Empowerment through enterprise
Balkan migrants and the narrative of entrepreneurial identity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8243103 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nadine Thielemann (0000-0003-4898-3993, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, corresponding author), Lejla Atagan (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-22 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Identities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1070-289X • E-ISSN: 1547-3384 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1070289x.2025.2604441 |
| OpenAlex | W7117256764 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
This paper explores how Balkan migrants, operating small gastronomy businesses in Vienna, construct their identity as migrant entrepreneurs. Drawing on the concept of narrative identity and using qualitative interviews, the analysis investigates how narrative resources – such as a transformation plot, the development of agency as self-empowerment, and positioning within dominant societal discourses – are employed to construct identity. The empirical findings reveal a specific narrative pattern that characterizes the identity construction of migrant entrepreneurs. This pattern blends entrepreneurial themes of hard work and autonomy with migrant experiences of vulnerability and engagement with migration discourses in the host society. By focusing on narratives of self-empowerment, the study shows how narrators strategically utilize discursive resources to render their stories intelligible and legitimate within broader societal frameworks. Entrepreneurship emerges as a means of reclaiming agency and achieving recognition, which in turn suggests that institutional practices should value initiative and autonomy rather than emphasizing needs
Agency (philosophy · Context (archaeology · Empowerment · Identity (music · Narrative · Narrative identity · Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy
Selves and Identities in Narrative and Discourse
Narrative Methods for Organizational & Communication Research
Understanding Narrative Inquiry
Identity in Narrative
Self-making and world-making
Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Die desintegrativen Folgen des öffentlichen Integrationsdiskurses
Agency und Vulnerabilität
Enterprising Identities
Models of Narrative Analysis
Positioning Between Structure and Performance
Empowering a migrant identity
Narratives in interview — The case of accounts
How Turkish citizens perceive Syrian refugees in Turkey
Promoting Ethnic Entrepreneurship in European Cities
The discursive representation of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Austrian news coverage
Considering the Concept of Entrepreneurial Resources in Ethnic Business
Who am I? Narration and its contribution to self and identity
What Is Agency
Pushed or pulled? Entrepreneurial behaviour among immigrants as a strategy to cope with negative social identity
The narrative constitution of identity
| Highly cited | No |
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