Acculturation conditions and orientations of Afghan and Syrian refugee entrepreneurs in Turkey

Abstract

This article investigates the acculturation conditions and orientations of Afghan and Syrian refugee entrepreneurs in Turkey based on qualitative research with 24 participants. It further compares the acculturation and entrepreneurial processes of refugees who belong to different ethnic backgrounds and have varying degrees of group vitality in Turkey. Refugee entrepreneurship seems to emerge as a necessary condition out of struggle for improved life standards in the host country, yet has received little attention in the literature. Research data were collected in the western cities of Turkey from self-employed refugees using snowball sampling via semi-structured in-depth interviews. Entrepreneurship both informs and is informed by the acculturation conditions and orientations of Syrian and Afghan refugees, and becomes a professional reflection of refugees’ way of connecting with their ingroups and the host society. Cultural/religious similarity and collective values arise as the most significant reinforcers of refugees’ acculturation and entrepreneurial processes while refugee discrimination, economic conditions, institutional and procedural barriers in Turkey seem to be the main setbacks. Afghans seem to perceive less favorable acculturation conditions in Turkey with more deteriorating perceptions of the host society towards their ingroup, higher levels of discrimination, less opportunities in the work sector compared to Syrians. Thus, although both groups have an increased motivation to endorse the integration strategy in Turkey, Afghans appear to have a higher ingroup orientation than Syrians, who tend to view their ingroup more negatively.