This study examines how religious minority entrepreneurs respond to identity stigma at the individual, occupational, organizational, and industry levels. Specifically, we investigate the strategies entrepreneurs adopt to counter stigmatization. We argue that sudden stigmatization of industries erodes the community identity of entrepreneurs that historically enabled them to address market needs and compels them to pivot. Using meat and leather industries as a context, we conduct an inductive analysis of minority entrepreneurs who face stigmatization amidst the rise of religion-infused nationalism. Our findings reveal that founders employ various stigma management strategies, including boundary management, dilution, information management, and reconstruction, to navigate enacted and felt stigma. Additionally, we find that the type of pivots minority entrepreneurs enact is influenced by the various modes used to inflict stigma on the community identity and how the entrepreneurs individually make sense of it. This study contributes to the entrepreneurship literature by expanding the focus on religion as a central attribute of founders' identity and exploring the stigma management process within the venture context. Moreover, we provide insights into the removal and maintenance of stigma through the interactive combination of different stigma management strategies. By addressing this critical issue faced by minority entrepreneurs, this research enhances our understanding of the complexities involved in navigating stigmatized identities in venture operations.
