Work

What does Italianness stand for? The use of ethnic resources among Italian migrant entrepreneurs in Brussels

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Research on migrant entrepreneurship has extensively focused on the ethnic dimension of these economic activities, especially entrepreneurs’ use of ethnic resources. Many scholars have tended to reify ethnicity and overlook migrant entrepreneurs’ ability to define and use ethnic resources. Adopting a dynamic perspective that acknowledges in-group diversity and entrepreneurs’ agency in utilizing these ethnic resources, we examine how Italian migrant entrepreneurs in Brussels conceive their relationship with the Italian community and leverage their ethnicity (Italianness/Italianità, i.e., the fact of being Italian). We find in-group variation, challenging reifying and deterministic analyses of “ethnic” entrepreneurship. Instead, ethnicity emerges as a resource that entrepreneurs mobilize to distinguish themselves socially and entrepreneurially from other Italians.

Source: Ethnicities

DOI: 10.1177/14687968241284627

Authors: Carla Mascia, Giacomo Solano, Dirk Jacobs

Institutions: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Radboud University Nijmegen

Language: English

Topic: Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450