People from the Balkans, more precisely from the successor states of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, make up the largest group of immigrants in Vienna (Statistik Austria 2021). For various reasons, these immigrants have often become entrepreneurs and have founded so-called migrant businesses. Definitions of migrant entrepreneurship are plentiful, as are the labels for it. For the purposes of this study, the definition given by Dheer (2018, 558) fits the best, which defines migrant entrepreneurship "as the process whereby immigrants identify, create and exploit economic opportunities to start new ventures in their destination nations".
There are many descriptive statistical studies on such businesses, but very few that take an ethnographic approach (see Blackledge and Creese 2019; Flubacher 2020) and show migrant entrepreneurs' views and attitudes towards their roles as entrepreneurs and migrants. The aim of this paper is to make an ethnographic contribution and to explore the question of how migrant entrepreneurs construct their identity as entrepreneurs and migrants. How do they position themselves within the host society and their community?
To answer these questions, I am adopting a qualitative approach by examining data collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews (23 so far) and participant observation. The semiotic landscapes in the shops and their surroundings are also considered. The positioning strategies are of particular interest in this regard. As Lucius-Hoene and Deppermann (2004) point out, narrative identity encompasses not only the narrated self, but also performative aspects of identity that are related to the self-presentation and interactional negotiation. These performative aspects, but also the answer to how these entrepreneurs identify themselves, deserve more scholarly attention. According to Bamberg (1997), positioning strategies can be analysed on three levels: The positioning on the level of the narrative, the positioning on the level of interaction and positioning in relation to so-called master narratives. Especially the positioning vis-a-vis prevailing discourses is of particular importance for this study. Preliminary results show, for instance, that the term "migrant" triggers negative associations and emotions among some entrepreneurs. This is strongly related to the prevailing discourses in Austria as well as in their home countries, as the politics and media often use the term synonymously with "refugee" and portray "migrants" as criminal, primitive, misogynistic and aggressive.
References
Bamberg, Michael (1997). Positioning Between Structure and Performance. Journal of Narrative and Life History 7 (1-4), 335–342. https://doi.org/10.1075/jnlh.7.42pos.
Blackledge, Adrian/Creese, Angela (2019). Voices of a City Market. An Ethnography. Bristol, Multilingual Matters.
Dheer, Ratan J. S. (2018). Entrepreneurship by immigrants: a review of existing literature and directions for future research. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 14 (3), 555–614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-018-0506-7.
Flubacher, Mi-Cha (2020). Desire and confusion: A sociolinguistic ethnography on affect in the ethnic economy of Thai massage. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2020 (264), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2020-2096.
Lucius-Hoene, Gabriele/Deppermann, Arnulf (2004). Narrative Identität und Positionierung. Gesprächsforschung 5, 166–183.
Statistik Austria (2021). Migration und Integration. Zahlen, Daten, Indikatoren. Statistik Austria. Wien. Available online at file:///C:/Users/lejla/AppData/Local/Temp/migration_und_integration_2021.pdf (accessed 8/16/2021).
