The underdog advantage: exploring the resources and competencies of migrant entrepreneurs through the lens of multifocality

Purpose The academic debate on migrant entrepreneurship is broad but remains heavily anchored in ethnic managerialism and disadvantaged or forced perspectives. By integrating managerial and sociological frameworks, this study aims to capture how resources and competencies are recombined and deployed by migrants in entrepreneurial practices, beyond mere necessity choices and ethnic minority perspectives. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts an abductive qualitative approach through a multiple case study design. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with North African entrepreneurs operating retail microbusinesses in the municipality of Modena (in the region of Emilia Romagna, Italy). The empirical material then underwent a thematic analysis using the resource-based view as an analytical heuristic framework to categorise the resources emerging from multifocal practices. Findings Through a rigorous cross-case comparison, the findings highlight how personal stories of migration are recombined with resources and competencies in everyday entrepreneurial activities. Two recurrent dimensions – multifocal adherence and recognition – emerged as deeply tied to the microbusinesses, while a third – multifocal rooting – only emerged as a more advanced and person-centred dimension in a limited number of cases. Originality/value The main theoretical contribution lies in extending the multifocality framework by demonstrating how the migratory experience operates as a multifocal generator of unique resources and competencies that drive both entrepreneurial action and social legitimation. Overall, migration can be leveraged as a distinctive strength rather than as, merely, a constraint.