Self-Categorising and Othering in Migrant Integration: The Case of Entrepreneurs in Berlin

Lubna Rashid and Silvia Cepeda-García
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Lubna Rashid: Faculty of Economics and Management, Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), 10623 Berlin, Germany
Silvia Cepeda-García: Faculty of Economics and Management, Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), 10623 Berlin, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: The economic integration of migrants has become increasingly prioritised by European governments. However, Europe’s colonial past and orientalist narratives have contributed to the inevitable othering of migrants, even in the minds of those with the best of intentions. Guided by the self-categorisation theory, we postulate that those involved in supporting migrants to integrate in European societies implicitly categorise them as an out-group, potentially leading to suboptimal integration outcomes and the (inadvertent) exclusion of the very migrants they attempt to integrate. A case study of migrant entrepreneurship support initiatives in Berlin is illustrated as a qualitative, empirical example, providing some evidence for those arguments. The paper concludes with recommendations for practitioners and suggestions for further research.

Keywords: self-categorisation theory; othering; orientalism; migrant integration; migrant entrepreneurship; sustainable entrepreneurship; ethnic minorities; refugees (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:2145-:d:500847

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