Understanding Roma entrepreneurship: community influence on informal business and opportunity creation

José Afonso Guerra Fernandes, Carla Marques, Rui Silva and Mari Cruz Sánchez-Escobedo

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 2025, vol. 19, issue 6, 1549-1576

Abstract: PurposeThe purpose of this study is to characterize the profile of Roma entrepreneurs and understand the role their culture and community play in identifying opportunities and creating informal businesses.Design/methodology/approachData was collected through semi-structured interviews using the snowball sampling method. Subsequent thematic analysis was conducted using MAXQDA 2022 qualitative software.FindingsThis study highlights the existence of a strong interdependence between all the aggregate dimensions, especially the entrepreneurial profile and support networks, which exert a significant influence on informal entrepreneurs. From the perspective of informal entrepreneurs in the Roma community, it is observed that factors such as family support, availability of financial resources and lack of access to formal financing and loans still generate imbalances in these dynamics.Originality/valueThis paper represents an initial contribution to the problem of informal activity carried out by Roma entrepreneurs in Portugal. While further conceptual development is required, it contributes to the current debate on the perception of social and informal entrepreneurship by developing a typology that incorporates the presence of the informal economy through categories of ethnic and informal entrepreneurship.

Keywords: Ethnic entrepreneurship; Roma; Community; Informal; Opportunity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jecpps:jec-03-2025-0075

DOI: 10.1108/JEC-03-2025-0075

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