Araştırma Makalesi

Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity

Cilt: 8 30 Ağustos 2026
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Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity

Öz

The object of this research is refugees who became entrepreneurs in a space of ‘institutional illegibility' – forms of space that do not recognize refugees' identities within formal institutional systems. The study uses multiple case study design, document analysis, semi-structured interview technique, is of interpretive qualitative nature, and the documentation and interview sample consists of The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN), United Kingdom (UK) which is 8 refugee entrepreneurs obtained by maximum variation sampling. Results show that all types of illegibility occur in biometric, monetary, regulatory and digital logics and that in one case the types of illegibility can coexist to interact with each other. They "adaptively space out" away from formal channels, via diasporas, formal identity components of refugeehood, and other narrative additives, in addition to decentralized digital platforms. This failure is very gendered and different in spatial context with the biggest failure in deprived urban and camp-based contexts relating to women. Supporting organizations can play a role in preventing illegibility if they are able to be flexible and think about the refugee position; they can also contribute to illegibility if they rely on a one-size-fits-all approach in organization. It suggests some notions of adaptive entrepreneurial legitimacy, which might involve four dimensions (individual, network, technical and institutional) and it challenges the need for a shift from deficit-based theories to theories of refugee entrepreneurial exclusion as viewed through legibility.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kaynakça

  1. Althalathini, D., & Abdul-Rahman, S. (2026). Between two worlds: Refugee women entrepreneurs navigating institutional forces of home and host countries. *International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 32*(1), 145–168. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-03-2025-0317
  2. Amin, A., Petra, S., Masri, M., Abdul Razak, L., & Said, T. F. (2026). Entrepreneurial intention and behaviour among welfare recipients and low-income groups: A systematic review of emerging economy. *Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, 18*(5), 1578–1602. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEEE-01-2026-0022
  3. Amin, J. (2024). *Navigating new horizons: Entrepreneurship as a pathway to identity transformation and mental well-being for refugees* (Publication No. HFJAN67020250113) [Doctoral dissertation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam]. https://doi.org/10.5463/thesis.955
  4. Anand, A., Aydin, Š., Radević, I., & Knezović, E. (2025). Entrepreneurial uncertainty in Central and Eastern Europe: A synthesis and agenda. *Vezetéstudomány/Budapest Management Review, 56*(12), 5–17. https://doi.org/10.14267/VEZTUD.2025.12.01
  5. Cruz, E. P., Falcão, R. P. D. Q., & Dana, L.-P. (2025). From typologies to axes: Revisiting the classifications of immigrant entrepreneurs through a multidimensional perspective. *REMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana, 33*, Article e332138. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-858525038800033105
  6. David, A., & Terstriep, J. (2025). Against all odds: Migrant entrepreneurs in entrepreneurial ecosystems with constraints. *Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 19*(2), 248–275. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-03-2024-0052
  7. David, A., Terstriep, J., & Freiling, J. (2025). Understanding the nuances of (dis-)connectedness of migrant entrepreneurs within entrepreneurial ecosystems. *International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 43*(9), 1030–1065. https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426251322080
  8. Dias, C., Pereira, C., Ferreira, J., & Dabić, M. (2026). A framework for immigrant entrepreneur trajectories: Integrating rural–urban contexts and necessity–opportunity entrepreneurship. *International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 32*(11), 340–367. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-11-2025-1604

Ayrıntılar

Birincil Dil

İngilizce

Konular

İktisat Teorisi

Bölüm

Araştırma Makalesi

Yayımlanma Tarihi

30 Ağustos 2026

Gönderilme Tarihi

29 Ağustos 2026

Kabul Tarihi

30 Ağustos 2026

Yayımlandığı Sayı

Yıl 2026 Cilt: 8

Kaynak Göster

APA
Mohammed, H. J. (2026). Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity. Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 8. https://izlik.org/JA67PT87FK
AMA
1.Mohammed HJ. Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity. Journal of VOSST. 2026;8. https://izlik.org/JA67PT87FK
Chicago
Mohammed, Hussein Jalal. 2026. “Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity”. Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 8 (Ağustos). https://izlik.org/JA67PT87FK.
EndNote
Mohammed HJ (01 Ağustos 2026) Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity. Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 8
IEEE
[1]H. J. Mohammed, “Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity”, Journal of VOSST, c. 8, Ağu. 2026, [çevrimiçi]. Erişim adresi: https://izlik.org/JA67PT87FK
ISNAD
Mohammed, Hussein Jalal. “Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity”. Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 8 (01 Ağustos 2026). https://izlik.org/JA67PT87FK.
JAMA
1.Mohammed HJ. Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity. Journal of VOSST. 2026;8. Available at https://izlik.org/JA67PT87FK.
MLA
Mohammed, Hussein Jalal. “Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity”. Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, c. 8, Ağustos 2026, https://izlik.org/JA67PT87FK.
Vancouver
1.Hussein Jalal Mohammed. Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity. Journal of VOSST [Internet]. 01 Ağustos 2026;8. Erişim adresi: https://izlik.org/JA67PT87FK