A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Entrepreneurial passion, patriotism, nationalism and resilience : Understanding Ukrainian refugee women’s entrepreneurial intentions in constrained contexts
Authors: Elo, Maria; Ivanova-Gongne, Maria; Gugenishvili, Ilia; Ahvenainen, Toni; Mattila, Markku; Barner-Rasmussen, Wilhelm; Lång, Stefan
Publisher: Sage
Publication year: 2025
Journal: International Small Business Journal
Article number: 02662426251389370
ISSN: 0266-2426
eISSN: 1741-2870
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/02662426251389370
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: No Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02662426251389370
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe202601215267
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY NC ND
This article investigates how Ukrainian refugee women entrepreneurs utilise agency to decide whether to remain in their host countries; we draw drawing upon notions of nationalism, patriotism, resilience and entrepreneurial passion in shaping such intentions. We undertook a statistical analysis of questionnaire responses from 134 Ukrainian refugee women who applied for temporary asylum in European nations and an analysis of 13 interviews collected in Finland. In contrast to patriotism, nationalism negatively influenced decisions to remain in the host nation. Only entrepreneurial passion substantially affected entrepreneurial intentions. The identified taxonomy of refugee groups illustrated different support needs, highlighting the significance of providing individualised aid depending on entrepreneurial intentions. We contribute to knowledge on entrepreneurial agency, economic participation, refugee entrepreneurship and gender, underlining the significance of inclusive environments and specialised support systems in a wartime diaspora.
Funding information in the publication:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors acknowledge the financial support by the Academy of Finland Grant No. 348534 and the funding from Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia (2024 03 AKKE), Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia (2022 08 AKKE) and Finnish Red Cross. The authors thank Olena Temnikova and the anonymous Ukrainian women for their research engagement.
