Drivers and impact of migrant entrepreneurship on socioeconomic integration from a mixed embeddedness perspective: Case study of the Turks in Ghent, Belgium

The European Commission's Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan stated that to make entrepreneurship the growth engine of the EU's economy, Europe needs a 'thorough, far-reaching cultural change'. In order to create 'more entrepreneurs for Europe' it i.a. formulated to reach out to specific groups such as migrants. Yet, to achieve this the issues of drivers and entrepreneurial success are crucial. Applying a mixed embeddedness perspective, this case study of Turkish entrepreneurs in the Belgian city of Ghent reveals that the continuing presence of enabling factors for starting a business since 1974 have been the availability of a Turkish customer market and the accessibility of markets without the necessity for large human and financial capital. Present- day Turkish entrepreneurs are primarily driven by the wish for independence. Findings of the similar median wage level to the median monthly net income per taxable person in Ghent indicate that entrepreneurship enables socioeconomic integration in the host society. Yet, the perception of social mobility is higher than the actual socioeconomic mobility which entrepreneurship has generated. Among 20 variables, long-term entrepreneurship, perceived easiness of administrational barrier to set up the business, absence of an unemployment push, large native Belgian customer share, motivation by extrinsic rewards and market opportunities; and large social network showed a clear correlation to higher median net income values. Despite the evolution towards an ethnic mosaic, findings on the wage level demonstrate that entrepreneurs with material incentives for setting up a business can equally opt for a location in the ethnic enclave. Keywords: EU, Belgium, Euro Turks, (Migrant) Entrepreneurship, Migrant Integration, Mixed Embeddedness, Socioeconomic Integration, Social Mobility, Opportunity Structure, Ethnic Economy, Entrepreneurship Policy