Journals / Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi - JOVOSST / 2026 / Cilt: 8

Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity

Mülteci Girişimciliği ve Kurumsal Okunaksızlık: Resmî Sistemler Kimliğinizi Tanıyamadığında Girişim Kurmak

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2026-08-30
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

Results show that all types of illegibility occur in biometric, monetary, regulatory and digital logics and that in one case the types of illegibility can coexist to interact with each other.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

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Objective & Hypothesis:The object of this research is refugees who became entrepreneurs in a space of ‘institutional illegibility' – forms of space that do not recognize refugees' identities within formal institutional systems.
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Key Findings & Data:The study uses multiple case study design, document analysis, semi-structured interview technique, is of interpretive qualitative nature, and the documentation and interview sample consists of The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN), United Kingdom (UK) which is 8 refugee entrepreneurs obtained by maximum variation sampling.
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Conclusion & Impact:Results show that all types of illegibility occur in biometric, monetary, regulatory and digital logics and that in one case the types of illegibility can coexist to interact with each other.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:mülteci girişimciliği · kurumsal okunaksızlık · biyometrik yönetişim

Abstract

The object of this research is refugees who became entrepreneurs in a space of ‘institutional illegibility' – forms of space that do not recognize refugees' identities within formal institutional systems. The study uses multiple case study design, document analysis, semi-structured interview technique, is of interpretive qualitative nature, and the documentation and interview sample consists of The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN), United Kingdom (UK) which is 8 refugee entrepreneurs obtained by maximum variation sampling. Results show that all types of illegibility occur in biometric, monetary, regulatory and digital logics and that in one case the types of illegibility can coexist to interact with each other. They "adaptively space out" away from formal channels, via diasporas, formal identity components of refugeehood, and other narrative additives, in addition to decentralized digital platforms. This failure is very gendered and different in spatial context with the biggest failure in deprived urban and camp-based contexts relating to women. Supporting organizations can play a role in preventing illegibility if they are able to be flexible and think about the refugee position; they can also contribute to illegibility if they rely on a one-size-fits-all approach in organization. It suggests some notions of adaptive entrepreneurial legitimacy, which might involve four dimensions (individual, network, technical and institutional) and it challenges the need for a shift from deficit-based theories to theories of refugee entrepreneurial exclusion as viewed through legibility.

Özet

Bu araştırmanın konusu, resmî kurumsal sistemlerin mültecilerin kimliklerini tanımadığı bir alanı ifade eden “kurumsal okunaksızlık” koşullarında girişimci olan mültecilerdir. Yorumlayıcı nitel araştırma yaklaşımının benimsendiği çalışmada; çoklu durum çalışması deseni, doküman analizi ve yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme tekniği kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın doküman ve görüşme örneklemini, Birleşik Krallık’ta faaliyet gösteren The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN) bünyesinden maksimum çeşitlilik örneklemesiyle seçilen sekiz mülteci girişimci oluşturmaktadır. Bulgular, kurumsal okunaksızlığın biyometrik, finansal, düzenleyici ve dijital mantıklar çerçevesinde ortaya çıktığını ve aynı vakada farklı okunaksızlık türlerinin bir arada bulunarak birbirleriyle etkileşime girebildiğini göstermektedir. Mülteci girişimciler; diaspora ağlarından, mültecilik statüsüne ilişkin resmî kimlik unsurlarından, kimliklerini destekleyen çeşitli anlatısal unsurlardan ve merkeziyetsiz dijital platformlardan yararlanarak resmî kanalların dışına yönelmekte ve bu koşullara uyarlanabilir biçimde hareket etmektedir. Kurumsal sistemlerdeki bu yetersizliğin toplumsal cinsiyet açısından belirgin biçimde farklılaştığı ve mekânsal bağlama göre değişiklik gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir. En ciddi yetersizlikler, özellikle kadınlar bakımından, yoksun kentsel alanlarda ve kamp ortamlarında ortaya çıkmaktadır. Destekleyici kuruluşlar, esnek davranmaları ve mültecilerin özgün konumlarını dikkate almaları hâlinde kurumsal okunaksızlığın önlenmesinde rol oynayabilir. Bununla birlikte, standart ve herkese uyan tek tip bir örgütsel yaklaşım benimsemeleri durumunda kurumsal okunaksızlığın derinleşmesine de katkıda bulunabilirler. Çalışmada; bireysel, ağsal, teknik ve kurumsal olmak üzere dört boyuttan oluşabilecek “uyarlanabilir girişimsel meşruiyet” kavramı önerilmektedir. Ayrıca mülteci girişimciliğini yetersizlik temelli teoriler üzerinden açıklayan yaklaşımlar yerine, mülteci girişimcilerin dışlanmasını kurumsal okunabilirlik perspektifinden ele alan teorilere geçilmesi gerektiği savunulmaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Mohammed, H. J. (2026). Refugee Entrepreneurship and Institutional Illegibility: Building Ventures When Formal Systems Cannot Read Your Identity. Türkiye Mesleki ve Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi - JOVOSST, Cilt: 8. https://ajindex.com/articles/1664762

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