Belongingness, Connectedness, and Embeddedness in Migrant and Refugee Entrepreneurship

Conference Date: 29-30 January 2026 | Location: Bremen, Germany

Migrant and refugee entrepreneurs often encounter profound feelings of not belonging within their host communities, significantly hindering their ability to form meaningful connections with local networks, institutions, other entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurial ecosystems more broadly. Experiences of exclusion, rejection, loneliness, detachment, displacement, and alienation create critical barriers to developing trust and cooperation, both essential elements for establishing and sustaining entrepreneurial ventures.

Despite their pivotal role in local economies, migrant and refugee entrepreneurs frequently find their efforts to embed themselves into local entrepreneurial ecosystems severely compromised. Without belongingness, connectedness cannot flourish (David et al., 2025), and without strong connectedness, long-term embeddedness within local or transnational entrepreneurial networks remains elusive (Harima, 2022). These dynamics contribute to their marginalisation and exclusion (Bolzani & Mizzau, 2020; Neumeyer et al., 2018), limiting access to the opportunities and resources vital for sustainable business development.

To explore how the relational interplay of belongingness, connectedness, and embeddedness shape migrant and refugee entrepreneurship, especially during times of political instability, we invite scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to submit extended abstracts for the upcoming conference. Contributions should examine these concepts within the context of migration, forced displacement, and the entrepreneurial barriers these groups face.

We welcome extended abstracts for the following tracks:

Track 1:       I Am in the Right Place? How Migration Motivations Influence Belongingness, Connectedness, and Embeddedness – The Entrepreneurs’ Perspective

Track 2:       Three decades following the collapse: Shifting global migration, entrepreneurship and diaspora development from the Post-Soviet space

Track 3:       Ecosystems of Beloning: The Role of Institutions and Entrepreneurial Support Programs in Refugee and Migrant Entrepreneurship

Track 4:       Connected or Confined? Rethinking the Role of Proximity in Migrant Entrepreneurship

Track 5: Diversity and Intersectionality in Entrepreneurship

Track 6:       Open Track

TRACK I

I Am in the Right Place? How Migration Motivations Influence Belongingness, Connectedness, and Embeddedness – The Entrepreneurs’ Perspective

Chairs:
Jolanta Maj, Assistant Professor at Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Sabina Kubiciel – Lodzińska, Assistant Professor at Opole University of Technology

Track Description and Motivation: The decision to leave one’s country of origin represents a profound turning point in an individual’s life, often accompanied by complex emotional, social, and economic upheavals. Yet an even greater challenge frequently lies in adapting to the host country’s new social, cultural, political, and institutional environment. While migrant entrepreneurial activities have been widely studied, less attention has been paid to how the initial motivations for migration —economic, educational, political, or forced displacement — shape migrants’ subsequent experiences of belonging, connectedness, and embeddedness within the new context. This track seeks to deepen our understanding of the ways different groups of migrants and refugees navigate entrepreneurial pathways while simultaneously negotiating feelings of inclusion, exclusion, alienation, and the ongoing process of home-making in often unfamiliar and dynamic socio-economic environments. It aims to explore how these experiences of (non)belonging influence migrants’ access to vital resources, support networks, and market opportunities critical for entrepreneurial survival and success. In doing so, the track also highlights the broader implications for entrepreneurial ecosystems, particularly their ability to foster inclusivity, resilience, and mutual value creation in increasingly diverse societies.

We invite submissions that address themes such as:

• Intersectional issues of belonging, connectedness, and embeddedness in the case of migrant and refugee entrepreneurs
• The barriers to, and opportunities for, forming connectedness within local and transnational entrepreneurial networks
• How educational migrants’ motivations influence their entrepreneurial experiences, and identify measures to enhance their integration and success
• Policy recommendations to foster belonging, connectedness, and embeddedness in migrant and refugee entrepreneurship.

TRACK II

Three decades following the collapse: Shifting global migration, entrepreneurship and diaspora development from the Post-Soviet space

Chairs:

Maria Ivanova-Gongne, Аssociate Professor, Åbo Akademi University
Maria Elo, Professor, University of Southern Denmark and Belt and Road Institute of International Business at Shanghai University
Raushan Aman, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Oulu
Mukhammadyusuf Shaimardanov, Senior Lecturer, Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK)

Track Description and Motivation: Migration from the post-Soviet space has increased significantly since the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union and subsequent conflicts such as the Nagorno-Karabakh war, the Tajik civil war, and more recently, the wars in Georgia and Ukraine and the Belarus protests. These events triggered forced displacement and economic migration, particularly to Russia during the 2000s and 2010s (Heleniak, 2004; Elo, 2016; Benedetti et al., 2025). However, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and tightening migration policies have pushed many migrants, especially from Central Asia, to seek new destinations (Benedetti et al., 2025). Meanwhile, millions of Ukrainians and political refugees from Belarus and Russia have relocated across Europe and neighbouring post-Soviet countries (Maj et al., 2024; Hanson & Baltabayeva, 2024). While entrepreneurship rates in post-Soviet countries remain relatively low (GEM, 2024), migrants from the region often show strong entrepreneurial drive and adaptability (Tepavcevic, 2020; Elo et al., 2024), significantly contributing to host economies (Puffer et al., 2018). A shared Soviet legacy and the Russian language have historically fostered transnational business ties (Elo et al., 2022), although these networks have been strained since 2022. Like other migrant entrepreneurs, post-Soviet migrants’ sense of belonging and embeddedness varies depending on cultural and linguistic proximity (Ivanova-Gongne et al., 2024). This track explores mobility patterns within and from the post-Soviet space and examines how recent geopolitical shifts affect migrant and refugee entrepreneurship, belonging, and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

We invite submissions that address themes such as:

• Development and reconfigurations of Post-Soviet diasporas affecting entrepreneurial ecosystems
• Transnational entrepreneurial ecosystems and inherent socio-cultural ties in the era of political turmoil
• Evolving senses of belonging, identity and homeland
• Ethnic and non-ethnic Policy responses and their effects on mobility, migrant entrepreneurship and integration
• Policy responses to returnee migrants and their integration into the labour market and entrepreneurial ecosystem of the host country
• Adaptation strategies in new host societies and under unstable conditions
• Experiences of Central Asian labour migrants in Russia and their shifting trajectories post-2022, including increased migration to European countries.
  

TRACK III

Ecosystems of Belonging: The Role of Institutions and Entrepreneurial Support Programs in Refugee and Migrant Entrepreneurship

Chairs:

Dr. Tabish Zaman, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Dr. Rani Shahwan, An-Najah University, Nablus, Palestine
Deepica Sachdeva, PhD candidate at Fulda University of Applied Sciences
Lynn, Martin, Professor at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Rasem Suwan, Enable, Palestine

Track Description and Motivation: This track critically examines the evolving and often ambiguous role of institutions—such as business incubators, universities, NGOs, and Entrepreneurial Support Programs (ESPs)—in shaping the entrepreneurial journeys of refugee and migrant entrepreneurs. Drawing on institutional theory and ecosystem perspectives, the track recognizes that institutions play a dual role: while some act as enablers of opportunity, others serve as gatekeepers or reinforce exclusionary structures. Both formal and informal institutions influence how refugee and migrant entrepreneurs navigate systemic barriers related to legal status, discrimination, cultural capital, and access to resources. At the core of this track is a recognition of the important and innovative work already being carried out by many institutional actors globally. However, persistent challenges remain—particularly in how support is distributed, perceived, and experienced by entrepreneurs with intersecting identities (gender, migration status, ethnicity, etc.). Building on Bakker and McMullen’s (2023) call for a unified theoretical agenda across unconventional entrepreneurship contexts, this track places refugee and migrant entrepreneurs within broader conversations about inclusion, belonging, and equity within entrepreneurial ecosystems. It invites exploration into how ESPs, incubators, policy frameworks, and community-based initiatives can actively redress structural inequities while fostering social and economic integration. Furthermore, the track foregrounds intersectional perspectives, including the experiences of women, men, and FLINTA (Female, Lesbian, Intersex, Non-binary, Trans, Agender) entrepreneurs. It aims to surface both the challenges and good practices in designing ESPs and institutional interventions that are tailored, culturally sensitive, and responsive to real-world constraints and opportunities. Finally, the track acknowledges that refugee-led ventures often pursue social goals that extend beyond commercial success—contributing to community development, cultural preservation, and social cohesion—making them a rich site for inquiry at the intersection of social entrepreneurship, institutional theory, and inclusion-focused ecosystem design.

We invite submissions that address themes such as:

• How do refugee entrepreneurs experience and negotiate institutional belonging, exclusion, and legitimacy?
• How do ESPs and universities act as inclusive (or exclusive) intermediaries in refugee entrepreneurship?
• What forms of social entrepreneurship emerge among refugee founders, and how are these shaped by institutional or policy ecosystems?
• In what ways do legal status, funding access, and policy frameworks shape
• perceptions of institutional connectedness and opportunity?
• How do grassroots or community-led institutional alternatives develop within refugee communities?
• How can theoretical insights from inclusive entrepreneurship be applied across multiple groups of unconventional entrepreneurs?
• How are ESPs leveraging ecosystem stakeholders (for access to resources, navigating legal frameworks, and providing alternatives to formal qualifications) to foster entrepreneurship among migrants and refugees?

TRACK IV

Connected or Confined? Rethinking the Role of Proximity in Migrant Entrepreneurship

Chairs:

Dr. Judith Terstriep, Head of Research Department “Innovation, Space & Culture”, Institute for Work and Technology, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, Gelsenkirchen
Lukas Zaghow, Researcher, Institute for Work and Technology, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, Gelsenkirchen, PhD Candidate at the Technical University of Berlin
Dr. Alexandra David, Senior Researcher, Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, Gelsenkirchen

Track Description and Motivation: In times of political upheaval, migrant and refugee entrepreneurs often face exclusion, discrimination, and marginalisation within entrepreneurial ecosystems (Brown & Mason, 2017; Bolzani & Mizzau, 2020; David et al., 2025). These barriers restrict their access to networks, resources, and opportunities, leading many to seek alternatives such as co-ethnic enclaves, diasporic networks, or transnational and digital ecosystems (Audretsch et al., 2024; Elo et al., 2022). Some disengage from local ecosystems altogether, leveraging multiple or remote ecosystems to access resources (David et al., 2024). This track explores how non-inclusive ecosystems (David & Terstriep, 2024) reinforce spatial and relational disconnectedness (David et al., 2025) and deepen processes of disembeddedness (Harima, 2022). At the same time, it examines how migrant and refugee entrepreneurs actively shape new proximities by bridging, blending, or bypassing traditional local spaces. We aim to unpack the tensions and opportunities arising from multi-level proximities—geographical, cultural, social, and digital (Leendertse et al., 2025; Lamotte, 2025)—and to highlight the emerging phenomenon of unbounded or remote diasporic ecosystems.

We invite submissions that address themes such as:

• Proximity and Exclusion: How do different forms of proximity (geographical, social, cultural, digital) impact migrant and refugee entrepreneurship?
• Ecosystem Rejection: How do local ecosystems reject migrant entrepreneurs, and what are the consequences for their engagement and the broader ecosystem?
• Opportunity Costs: What unrealised economic, social, and cultural value results from disembeddedness in entrepreneurial ecosystems?
• Transnational Ties: How do dual embeddedness strategies help migrant entrepreneurs access resources across locations, and what are the effects on local ecosystems?
• Policy and Practice: What governance or organisational frameworks can mitigate exclusion and better leverage the potential of migrant and refugee entrepreneurs?

TRACK V

Diversity and Intersectionality in Entrepreneurship

Prospective Publication: The chairs are in the process of developing an edited volume with Edward Elgar Publishing. Authors of accepted abstracts may be invited to contribute full chapters for inclusion in this publication. If you wish to have your abstract considered for this book project, please indicate this explicitly in your submission.

Chairs:

Sakura Yamamura, Professor in Social and Cultural Geography (Digital Methods in Human Geography)RWTH Aachen University /Senior Research Partner at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
Paul Lassalle, PhD, is Senior Lecturer at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, University of Strathclyde

Track Description and Motivation: Entrepreneurship inherently embodies diversity, reflecting varied identities, contexts, and entrepreneurial practices. Aligned with the BCE theme on migrant and refugee entrepreneurship and inspired by insights on superdiversity (Lassalle and Yamamura 2025, Bolzani 2024, Jones and Ram 2024, Ram 2022, Yamamura and Lassalle 2020) and intersectionality in entrepreneurship (Dy and MacNeil 2025, Yamamura and Lassalle 2025, Yamamura et al. 2022, Lassalle and Shaw 2021, Marlow and Martinez Dy 2018), this track will focuses on the inherent nature of intersectionality at the nexus of diversity and entrepreneurship.

While recent entrepreneurship scholarship has highlighted the rich entrepreneurial opportunities emerging from diversity, such as distinctive perspectives, innovative market niches, and novel products and services, the focus has been shifting on the specific and compounded challenges of entrepreneurship at the intersection of multiple identities. Intersectionality elucidates how overlapping identities result in multi-dimensional discrimination across individual, institutional, and societal levels. Entrepreneurs at these intersections navigate systemic inequalities and resource barriers that significantly impact their entrepreneurial journeys. Addressing intersectionality thus demands nuanced, context-sensitive, multi-scalar approaches to entrepreneurship research, policy design, and support frameworks.

This track will critically explore how intersectionality shapes entrepreneurial processes in various geographical and socio-economic contexts. The discussions will investigate how intersectionally situated entrepreneurs manage distinctive barriers, adapt market strategies, and build resilience amidst socio-political disruptions and economic uncertainties.

Finally, this track explicitly addresses how intersectional identities shape migrant and refugee entrepreneurs’ experiences of belongingness, connectedness, and embeddedness. Through an intersectional lens, we will explore how overlapping social categories influence entrepreneurs’ emotional and social integration (belongingness), their network formation and maintenance (connectedness), and their deeper institutional and social anchoring within local entrepreneurial ecosystems (embeddedness). We will examine how intersectional discrimination impacts these processes, influencing entrepreneurs’ capacity to establish sustainable businesses and form meaningful connections in host communities. Moreover, the track will analyze how migrants and refugees strategically navigate intersectional challenges to strengthen their connectedness and enhance their embeddedness, ultimately fostering inclusive and diverse entrepreneurial ecosystems.

We invite submissions that address themes such as:

• Entrepreneurial opportunities arising from intersectional diversity, highlighting innovative and niche market strategies.
• Intersectional barriers in migration contexts, examining how different migration statuses and identities shape entrepreneurial resources and capabilities.
• Experiences of intersectional entrepreneurs operating in diverse contexts, including entrepreneurial resilience and strategies resulting from migrant-led diversification, emphasizing the creative adaptation to intersectional challenges.
• Intersectional diversification of entrepreneurial ventures, including multi-level analyses of products, services, and market adaptations.

TRACK VI

Open Track

Under the ‘Open Track’, we invite submissions from a wider thematic sphere that do not fall under any of the Topics suggested by the thematic tracks listed above A. The organisers will create ad-hoc thematic tracks for accepted submissions in the Open Track.

Important Dates

Submission Deadline: 15^th of September 2025

Notification of Acceptance: 15^th of October 2025

Please submit your proposals to: david@iat.eu.

For any enquiries regarding the call, please get in touch with us at: david@iat.eu.

Abstract Submission Requirements

• Authors should prepare abstracts no longer than 500 – 1000 words, excluding references.
• Please provide the following information: Abstract title, title of your preferred track, list of co-authors
• Abstracts should include the following aspects:
• Keywords
• Objective / relevance / theoretical background / conceptual literature
• Clear research question
• Method (if applicable)
• (Expected) results and contribution to the chosen track’s topic
• Conclusions
• Implications (optional)

Organisers

Dr. Alexandra David

Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Work and Technology, Gelsenkirchen

Dr. Judith Terstriep

Westphalian University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Work and Technology, Gelsenkirchen

Prof. Dr. Jörg Freiling

University of Bremen, LEMEX