Chapter 1: Global Migration, Entrepreneurship and Society: Setting the New Research Agenda

This book aims to explore the interconnected processes of global migration and entrepreneurship. Whilst in recent years there has been much focus on the political dimensions of migration around the world, there has been less attention given to the critical role that entrepreneurship can play in facilitating economic and social integration of migrants in new host societies. Global trends in migration stress the role played by increasing flows of movement of people and capital. These movements have led to variations in entrepreneurship practices too. A closer look at the different social, cultural and political contexts can not only reveal different processes of integration, but also the critical influence the narratives and discourses of ‘othering’ plays around the nexus of migration and entrepreneurship. Academically, this calls for a scan of the different scholarly contributions on the entrepreneurial endeavours of migrants in an era of diversification. It also calls for theoretical and methodological advancements in the study of heterogeneous and diverse forms of migrant entrepreneurship, challenging the existing methodologies and knowledge, as well as proposing alternative approaches and lenses to analyse such a topical phenomenon.