“If I have to clean, I clean my own shop”: Migrant entrepreneurship as a form of emplacement in times of crisis: The example of Italy

Abstract

This article analyses the relation between European economic crisis and immigration. It does so by analysing the establishment of migrants’ entrepreneurship activities in Italy, and by looking at how these activities unravel subjects’ agency in confronting constraining socioeconomic conditions and restrictive immigration laws. In this perspective, entrepreneurship should be understood as a possibility for transforming a person’s own incorporated cultural capital into a resource and, consequently, into an opportunity for self-created work performance. Interpreting entrepreneurship as a personal response of migrants to the economic recession offers a new perspective in the existing literature on migrant entrepreneurship. Crisis, in this paper, is not seen as an abstract and supernatural phenomenon leading and controlling the capacity of individuals to act, but is understood as a constructed set of meanings comprising social interactions and relationships and consolidated within public discourses. This study is based on a qualitative-explorative research approach and was carried out in South Tyrol, Italy. For the data collection, different qualitative methods were used: narrative interviews, informal discussions and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was based on the coding processes described within the Grounded Theory. As the results show, crisis as such represents, on the one hand, a critical moment of transition or transformation of normality and the constituted ways of acting and thinking and, on the other hand, it is perceived as a new opportunity to change individual behaviour and to initiate innovative counter-strategies that will maintain a person’s capacity to act even in critical personal and structural situations. Nevertheless, showing resilience, which is powerful and leads to change, depends not only on personal motivational forces but also to given opportunity structures.

Being an entrepreneur post-COVID-19 – resilience in times of crisis: a systematic literature review

“…Five other studies referred to various crises that combined several risk types such as economic, environmental, geopolitical and social. These included the emergencies caused to the tourism sector in Indonesia due to climate change, natural disasters, terrorism and economic recession (Dahles and Susilowati, 2015), competition at the local level and low demand for products in Sweden’s food sector (Larsson et al , 2016) and the harm to farmers in Greece and entrepreneurs in Italy by the economic crisis and the European immigration crisis (Anthopoulou et al , 2017; Lintner, 2019). The classification of studies by risk category is shown in Table 2.…”

“…Finally, at the micro-level, the authors find characteristics of the entrepreneur, such as being proactive, innovative, able to identify opportunities and take risks. Their leadership allows small companies to be adaptable, flexible and responsive to external crises, resulting in a positive impact on their resilience (Doern, 2016; Anthopoulou et al , 2017; Branicki et al , 2018; Lintner, 2019; Manning et al , 2019).…”

“…The authors considered the following as factors to measure resilience: Attitudes toward the crisis: differentiator, diversification, patterns and good practices, adaptability, alternatives to improve, strategies to deal with the crisis, ability to anticipate a crisis, innovative learning, post-crisis strategies, attitudes toward customers (Duarte Alonso and Bressan, 2015; Pallarès-Blanch, 2015; Dahles and Susilowati, 2015; Doern, 2016; Davidsson and Gordon, 2016; Larsson et al , 2016; Sabatino, 2016; Lintner, 2019). Entrepreneurial characteristics: number of years in the business, occupation, previous experiences with crises, lifestyle, gender, behaviors, optimism, ideological identity, resilience (Biggs, 2011; Williams et al , 2013; Doern, 2016; Anthopoulou et al , 2017; Brown, 2017; Branicki et al , 2018; Micu et al , 2018; Abdul Rani et al , 2019).…”

“…Attitudes toward the crisis: differentiator, diversification, patterns and good practices, adaptability, alternatives to improve, strategies to deal with the crisis, ability to anticipate a crisis, innovative learning, post-crisis strategies, attitudes toward customers (Duarte Alonso and Bressan, 2015; Pallarès-Blanch, 2015; Dahles and Susilowati, 2015; Doern, 2016; Davidsson and Gordon, 2016; Larsson et al , 2016; Sabatino, 2016; Lintner, 2019).…”

Setting up a small business in Albania: Return migration and entrepreneurship

“…Many studies show that the choice to start a business made by migrants or returned migrants is defined by negative circumstances in the countries of origin and destination (Light, 2007;Locke & Baum, 2007;Hessels et al, 2008;Aliaga-Isla & Rialp, 2013;Lintner, 2018). These studies show how migrants choose to become business owners, given the lack of conventional job opportunities and the necessity to overcome financial problems.…”