Refugee‐owned small businesses: A typology for blended value creation
| Published date | 01 August 2023 |
| Author | Nadeera Ranabahu,Huibert P. De Vries,Zhiyan Basharati |
| Date | 01 August 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13072 |
1Department of Management, Marketing
and Entrepreneurship, UC Business School,
University of Canterbury, New Zealand
2Department of Psychology, School of Arts
and Sciences, American University in Dubai,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Correspondence
Nadeera Ranabahu, Department
of Management, Marketing and
Entrepreneurship, UC Business School,
University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
Email: nadeera.ranabahu@canterbury.ac.nz
Abstract
While it is clear that refugee-owned small businesses gener-
ate economic value, what is less understood is small busi-
nesses' role in blended value generation for ethnic/co-ethnic
and local host communities. To explore this issue, we
conducted interviews with 19 refugee business owners
residing in New Zealand. Our findings concur with the
extant literature that refugee-owned businesses generate
economic, social and cultural value in their adopted coun-
tries. However, these businesses can be differentiated by
their value focus; that is, whether the business' sole focus
is economic or a nuanced blend, where economic value is
complemented by strong social and cultural outcomes.
In addition, these businesses' blended value generation
is concentrated in either ethnic/co-ethnic or to local host
communities. We use the findings to construct a typology
of value generated by refugee-owned businesses, based on
two continuums: from economic value to blended value and
from ethnic/co-ethnic focus to local host focus.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Refugee-owned small businesses: A typology for
blended value creation
Nadeera Ranabahu1 | Huibert P. De Vries1 | Zhiyan Basharati2
DOI: 10.1111/imig.13072
Received: 2 February 2022 Revised: 18 July 2022 Accepted: 10 September 2022
INTRODUCTION
The world continues to grapple with the sheer number of displaced people seeking asylum and refuge from war,
violence, persecution and climate change. Seeking asylum is nothing new: The humanitarian principle of offering
refuge to those who need protection dates back to the seventeenth century (Bakewell, 1999). Yet, countries that are
signatories to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) 1951 convention, struggle with the current
reality of 89.3 million forcibly displaced people, of which 27.1 million are refugees (UNHCR, 2022). Furthermore, in
countries that host refugees (e.g. Germany, Canada, Australia, the UK, Sweden and New Zealand) refugee migration is
polarised by political debate (Fransen & de Haas, 2022) and public uneasiness (Zetter, 2007). Hence, to avoid political
37
© 2022 International Organization for Migration.
Int Migr. 2023;61:37–56. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/imig
and community tensions through integration, the refugee settlement countries have dedicated programmes and
support systems. As the provided support often includes helping refugees to find suitable employment or to access
employment-related services, skills training and/or information on establishing a business (Heilbrunn et al., 2019;
Hirst et al., 2022; Lee et al., 2020; Wauters & Lambrecht, 2008), neoteric studies primarily focus on what value insti-
tutions or host communities can deliver to refugees.
However, once suitably settled, refugees contribute to their host communities. For example, refugee business
owners contribute to the local community by employing people from similar ethnic backgrounds (Bizri, 2017), or
conducting civic and social activities (Weng & Lee, 2016). Such activities create economic and community value.
Nevertheless, there is scarce research on the different types of value created by refugee-owned businesses in host
communities in refugee entrepreneurship literature. This lack of research and understanding of the value of refu-
gee entrepreneurship reinforces the triple threat associated with refugee integration and resettlement endeavours:
(a) the lack of understanding of refugees' contribution to host communities (Hugo, 2013); (b) the proliferation of
misinformation that refugees are a burden to the host society (Campion, 2018); and (c) the global public disquiet
regarding the need for long-term and effective strategies for refugee integration (de Vries et al., 2021; Zetter, 2007).
Studying refugee-owned small businesses, using a multi-value perspective, affords an opportunity to address the
above-mentioned triple threat and articulate host society, refugee community and personal/family benefits more
clearly.
This study uses blended value to examine the multi-value created by refugee-owned businesses. Blended value
is defined as the financial, environmental and social outcomes that are intrinsically connected and complementary to
each other (Zahra & Wright, 2016). Zahra and Wright (2016) argue that blended value is not restricted to social enter-
prises but encompasses all businesses; that is, all businesses create “societal value” beyond mere financial outcomes.
Accordingly, we study the blended value of refugee-owned businesses and answer the following research question:
What types of blended value do self-employed refugees create through their businesses for
ethnic/co-ethnic or non-ethnic host communities?
This study draws on narratives from former refugees who own and operate small businesses in New Zealand.
Employing qualitative data collected from 19 small business owners, we report on types of innately connected
social, cultural and economic value generated by refugee-owned businesses. Our findings illustrate that the
blended value created varies depending on the refugee business' orientation; that is, whether the business caters
to ethnic/co-ethnic community needs or to local host community needs (those which do not have a specific ethnic
focus).
We contribute to theory and practice on the significance of refugee-owned small business in the generation of
blended value. A key theoretical contribution is our typology for refugee-owned small businesses which explains the
types of blended value generated. We show that small businesses fall under one of the four different types of “value
generators” and that not all of these value generators create the same type of blended value in host communities.
Empirically, we contribute by identifying the role of each of these different types of value generators in the context of
refugee integration. We conclude by providing policy and practical recommendations to enhance the value creation
process of refugee-owned businesses in host communities.
THEORY AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Generally, refugee entrepreneurship refers to entrepreneurial behaviours of discovery, creation, evaluation and
exploitation of opportunities by displaced people, asylum seekers and refugees to sustain themselves and their
families during their flight and resettlement process (e.g. Heilbrunn et al., 2019). This explanation combines Shane
and Venkataraman's (2000) view of entrepreneurship and UNHCR's (1951) definition of a refugee:
RANABAHU etAl.
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