IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ehu/cuader/69654.html

Drivers and obstacles on refugee entrepreneurship. The host country perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Reis, Ana Paula
  • Sá, Inês
  • Costa, Rosa M.
  • Carrizo Moreira, António

Abstract

[EN] Refugee entrepreneurship encompasses the enterprising endeavors undertaken by individuals forced to flee their home countries. This research area has gained scholarly traction due to its profound relevance in the socio-economic perspective. To provide a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon, a thorough systematic literature review was conducted, drawing upon the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The review scrutinized a corpus of 57 scholarly articles, which were analyzed and categorized into two main themes: the profile of refugees regarding their entrepreneurial intentions, and the contextual factors within the host countries that either facilitate or impede their entrepreneurial pursuits. Refugee entrepreneurship is associated with the necessity-driven perspective, as individuals often embark on entrepreneurial ventures due to the shortage of viable employment opportunities in their host countries. However, there exists a nuanced perspective wherein some refugees leverage their innate entrepreneurial traits, finding resonance between the economic landscapes of their home and host countries. Nevertheless, the inception of entrepreneurial endeavors is invariably accompanied by some obstacles, spanning legal, financial, and socio-economic domains. These obstacles do not deter the entrepreneurial spirit ingrained within many refugees. Instead, they serve as catalysts for resilience and innovation, prompting the formulation of adaptive strategies to surmount barriers and carve out pathways to success, underscoring the economic activity of displaced individuals and exemplifying their capacity to effectuate positive change amidst adversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Reis, Ana Paula & Sá, Inês & Costa, Rosa M. & Carrizo Moreira, António, 2024. "Drivers and obstacles on refugee entrepreneurship. The host country perspective," Cuadernos de Gestión, Universidad del País Vasco - Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa (IEAE).
    • Handle: RePEc:ehu:cuader:69654
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://addi.ehu.eus/handle/10810/69654
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dafna Kariv & Teresa V. Menzies & Gabrielle A. Brenner, 2010. "Business success among visible and non-visible ethnic entrepreneurs: a look at the effects of unemployment, co-ethnic involvement and human capital," Global Business and Economics Review, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 12(1/2), pages 115-150.
    2. Mikaela Backman & Esteban Lopez & Francisco Rowe, 2021. "The occupational trajectories and outcomes of forced migrants in Sweden. Entrepreneurship, employment or persistent inactivity?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 963-983, February.
    3. Mitchell McSweeney, 2023. "Sport and social entrepreneurship in the base-of-the-pyramid: The institutional work of refugees and a refugee-led organization in Uganda," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 582-606, August.
    4. Ammar Kassab & Rosmini Omar & Hasan Ghura, 2022. "Critical aspects of entrepreneurship policy design for Syrian refugees in Turkey," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(2/3), pages 149-166, July.
    5. Yeshi, Tenzin & Harima, Aki & Freiling, Jörg, 2024. "Resilience on an emotional rollercoaster: Refugee entrepreneurship under adversity," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 173-185.
    6. Rima M. Bizri, 2017. "Refugee-entrepreneurship: a social capital perspective," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(9-10), pages 847-868, October.
    7. Amani Jarrar, 2022. "Entrepreneurship in Jordan: the eco-system of the Social Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (SESOs)," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-28, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ion Daniel Zgura & Raluca Mariana Grosu & Ozgur Ozmen & Mirela Octavia Sirbu, 2025. "Entrepreneurial Intentions among Refugees. The Case of Syrian Refugees in T rkiye," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 27(70), pages 1221-1221, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. C. Annique Un & Chhomran Ou & Silvy Un Lafayette, 2022. "From the liability to the advantage of refugeeness," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(4), pages 530-561, December.
    2. Akkan, Eren & Hatipoglu, Burcin & Gurses, Kerem, 2025. "A self-anchoring view of forced migrants’ business performance in host countries," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(3).
    3. Jan Wiers & Didier Chabaud, 2022. "Bibliometric analysis of immigrant entrepreneurship research 2009–2019," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 12(1), pages 441-464, December.
    4. Riillo, Cesare Fabio Antonio & Peroni, Chiara, 2022. "Immigration and entrepreneurship in Europe: cross-country evidence," MPRA Paper 114580, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Madhuri Mahato & Julie Vardhan, 2022. "The spatial distribution of self-employment — evidence from Jharkhand," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 12(1), pages 291-304, December.
    6. Natacha Zimmer, 2025. "(In)stability of the Professional Trajectories of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Belgium," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 573-599, March.
    7. Eduardo Picanço Cruz & Roberto Pessoa QueirozFalcão & Rafael Cuba Mancebo, 2020. "Market orientation and strategic decisions on immigrant and ethnic small firms," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 227-255, June.
    8. Nungsari, Melati & Varming, Kirstine Rahma Stroeh & Manohar, Shre Maha, 2026. "Survival Loops: Refugee Coping Strategies in Protracted Crises," SocArXiv n4ut6_v1, Center for Open Science.
    9. Solomon Akele Abebe, 2023. "Refugee entrepreneurship: systematic and thematic analyses and a research agenda," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 315-350, January.
    10. Rolandas Drejeris & Astrida Miceikiene & Jurgita Baranauskiene, 2021. "A New Approach to Entrepreneurship Measurement of Agricultural Business Entities: A Case of Lithuania," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, April.
    11. Mansi Singh & Sanjay Dhir & Harsh Mishra, 2024. "Synthesizing research in entrepreneurial bootstrapping and bricolage: a bibliometric mapping and TCCM analysis," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 74(1), pages 487-520, February.
    12. Jiang, Yi Dragon & Straub, Caroline & Klyver, Kim & Mauer, René, 2021. "Unfolding refugee entrepreneurs' opportunity-production process — Patterns and embeddedness," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(5).
    13. Rita Klapper & Paul Upham & Kalevi Kurronen, 2018. "Social Capital, Resource Constraints and Low Growth Communities: Lifestyle Entrepreneurs in Nicaragua," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-15, October.
    14. Jan Brzozowski & Anke Lasek, 2019. "The impact of self-employment on the economic integration of immigrants: Evidence from Germany," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 15(2), pages 11-28.
    15. Jane Akusoba, 2024. "Exploring the opportunities and challenges encountered by immigrant entrepreneurs in Eastern Cape Province Towns," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 13(1), pages 47-63, January.
    16. Martínez Sidón, Gilberto & Saavedra Leyva, Rafael Eduardo & Morones Carrillo, Ana Lourdes, 2020. "Capital Social como factor de emprendimiento en los países de la OCDE: implementación de un modelo con datos de panel || Social Capital as an Entrepreneurship Factor in OECD Countries: Implementation of a Model with Panel Data," Revista de Métodos Cuantitativos para la Economía y la Empresa = Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, vol. 30(1), pages 312-326, December.
    17. Reyhan Atasü-Topcuoğlu, 2019. "Syrian Refugee Entrepreneurship in Turkey: Integration and the Use of Immigrant Capital in the Informal Economy," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 200-210.
    18. Genc Zhushi & Driton Qehaja, 2024. "Triadic relationship of remittances, migration and labor force," International Journal of Development Issues, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 23(3), pages 463-488, May.
    19. Klyver, Kim & Steffens, Paul & Honig, Benson, 2022. "Psychological factors explaining Ukrainian refugee entrepreneurs’ venture idea novelty," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 18(C).
    20. Cristina Blanco-González-Tejero & Klaus Ulrich & Samuel Ribeiro-Navarrete, 2024. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Can Social Media Be a Key Driver to Becoming an Entrepreneur?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 16780-16798, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehu:cuader:69654. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Alcira Macías Redondo (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ieahues.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.