A self-anchoring view of forced migrants’ business performance in host countries

Abstract

While forced migrants’ (FM) businesses can have a substantial impact on their host countries, we know little about how they perform well in the long run. Adopting a self-anchoring perspective and using a mixed methods approach with data collected from Syrian FMs in Turkey (i.e., a preliminary field inquiry followed by a quantitative study), we find that two prominent experiential factors, perceived discrimination and local language mastery, influence FMs’ business performance via having a host country identity. We also find that having acquired formal protection at the time of entry into a host country – as opposed to later in time – alleviates the adverse impacts of experiential factors on business performance. The central role a host country identity plays indicates that international entrepreneurship’s predominant focus on cross-border activities should be complemented with business owners’ connection with the local setting in explaining business outcomes, particularly in cases such as when individuals relocate abroad involuntarily with limited opportunities to return. Further, the boundary condition effect of promptness of formal protection explains how early experiences of FMs help them sustain their entrepreneurial agency and also differentiates among various forms of migrant experiences.