Abstract
Extant research on entrepreneurial identity formation has primarily focused on individuals who manifest strong aspirations to self-employment both at the early stage or later in their professional career, neglecting the process of identity construction of individuals who are forced to become entrepreneurs. Relying on the identity work literature and adopting a narrative inquiry, the present study aims to investigate the process and related mechanisms that contribute to shaping entrepreneurial identity in a sample of successful female Italian entrepreneurs that are characterized by an initial non-entrepreneurial vocation. This setting provides the opportunity to observe the complexity of entrepreneurial identity formation, shedding light on different mechanisms that have been overlooked by prior studies. Specifically, the findings provide insights on the interplay between individual agency and social structure, which past research has considered separately, advancing the understanding of entrepreneurial identity as an ongoing process of personal and social emergence.