace et al., 2013; McStay et al., 2014). These complex mother-role identities and experienced realities are interwoven with those of their children (Ryan et al., 2008), limiting mothers’ ability to fulfill the image and expectations of an efficient employee. Taken together, role conflict and the related role expectations facing mothers with AN children make it difficult for them to find paid employment.

Role conflicts for mothers with AN children in employment

Mothers with AN children who are employed are not necessarily better off. Some experience discrimination in the form of attitudinal barriers in the workplace. Working mothers with NAN children have been identified as being mommy tracked and passed over for promotions because of their motherhood obligations, thus illustrating views of these conflicting roles in established workplaces (Berdahl & Moon, 2013). However, these conflicts between roles are particularly pronounced in the case of mothers with AN children. This extends to the types of roles that these mothers are considered for, as well as the rigidity in the workplace and a lack of advancement (Baker & Drapela, 2010). The additional role stress can further lead to negligence in the work sphere, particularly a lack of time to complete tasks and neglect of conflicting roles as negative spillover effects of paid employment for mothers (Sanz-Vergel et al., 2015). Consequently, mother-caregivers are shown to progress slowly in their careers. In addition, some mothers are left with no option other than to obtain part-time employment or cease working for periods of time to fulfill their caregiving responsibilities as new challenges arise (Parchomiuk, 2020). Becoming mothers and experiencing role conflict in combining family–work responsibilities may incentivise some mothers to slow down or put their professional lives on hold for a while. This can further lead to “role captivity” for some mothers caring for an AN child and increase conflict between desired and actual role (Nomaguchi & Milkie, 2020). In addition, because of the identified role conflicts and related role stress of working mothers with AN children, their ability to excel and progress in a career outside the home is visibly under threat.

Entrepreneurship reducing role conflict for mothers

Entrepreneurship can be seen as a way to reduce role conflict for mothers because ventures can be created within family structures and are considered socially accepted careers (Hudson Breen et al., 2017). The desire to define the border between motherhood and working on their own terms may be a reason for choosing to be entrepreneurs and creating their own jobs (Foley et al., 2018; Lewis et al., 2000). Mompreneurship therefore contributes to fulfilling the need for work–life balance, for a work environment that is sensitive to the needs of one’s family, and for exciting and challenging work experiences (Korsgaard, 2007). This has sometimes been defined as the core of mompreneurship as a socio-spatial phenomenon, enabling the development of a business within the constraints of the time and space of mothering responsibilities (Croom & Miller, 2018; Ekinsmyth, 2013).

Mothers are motivated by a desire for independence and the ability to be present as parents who hold great influence on the creation of a venture within the family structure. The flexibility to manage child care and the ability to challenge oneself and attain autonomy within family-structured schedules are also understood motives (Ekinsmyth, 2013; Rodrigues et al., 2023). Within many Western contexts, there is a strong normative expectation of working mothers, so remaining a caregiver (stay-at-home mom) may not be a legitimate option and pushes mothers to become entrepreneurs (Duberley & Carrigan, 2013). By becoming entrepreneurs, mothers can align well with competing mothering ideologies and societal expectations of what it means to be a good working mother while fulfilling personal aspirations (Foley et al., 2018); it reflects a desire for flexibility and autonomy while managing child care responsibilities and developing a career identity within the temporality of caregiving responsibilities as mothers. Entrepreneurship is seen as empowering while offering a reprieve from conflicting role challenges that can occur in the workplace (Hudson Breen, 2001).

Disadvantages with assuming an entrepreneurial role

Limitations regarding time endowments and location restrictions have been identified to limit the development and growth of mompreneurs’ ventures (Ekinsmyth, 2013). This raises questions about how far mompreneur activities can be viewed through the lens of self-exploitation rather than liberation or at least highlighting the need for understanding both sides (Duberley & Carrigan, 2013). As the discourse on time and flexibility is strong within the mompreneurship literature, there is less focus on financial risks (Dhaliwal, 2022). Considering the limitations in finding and engaging in paid employment for the working mothers of AN children, entrepreneurship might be the best—and in some cases the only—option for career creation/development within the constraints of caregiving (Humbert & Brindley, 2015). However, as suggested by disadvantage theory, turning to entrepreneurship as a means of overcoming barriers to suitable employment is often accompanied by additional challenges such as challenges in attaining funding, trust building within communities, and support from family. While obstacles within traditional labor markets may indeed motivate these women to pursue entrepreneurship, the conflicting demands of caregiving and work introduce less-visible impediments that can hinder their entrepreneurial success from the outset (Morris et al., 2020).

• Proposition 1: Entrepreneurship represents an opportunity for mothers with AN children to engage in paid work within the time and space of their caring responsibilities. However, time and other restrictions may limit their entrepreneurial success.

Entrepreneurship as an option to benefit from work-related advantages for mothers with AN children: the need for supportive structures

Research demonstrates the positive effects of employment on wellbeing. Those who lack work opportunities because of the need to focus on caregiving have a high risk of burnout (Chou et al., 2016; Sekułowicz et al., 2022). The positive effects of securing paid employment have been identified as providing mothers with social contacts, intellectual challenges, and financial gains not provided otherwise (Sanz-Vergel et al., 2015). Mothers engaged in paid employment while caring for their AN children experience respite from caregiving obligations and lowered levels of stress should employment offer fulfillment (Morris, 2012). The adoption of a role which is supported, such as a paid employment position in which certain flexibility is allowed and skills are acknowledged, has been shown to support new role acquisition without negative conflicts (Sellmaier et al., 2020).

Need for a flexible work environment and supportive home environment

Coincidentally, stress has been shown to decrease when support systems are in place, ensuring success in one’s new role (Shearn & Todd, 2000). Mothers with AN children engaged in a supported paid-employment environment experience diminished conflict within roles despite the admitted challenges of caregiving. This, in turn, leads to improved work–family balance (Stewart et al., 2022). In fact, for both mothers of AN children and mothers of NAN children, a major factor in mitigating role stress and conflict is support and flexibility of employment (Lynch et al., 2022; Warfield, 2001).

The challenge lies here. Particularly for mothers with AN children, supported employment is challenging to attain, with employers markedly insensitive to the required flexibility needs of employees with additional caregiving responsibilities (Derigne & Porterfield, 2017). Inflexibility, inconsistent work schedules, and low levels of autonomy in the workplace account for the lessened wellbeing benefits of paid employment. Employment must be mother ready, allowing for last-minute changes and flexibility for mothers (Scott, 2018). Failure to secure such a position leaves mothers in a precarious situation in which respite and benefits are acknowledged but are unattainable. Over time, this imbalance simultaneously spills into the wellbeing of their child(ren), back into their employment and the rest of the family (Parchomiuk, 2020).

Besides the work context, the opportunities for mothers to benefit from the wellbeing effects of working are dependent on household conditions. Despite advancements and proposals for changes in caregiving models, mothers are still predominantly researched as primary caregivers to AN children, with fathers attending to the important yet strongly gendered role of providing for the family (Chou et al., 2018; Scott, 2018); this creates a myopic view of family balance (Chou et al., 2016). This self-evidently assumed role of a caretaker has contributed to research demonstrating a decrease in the wellbeing benefits of mothers and families with AN children because of maternal employment (Dillon-Wallace et al., 2016). The benefits of mothers who do not enter paid employment result from their dual or even triple roles, which are dependent on their children’s needs. These roles have been identified to conflict with roles in the workplace and deplete energy in conjunction with additional unpaid responsibilities. Based on role conflict theory, the problem is neither the employment realm nor the caregiving role; the different expectations related to each role contribute to the difficulties that accumulate over time, leading to potential burnout, thus diminishing the wellbeing benefits of employment (Sekułowicz et al., 2022). The negative aspects of inflexible employers compounded with challenging work schedules result in a reduction of wellbeing benefits and a risk of lowered levels of autonomy (Scott, 2018). In addition, some unpaid roles held by mothers with AN children contribute to energy depletion and neglect of personal wellbeing preservation (Schuster et al., 2009). This can be particularly challenging when these mothers are faced with new uncertainties regarding their AN children and the need for a solution to support their children and ensure family harmony. Inflexible work environments and limited support within the household for working mothers with AN children result in high levels of role conflict and diminished wellbeing for these mothers and their families.

Availability of child care

Given the primacy of mothers as caregivers in the family, their ability to engage in work rests on the assumption that child care, particularly for children with ANs, is universally available and affordable. Finding suitable care based on AN children’s needs is not only costly but also simply unavailable in some locations (Costanzo & Magnuson, 2024). Hence, children cannot be placed easily in daycare to accommodate working parents. The scarcity of qualified staff to care for AN children is an abject reality for many families that are dependent on the caregiving needs of their AN children. Child care positions are generally relatively low-wage ones, with the spaces in facilities limited and thus subject to availability. These limitations and a lack of trust from parents regarding child care further increase the challenge for mothers seeking paid employment (Costanzo & Magnuson, 2024). This is particularly the case in market-based economies (e.g., the United States), in which child care center-based facilities are the preferred options for AN children, but the costs are high. In addition, private care within the home is expensive and requires finding suitable staff. These limitations extend to employment-based care facilities, as they are likely not equipped to care for AN children, thereby excluding this as an option for parents. The challenges with children with ANs do not minimize over time, increasing the need for adaptable child care throughout their lifetimes (Baker & Drapela, 2010). When supportive child care systems are in place, working mothers with AN children experience diminished role conflict because work offers a respite from care.

Additional costs for caring AN children

Conflicts within unsupported roles have been identified as leading to a reduced sense of efficacy, allowing the stress to spill over into other areas, such as maternal wellbeing, at the detriment of family harmony (Scott, 2018). Baker and Drapela (2010) framed the detriments of paid employment on mothers and proposed benefits to families with mothers who stay out of the workplace. They established that, without the additional stress of work inflexibility and if they are economically viable, families could benefit from mothers who choose to be at home. Baker and Drapela (2010) also identified that for some mothers, caring for AN children places special significance on the role of a caregiver. Mothers who see caregiving as a positive activity experience a positive impact on their wellbeing and the mother–family dynamic (Baker and Drapela, 2010). Some mothers might still find it impossible to consider employment outside of the home care environment because of their acceptance of the strong identity of a mother-caregiver role. For these mothers, the challenge lies in disconnecting from their children’s needs, even when systems are enabled (Hodgetts et al., 2014). Because caring for their children is inextricably connected with their identities, mothers exhibit strength in holding an important yet (unpaid) supporting role (Pastor-Cerezuela et al., 2021).

While concentrating on providing full-time care may be an option for some mothers (and households), it is not economically viable or possible for all. Caring for children with ANs can be three times more costly than caring for NAN children (Costanzo & Magnuson, 2024). Without securing a dual income from stable employment, many families face the realistic possibility of descending into economic poverty after welcoming AN children. This is recognized in households with a previously financially secure position and in low-income families already facing a great risk of poverty (Lewis et al., 2000; Lukemeyer et al., 2000). The economic struggle is even more pronounced in the case of single parents, who simultaneously face a great responsibility for care with limitations to support structures (Lukemeyer et al., 2000). The question is also highly contextualized and different in market-based economies compared with welfare economies. Not working and concentrating on care can lead to diminished role conflict for mothers with AN children but may not be financially possible.

Highlighting the importance of institutional context

While affordable child care is available for most families in welfare economies (e.g., the Nordic countries), lacking or expensive child care is a reported factor for entering entrepreneurship in market-based economies. In market-based economies, engaging in entrepreneurship is often the only option for mothers to choose to pursue a career while attending to the caregiving needs of their NAN children (Foley et al., 2018). Hence, entrepreneurial careers and their effects on mothers’ wellbeing are invariably connected with supporting networks/systems, including governmental policies regarding parental leave and suitable child care options (Hudson Breen & Leung, 2020; Markowska et al., 2023). The role of established institutional contexts was emphasized by Markowska et al. (2023), who suggested that institutional frameworks, such as those in Sweden, offering extensive parental leave policies, child care subsidies, and expansive child care facilities, provide business-creation opportunities for mothers. A generous parental leave is not the norm for most women who are considering entrepreneurship, even in successful market economies. Thus, it is important to understand the context in which mothers operate to draw any conclusions on the entrepreneurship–wellbeing relationship (Stephan et al., 2023).

Given the need for care and support related to parenting AN children identified in our review, we assume that the importance of the institutional context is pronounced in the case of mothers with AN children. Recognizing the limited attention given to social structures in entrepreneurship literature and theory highlights a significant gap in understanding the full context. By applying an intersectional perspective to examine the unique challenges faced by women at this intersection, we can better identify the connections between entrepreneurship and caregiving roles, offering a more nuanced understanding of the disadvantages they experience (Dy, 2020). Thus, the experiences of role conflict are conditioned by the institutional environment.

• Proposition 2: Entrepreneurship can represent an escape from an inflexible work environment and a viable career option for mothers with AN children, but it is strongly conditioned by the institutional context and the availability of support.

Benefits of resilience and work-related skills from having AN children to entrepreneurship

There is a positive side to parenting children with ANs (Bolbocean et al., 2022). Drawing from role enrichment theory, our review identifies some benefits of how the role of mothers with AN children could contribute to their work role. The unpaid yet working role of mother-caregivers can increase their skills, which are vital for successful employment/future entrepreneurship (Bozkur et al., 2022; Ryan et al., 2008).

Learning to cope with challenges and building resilience

In most cases, having AN children first presents a shock that involves uncertainty and unpreparedness (Nursanti, 2024). The uncertainty stems from a lack of knowledge in conjunction with a lack of preparedness for having AN children, and dealing with this issue is important. In addition, parents experience a type of grief in the form of chronic sorrow upon realizing that their children have ANs. Mothers specifically suffer deep sorrow when their children’s milestones are not reached, including a type of mourning in which they reflect their children’s failures onto themselves (Landsman, 2015, p. 73). Chronic sorrow, as defined by Olshansky (1962), reflects the lived-in state that the parents of a special child inhabit as a “response to having a mentally defective child” (Coughlin & Sethares, 2017, p. 108). Chronic sorrow is said to evolve as the child fails to reach milestones in life as a NAN child would, creating a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of parents. Embracing grief gradually allows parents to uncover the positive aspects of having AN children.

Although mothers may choose to resign from paid employment to avoid further stress and detriment to her wellbeing (Baker & Drapela, 2010), they often replace employment with other unpaid work. Mothers with AN children hold numerous roles related to the success and wellbeing development of their children and, in turn, others (Halstead et al., 2018). For example, they take up other forms of unpaid work, such as volunteering, to assume an active role in their AN children’s development. These unpaid roles and the adoption of key skills are shown to increase motherhood wellbeing while being engaged in caregiving, illustrating the significance of finding meaning within the role of caregiver for these mothers aside from tasks related to their children’s needs (Chou et al., 2016).

Mothers with AN children face regular challenges and are continuously required to reassess their resilience in the face of unexpected challenges related to their AN children. Caregiving responsibilities are shown to not diminish over time or as the child progresses; rather, each stage of development comes with unique challenges that need to be addressed (Halfon et al., 2012; Kaniamattam & Oxley, 2021). These challenges, which are directly linked to the development or care of their children, require distinguished self-sustaining roles that become inseparable from the mother–child dyad and are vital for the progress of AN children’s development (Landsman, 2015). Resilience has been described as the propensity to thrive despite being subjected to hardships or distressful life events (Jess et al., 2018). Mothers are therefore continuously expected to re-adapt skills associated with resilience to maintain healthy psychological functioning when new challenges arise (Jetten et al., 2017; Vrankić Pavon et al., 2023). Conflicting expectations of the roles that mothers hold lead to an unending loop of reassessment and readaptation of skills in an attempt to assimilate into socially accepted roles. Recognizing challenges and stresses is key to a positive outlook when it comes to mothering AN children. These mothers further adopt coping strategies and encourage the acceptance of their children’s strengths and limitations for themselves and others (Jess et al., 2018). Based on the role enrichment theory, mothers of AN children learn to deal with challenges and to adapt and build resilience as part of their caregiving role.

Learning to advocate and finding joy and purpose

Mothers with AN children inhabit a unique liminal space between their children’s current needs and the unexpected future of what lies ahead while navigating through the personal and societal ideologies of motherhood. For these mothers, an important experience is adopting the role of an advocate for their children (Sousa, 2011) and thus learning to stand for their children’s rights. For mothers with AN children, these traits are vital to maintaining a positive outlook despite challenges. Positivity is built upon the acceptance of conditions that one cannot change and the ability to cope with unexpected challenges, illustrating resilience (Nursanti, 2024). Mothers adopt an advocating role in supporting and defending their AN children. Specifically, the exhaustion and frustration experienced by these mothers in schools, hospitals, and other settings have been expressed (Munsell & O’Malley, 2019, p. 276). Brock (2014) affirmed that “[a]dvocacy for one’s disabled child becomes part of the identity of [the] mother, but it is born of the recognition of the child’s humanity and of one’s fear that the full value of the child is missed by others” (p. 24).

While challenges are well represented in the literature, including the conflicts within roles, there are also unexpected outcomes associated with parenting and ANs (Lloyd & Hastings, 2009). An example is mothers expressing joy in seeing their AN children acquire skills, creating a positive impact on motherhood wellbeing (Sunderland et al., 2009). We see advocacy as a strength identified in previous studies on mothers with AN children engaged in this hidden, unpaid work, providing mothers with a strong sense of positive purpose related to their AN children (Chou et al., 2014). Some mothers indicated having a sensitive bond with their AN children, explained simply as connecting with them differently compared with connecting with their NAN children. In addition, some mothers expressed an “increased purpose in life and (experience) personal growth” because of having children with ANs (Marks, 1998, p. 953). Mothers providing encouragement and intentional listening to gently foster independence in their children through daily tasks adopt the additional role of a teacher and report a sense of accomplishment along with heightened happiness at seeing their children acquire new and necessary skills (Musyaropah et al., 2023). Advocacy for AN children has been expressed by mothers as providing meaning to their lives. Mothers with AN children share a strong sense of purpose in life (cause) and become advocates for fighting these children’s causes.

Leveraging competencies and networks for entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs need enterprising competencies to successfully manage their ventures; these include, for example, generating ideas for opportunities, taking action, exercising perseverance and resilience, communicating with and persuading others, and establishing and using networks (Van Gelderen, 2023). Research suggests that some mothers pursue entrepreneurship to combine their pre-existing work skills with the enterprising competencies they gained through mothering (Hudson Breen & Leung, 2020), such as negotiating, multi-tasking, and being resilient. This combination of utilizing work skills and newly acquired mothering skills has been understood as a contributing factor that aids in the successful running of a business (Kadhi & Hamrouni, 2023), as most mothers have engaged in paid work prior to becoming mothers. Furthermore, in utilizing their skills toward entrepreneurship, mothers adopt a mind-set that enables the creation of a venture by recognizing their adapted skills and resilience and applying these in a role that is equally uncertain—that of venture creation (Van Gelderen, 2023).

Adopting the role of advocates or warrior mothers helps raise awareness in communities, offer support to others in similar situations (temporal and financial), and increase personal interest in the topic (Lukemeyer et al., 2000; Sousa, 2011). Some mothers further gather strength from communities where similar mothers co-exist, often online or through support groups. Here, mothers with AN children can connect without judgment, find information, and offer support to one another in an empowerment network. Sometimes called lifelines by these mothers, many mothers have implicated these networks as an integral part of their coping and identity reconstruction process (Ammari & Schoenebeck, 2015; Blake et al., 2019; Kirchhofer et al., 2022). Mothers with AN children develop networks to raise awareness and offer support to one another.

Vershinina et al. (2022) found how online communities contribute to building and adopting an entrepreneurship identity for mompreneurs. However, connecting with other mothers offers more than a means of moral support; it can spark creativity in the form of collaborative venture creation (Hudson Breen & Leung, 2020). Mompreneurs are identified as recognizing business opportunities that are somehow linked to the experience of having children (Richomme-Huet et al., 2013). An example of this is the development of child-related business ventures, such as slings devised for parents to carry their newborns in a mother-to-mother venture (products made by mothers for mothers). Mothers with AN children often have experience developing and relying on peer networks. Therefore, this networking skill may enable them to pursue entrepreneurship and to receive and offer support to others in similar situations (Blake et al., 2019). Taken together, through role enrichment theory, mothers caring for AN children develop competencies that are beneficial to entrepreneurship.

• Proposition 3: Mothers with AN children possess resilience, networking, and other skills that will benefit them in pursuing new business opportunities and managing their ventures as entrepreneurs.

The family unit as a resource or liability in entrepreneurship for mothers with AN children

Role of AN children in strengthening the family

Having AN children influences the entire family dynamic, with multiple factors affecting different levels of stress and resilience in families (McStay et al., 2014; Migerode et al., 2012; Pastor-Cerezuela et al., 2021). Despite daily challenges found in everyday uncertainties, some families find having AN children to be a positive influence. This can be understood as encouraging growth and strengthening the family unit. Adaptation to the uncertainties that come with having AN children and acceptance of their ANs have been identified as reducing the effects of external stigmatization on families. Strength within the family unit is, therefore, understood as increasing through the support generated within the family and from direct support networks. Having AN children can potentially strengthen the family unit, proving to be an important resource for family members in the creation of their business ventures. However, a disruptive family, one without a supported understanding of roles, can be detrimental to the wellbeing and entrepreneurial goals of mothers (Sekułowicz et al., 2022). It is also understood that support for household tasks, including caregiving responsibilities, requires cooperation from one’s partner or extended family. This is of particular importance; in some international contexts, women are expected to care for their elderly parents, their own children, and in some cases, their grandchildren alongside maintaining the household and their careers (Chou et al., 2016).

Because of the ability to overcome or, at the very least, manage challenges, some families note heightened resilience and increased family enrichment. Greeff and Nolting (2013) identified three domains that contribute to family enrichment and resilience: family belief systems, organizational patterns (identified as flexibility, connectedness, and mobilizing networks), and communication processes. Together, they determined these as tools that families use to overcome challenges and adversity and to develop skills so that they can grow as a family despite facing ANs (Greeff and Nolting, 2013; Walsh, 2003). Families who accept ANs as something they cannot change are well equipped when faced with inevitable societal stigmas (Heiman, 2002; McStay et al., 2014). It has also been identified that open communication in the family, including accepting the expression of negative feelings, leads to the high resilience of the siblings of AN children, fostering a safe and inclusive household (Kirchhofer et al., 2022). These skills and the built resilience we propose are applicable to the creation of business ventures. Finding support in family structures has also been identified as aiding in the success of running a venture despite other role conflicts.

Furthermore, when supported with networks, including doctors, nurses, teachers, other (respite) care professionals, and organizations (Migerode et al., 2012), families with AN children can build strong, positive family identities/units that enable the creation of networks offering support to others in similar situations (Blake et al., 2019). This further allows acceptance within the family by allowing the expression of negative feelings rather than forcing assimilation onto the other family members. Acceptance of the disability/challenge supports all members of the family through unpredictable challenges. Having AN children can strengthen the family, which, through role enrichment, can support mother’s entrepreneurial endeavors.

Role of spousal and household support

Mompreneurship is also understood as an embedded family decision regarding a return to employment and an adaptation of role dynamics for mothers (Ekinsmyth, 2013). Traditional household structures include household financial resources, adaptation to a partner’s/children’s schedules, and other time variables embedded within the household (Ekinsmyth, 2013). Women contend with having more work–family-related conflicts than their male counterparts, including job–household responsibility conflict and job–motherhood role conflict, leading to a negative impact on the wellbeing of mompreneurs with NAN children (Welsh & Kaciak, 2019). The equal division of household tasks and assistance with child care have therefore been identified as ways to support mompreneurs and increase their satisfaction within the household (Welsh & Kaciak, 2019).

Financial stability within the household (partner employment, large savings, and trust funds) also contributes to the support structure necessary for entrepreneurship. The roles of family members contribute to the business in numerous ways, such as providing financial and emotional support and supporting unpaid labor, which are often emphasized in the literature (Chou et al., 2014). In addition, as maternity leave and compensation package variations exist across established institutional contexts, the significance of how essential financial support is for mothers considering entrepreneurship is evident (Hudson Breen & Leung, 2020).

Households and families can therefore be seen as resources for entrepreneurship. Having AN children can strengthen the family unit as an important resource for family members in their endeavors, including entrepreneurship. However, this benefit may be compromised if caregiving responsibilities are concentrated on mothers. Moreover, the conflicting impacts of entrepreneurial pursuits on family wellbeing warrant consideration. Balancing the emotional demands of business growth with caregiving responsibilities introduces additional stressors that complicate time management, as individuals navigate the dual roles of caregiver and entrepreneur. Such work–family conflicts can negatively affect family dynamics and increase the risk of burnout (Mcdowell et al., 2019). Hence, overcoming the potential work–family conflict necessitates strong support from the household.

• Proposition 4: A strong family unit can be an important resource in entrepreneurship for mothers with AN children, provided that the care and other responsibilities within the household are distributed fairly.

Discussion

In this research, we explored whether entrepreneurship could be an option for mothers with AN children to engage in and to apply the skills they developed from mothering AN children. We engaged in a problematizing review (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2020) using role theory (role conflict and role enrichment; Anglin et al., 2022). First, we reviewed the literature on how employment and work are experienced by the mothers of AN children, including the implications for their and their families’ wellbeing, the available support structures, and the role of households. Second, we reviewed the literature on mompreneurs to understand their motivations, benefits, challenges, and experiences from entrepreneurship while being mothers. Third, we introduced the literature which has a broad and indirect bearing on the research domain, that of employment and motherhood, including the positive influence of an AN child on the family, reviewing studies on having AN children in the family and impact.

The literature reaffirms the role conflicts and career limitations for mothers with AN children because expectations from the different roles lead to reduced efficacy and role stress (Chou et al., 2014). These challenges are further emphasized by difficulties in identifying suitable and affordable child care for their AN children, especially in market-based economies (Costanzo & Magnuson, 2024). Hence, the literature assumes that some mothers with AN children may need to concentrate on the role of a caregiver and put their own career or work-related ambitions on hold (Baker & Drapela, 2010). However, for many mothers with NAN children, time and space flexibility are important motivators for pursuing entrepreneurship (Foley et al., 2018; Hudson Breen et al., 2020). Mothers with AN children need autonomy in their work, suggesting that entrepreneurship could be an option for them because mompreneurs promote wellbeing and work–family benefits through their ability to combine employment, independence, and financial gains via entrepreneurship. Consequently, we contribute to the literature on mompreneurship by proposing that entrepreneurship may represent an (only feasible) opportunity for mothers with AN children to engage in paid work. While there may be limitations to their time and locations (e.g., venture location), we see this as a potential to integrate their caring responsibilities. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the wellbeing benefits of entrepreneurship to mothers with AN children are subject to institutional structures (e.g., affordable daycare); a lack of these structures can further exacerbate the role conflict experienced by these mothers. This finding emphasizes that the pursuit of entrepreneurship by mothers with AN children is highly rooted in institutional and cultural contexts.

Our second contribution is our suggestion that, despite the challenges involved, mother-caregivers hold numerous roles and show increased psychological resilience through the coping skills they have acquired from caregiving. Some mother-caregivers also find purpose in being advocates for their children and develop networks to support their children’s causes (Brock, 2014; Munsell & O’Malley, 2019). Mompreneurs have been demonstrated to attribute a benefit of motherhood in the form of identifying business opportunities that arise from mothering and embeddedness in related networks (Richomme-Huet et al., 2013). Hence, our review enabled us to challenge the assumptions of mothering AN children as solely a liability. However, we argue using role enrichment theory that the skills developed by mothers, such as resilience and networking, can be beneficial in their entrepreneurial role. We propose that mother-caregivers could apply these skills to future entrepreneurship ventures and to the potential creation of ventures with and for their AN children.

In addition, our review highlights that having AN children in the family is not only about challenges and problems; it can also enrich family dynamics (Heiman, 2002; McStay et al., 2014). As the importance of the family embeddedness of entrepreneurship and the role of family members in providing financial, operational, and emotional support for ventures is acknowledged (Ekinsmyth, 2013), we propose that the strengthened family unit can be an important resource in entrepreneurship for mothers with AN children. However, this proposition is conditioned by the fact that care and other responsibilities within the household are distributed fairly.

From our review, we show that mompreneurship and mothers with AN children in paid employment have been studied separately thus far, thereby overlooking the overlapping aspects of these roles. As we only identified one study that has empirically investigated this topic of mompreneurs parenting AN children (Lowenstein & Jones, 2021), an important contribution of our review is opening up underappreciated and missing areas of research that future studies need to address. In addition to contributing to knowledge of this important (and growing) group of women, future research would contribute broadly to understanding entrepreneurship from an inclusive perspective.

Future research agenda

While entrepreneurship is proposed to offer time and space flexibility for mothers to engage in (paid) employment (Duberley & Carrigan, 2013; Ekinsmyth, 2013), an important question emerges: if both entrepreneurship and care responsibilities are time-consuming activities, how do mompreneurs with AN children organize their business and family responsibilities in practice? Through role conflict theory, it is possible to argue that engaging in mompreneurship can create a double or even triple burden for these mothers as they participate in entrepreneurship, care work, and volunteering roles simultaneously, which future research should address.

Because of time constraints, one suggestion might be to pursue part-time entrepreneurship to engage in (paid) work, but this has consequences for their ventures. A question can be posed as to whether time and location restrictions compromise the development and growth of the ventures of mompreneurs with AN children. As previous mompreneurship research discourse has concentrated on work–family–care dimensions (Duberley & Carrigan, 2013), there has been a limited focus on the financial aspects in mompreneurship research, particularly in the case of mompreneurs with AN children. Future research should challenge the prevailing assumptions regarding mompreneurship that there is a primary wage earner in the family (the father/man) and that mompreneurs with AN children do not have to worry about the profitability and financial outcomes of their ventures. The need for financial rewards may be particularly important in the case of increased costs associated with the care of AN children, especially for single mothers.

While navigating the normative expectations of what it is to be a mother and an entrepreneur, how do mompreneurs with AN children construct their motherhood, entrepreneurship, and related identities (Foley et al., 2018)? Does the path to becoming an entrepreneur and being economically active help them achieve the sense of self-worth they need to cope with the shock and grief related to having special-needs children? Does flexibility in working time and location give them the time necessary for engaging with the care of their children and thus contributing to their and their families’ wellbeing? Alternatively, the question remains whether the demands of business and entrepreneurship become overbearing and contribute to increased stress (ill-being) when trying to navigate the home and business spheres. If entrepreneurship is the (only feasible) opportunity for these women to engage in (paid) work, what are the wellbeing and other implications of this forced choice?

Becoming an entrepreneur is strongly conditioned by the institutional context (Markowska et al., 2023). Research on understanding the motivations and experiences of mothers with AN children should consider family policies, particularly the availability of affordable child care and other benefits. While it is possible to assume in general that the available support for families makes it easier for these mothers to engage in entrepreneurship, there may also be adverse outcomes that should be investigated. Some benefits available to mothers or families of AN children may be applicable only if a parent (typically the mother) concentrates on the full-time care of their children. Future research needs to consider these systems and the way they influence the entrepreneurial decision-making of mothers with AN children and their eventual entrepreneurship experiences. As the literature assumes the self-evident role of mothers as primary caretakers in their families with AN children, future research should also challenge this assumption by researching father-entrepreneurs in these families, thereby surfacing potential questions and the tension that the fathers of children with AN children also face. It is necessary to refocus the literature currently concentrated on workplace flexibility and role assessment/adjustment applied only to mothers (Lewis et al., 2000; Scott, 2018).

An understanding of how the strengths adopted from caregiving responsibilities could be applied to employment, particularly to entrepreneurship, is lacking in previous research. For example, coping with the grief related to having AN children and adapting to uncertainty can contribute to resilience (Barnett et al., 2003; De Schauwer & Davies, 2015). Our review identified advocacy as a strength in previous studies on mothers with AN children engaged in this hidden, unpaid work, providing mothers with a strong sense of positive purpose relating to their AN children (Chou et al., 2014). Adopting the role of an advocate or warrior-mother helps raise awareness in communities, offers support to others in similar situations (time and financial), and increases personal interest in the topic (Lukemeyer et al., 2000; Sousa, 2011). Therefore, compared with the mothers of neurotypical children, the mothers of AN children exhibit strengths and motives that could enhance their entrepreneurial success. This could be attributed to their persistence and tolerance for adversity or other skills gained by working through trauma and challenges (Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2017). Future studies could therefore explore the extent to which these skills, such as perseverance and being an underdog/warrior fighting for their families and their children’s rights, carry over to the business (Bhardwaj et al., 2023). We propose that future research should aim at exploring how mother-caregivers apply adopted skills and resilience to their ventures.

Our review highlights the importance of networks for mothers with AN children (Heiman, 2002; McStay et al., 2014) and their related skills in building and using these networks. Therefore, an interesting research question involves determining the extent to which these networking skills carry over to the business side. What types of resources become available to them through their networks? Does their embeddedness in certain networks become a liability under certain circumstances?

Existing research on mompreneurship highlights how entrepreneurship is based on an opportunity linked to the experience of mothering a child. Further expansion of this topic could identify how mothers with AN children can use entrepreneurship to make meaning of their roles as mothers and advocates for the AN community. These mothers may be interested in starting businesses to support their AN children by providing a place where they (and other AN people) could be employed (Strnadová & Evans, 2013) and to the extent this is important for their perceived success in entrepreneurship, forming an interesting future research avenue. In addition, exploration into how mothers evoke an entrepreneurial spirit within the family through an “intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurial intentions” should be on the research agenda of entrepreneurship scholars (Hopp et al., 2019).

Research suggests that there may be positive and unexpected effects of having AN children on the entire family dynamic (Lloyd & Hastings, 2009). Examples are heightened resilience and family enrichment from not forcing normalcy or assimilation onto the family, and rather accepting and supporting their children through challenges. Open communication and recognition of the concerns of all members, including negotiating negative feelings, further contribute to creating a harmonious family life and good family dynamics (Heiman, 2002; McStay et al., 2014). As the role of the family has been found to be an important resource in entrepreneurship, we propose that future research should investigate whether the resources of families with AN children can help mothers who engage in entrepreneurship and what these resource types are. Similarly, as research demonstrates that entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial wellbeing are strongly embedded in the household context, future research should shed light on how the division of care and financial responsibilities within the household influences mompreneurs with AN children.

Finally, we make some methodological suggestions for advancing research in this field by proposing the need for inductive qualitative studies involving not only mothers but also entire families (spouses, AN children, and other children, provided that the ethical aspects are duly considered) to include the family dynamics/household perspective. Ethnographic approaches might be particularly useful to learn about the everyday lives of these mothers navigating between the family and business and the relations between the mother and their child, as well as others in their families, communities, and networks. Finding and recruiting suitable subjects for this research purpose may come with some challenges (e.g., lack of time), thus calling for innovative approaches that enable these mothers’ and their families’ voices to be heard. This could involve inviting mothers to take photographs capturing moments in their daily lives (Munsell & O’Malley, 2019) or other arts-based methods. As our review underscored the importance of support, future research could also contribute to developing and investigating interventions aimed at supporting mothers (their families) in their entrepreneurial journeys.

Conclusion

Through our problematizing review, we proposed that entrepreneurship may be an opportunity for mothers with AN children to engage in paid employment within the time and space constraints of their caring responsibilities, provided that the necessary support structures are in place. We also proposed that mothers with AN children possess skills, such as resilience, advocacy, and networking, which may be beneficial in entrepreneurship. We suggest that these mothers and their families are positively influenced by children with ANs and that this strong family unit is a valuable resource for mothers in entrepreneurship. However, more empirical research is needed to shed light on these issues and explore the potential downsides of entrepreneurship for these women, their ventures, and families.