What is Good Enough For me is Nor Good Enough for you: Life Course and Refugee Entrepreneurship

Although research has shown that entrepreneurship can build psychological resilience in the aftermath of adversities, this emerging work is still to account for the differences in adversity experiences between individuals. This study examines how these differences can shape the extent to which entrepreneurship can build resilience in the aftermath of adversity through a qualitive investigation of the life stories of 51 refugee entrepreneurs in Egypt. We found that different trajectories of adjustment unfold in light of engaging in entrepreneurship, not all of which indicate resilience. These trajectories are shaped by the pre-migration life of the entrepreneurs in conjunction with their adversity appraisal. The study reveals key boundary conditions of studying resilience in management studies, and it shows how entrepreneurial activity can emerge after multiple adverse events. It also responds to calls for elaborating the dark side of resilience.