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Gurkha Warriors as Entrepreneurs in Britain: A Social Anchoring Lens on Martial Heritage and Migrant Enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Pawan Adhikari

    (University of Essex, UK)

  • Shovita Dhakal Adhikari

    (Bournemouth University, UK)

  • Shoba Arun

    (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)

  • Thankom Arun

    (University of Essex, UK)

Abstract

Using the social anchoring approach, this article investigates the entrepreneur experience of one of the newest migrant groups in Britain, the Nepali Gurkhas. The findings derived from the semi-structured interviews show how these migrant entrepreneurs employ multiple ‘anchors’ to engage in family-based enterprises and to navigate structural constraints. Their military heritage, which has provided them with psycho-social resources in the form of subjective and mixed anchors, has been central to their exercise of agency and enabling them to gain a foothold in Britain. This has rendered Gurkha entrepreneurs a distinct group within migrant entrepreneurship. The article contributes to the literature on migrant entrepreneurship by delineating how agential capacity, by deploying different anchors, can cause variations in migrant enterprises, which in turn imbue migrant entrepreneurship with distinct characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Pawan Adhikari & Shovita Dhakal Adhikari & Shoba Arun & Thankom Arun, 2023. "Gurkha Warriors as Entrepreneurs in Britain: A Social Anchoring Lens on Martial Heritage and Migrant Enterprises," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 37(5), pages 1359-1376, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:37:y:2023:i:5:p:1359-1376
    DOI: 10.1177/09500170221080394
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alex Bryson & Michael White, 2019. "Migrants and Low-Paid Employment in British Workplaces," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 33(5), pages 759-776, October.
    2. Monder Ram & Nicholas Theodorakopoulos & Trevor Jones, 2008. "Forms of capital, mixed embeddedness and Somali enterprise," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 22(3), pages 427-446, September.
    3. Robert C. Kloosterman, 2010. "Matching opportunities with resources: A framework for analysing (migrant) entrepreneurship from a mixed embeddedness perspective," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 25-45, January.
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