What happens to refugee-origin entrepreneurs? Combining mixed embeddedness and strategy perspectives in a longitudinal study

Monder Ram*, Trevor Jones, Sabina Doldor, Maria Villares-Varela, Hongqin Li

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Whilst it is acknowledged that refugees are more likely to select into self-employment due to discrimination and labour market exclusion, we know little about how their ventures perform over time. To address this gap, we draw upon qualitative longitudinal evidence gathered in 2010 and 2018 in the UK to explore the outcomes of their ventures and what strategies they have put in place. We argue that the trajectories of refugee-owned businesses are explained by their structural position and the strategies, resources, and business support networks, highlighting that refugee entrepreneurs re-work their condition in a manner that is much more proactive and resilient than suggested by extant portrayals of refugee entrepreneurship. Our analysis sheds new light on the dynamics of refugee business development and encourages a more nuanced theoretical approach to evaluate these enterprises as vehicles for integration against the backdrop of neoliberal Britain.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-27
Number of pages27
JournalEthnic and Racial Studies
Volume45
Issue number16
Early online date22 Oct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords

  • Entrepreneurship
  • UK
  • labour market
  • longitudinal
  • migrants
  • refugees

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