Open Workshop: Disrupt, Decouple, Rebuild: Identity De-and Re-Construction of Refugee Entrepreneurs
The aim of the Open Workshop Series in Business and Management Studies is to promote top-quality academic and applied research in various fields of the social sciences. This is a unique opportunity for sharing knowledge and networking with local and international community members.
Speaker: Dr. Sanita Rugina, Södertörn University, Sweden
Forced displacement jeopardizes refugees' original identities, while adjusting to a new environment in the host country poses significant challenges to self-redefinition. This transition, intertwined with entrepreneurial activities, remains underexplored in scholarly discourse. This study investigates how refugee entrepreneurs navigate the dynamics of identity reconstruction, addressing two key questions: (1) What are the drivers and hindrances for refugee entrepreneurs’ identity reconstruction? (2) How do refugee entrepreneurs reconstruct their entrepreneurial identities? Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with Ukrainian female refugee entrepreneurs across several European countries, this research identifies two approaches to identity reconstruction: dismantling and reassembling. By shedding light on these dynamics, the study contributes to understanding refugee entrepreneurship and post-displacement identity reconstruction in entrepreneurial contexts.
Dr. Sanita Rugina is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Södertörn University, Sweden. She holds a PhD degree from Maastricht University, the Netherlands. Sanita is currently researching refugees and entrepreneurship in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, focusing on how it supports economic and social integration despite structural challenges.
She is also interested in female entrepreneurship research as well as how post-soviet post- transition context of the region influence the evolution of formal and informal institutions related to the development of democratic processes, entrepreneurship, education, and others.
Sanita Rugina has been an entrepreneur for more than 20 years and has created and managed travel agency Kolumbs/Averoja which is one of the biggest travel agencies in Latvia. Additionally, she has created and managed an organisation that develops and distributes International Student Identity Cards (ISIC) in the territory of Latvia “ISIC.lv”. Presently she is a board member of the global ISIC Association and is also responsible for ISIC development in Uzbekistan and Turkey.
Discussion moderated by Prof. Arnis Sauka.
Attendance is free of charge.
Please sign up for the seminar, by writing to arnis.sauka@sseriga.edu by November 27, 2024.
The aim of the SSE Riga Open Workshop Series is to:
- Foster cooperation between business and management researchers, practitioners and policymakers, as well as
- Promote academic and applied research in various fields of the social sciences, focusing on but not limited to entrepreneurship, marketing, management, public administration, and strategy.
Organised by Professor Arnis Sauka, the Centre for Sustainable Business at SSE Riga