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Refugee Subentrepreneurship: The Emergence of a Liquid Cage

Author

Listed:
  • Deema Refai

    (University of Leeds, UK)

  • Gerard McElwee

    (York St John University, UK)

Abstract

This article conceptualises refugees’ endeavours for upward social mobility through subentrepreneurship. Subentrepreneurship refers to various self-employment forms that are undeclared to relevant authorities to escape superimposed historical, temporal, spatial, institutional and social contexts, which constrain actors’ entrepreneurial activities. Using a mixed theoretical underpinning combining Mixed Embeddedness (ME) with Weber’s Iron Cage of Rationality (ICR), we signify liquidity of refugee subentrepreneurship, which is neither linear nor long-term rational. A liquid cage is envisaged to allow more freedom as refugees become embedded within intersections between transformative journeys and Constrained Institutional Contexts (CICs). This new theorising signifies a pronounced emphasis on agency whereby refugees cleverly contemplate implicit skills (i.e. unrecognised or downgraded skills), opportunities and processes to escape CICs. The article adds clarity as to how contexts become part of the production of entrepreneurial actions through two-way interactions that promote liquidity, enabling a strong foundation for future research exploring subentrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Deema Refai & Gerard McElwee, 2023. "Refugee Subentrepreneurship: The Emergence of a Liquid Cage," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(4), pages 1032-1051, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:37:y:2023:i:4:p:1032-1051
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170211062817
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Iuliana Chitac & Elisabeth Michielsens & Miruna Radu-Lefebvre, 2025. "The liability of refugeeness: leveraging multiple identities to enact power in a context of displacement," Post-Print hal-05250940, HAL.

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