MIGRANT ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Self-employment as strategy of economic incorporation

Abstract

As entrepreneurs and markets are strongly interdependent, this chapter touches uponthe ‘structure versus agency’ debates in social sciences in general and the tension between causes and consequences of individual behaviour and structural change, in particular, regarding migrant entrepreneurship. While the actor -the migrant entrepreneur -actively and often purposefully decides upon, undertakes, and adapts business practices and strategies in the realm of economic market realities (structure), the reverse is also true. The main drivers of market change are, among others, collective behaviour, business activities, demands for specialised inputs, and incited consumer demands, but also technological innovations, (de)regulation, international developments, and so on. The chapter highlights the significance of societal and economic relevance of migrant entrepreneurs by discussing both the consequences of and their influence on structural drivers for self-employment. This is followed by an overview of the academic state of the art on both agency and structure discussions regarding migrant entrepreneurship. A discussion of the societal and scientific challenges of successful migrant entrepreneurship concludes this chapter.