From Workers to Entrepreneurs: Central Asian Migrants in the Russian Business Market
From Workers to Entrepreneurs: Central Asian Migrants in the Russian Business Market

Summary/Abstract: The current article contributes to the discussion on the trajectories of the economic integration ofimmigrants in adverse, informal contexts. Specifically, it explores the processes of the generation andapplication of business resources among Central Asian migrant entrepreneurs in Russia. This studyhighlights the crucial and multifaceted importance of former employment for migrant entrepreneurs. Withrestricted access to resources in Russia, Central Asian migrants deliberately used their workplaces toaccess business knowledge, networks and financial capital. By applying these resources, they replicatedthe successful business models of their former employers. This integration path appears to be shaped bythe ambivalent forces of informality in the Russian economy.

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