Abstract

The arrival of Kloosterman and colleagues’ ‘mixed embeddedness’ perspective at the turn of the twenty-first century reinforced the importance of context to the study of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. It countered the primacy of culturalist tropes, and emphasized the political, economic, sectoral and spatial contours of migrant business activity. We present a brief historical reprise, drawing in particular on the experiences of migrant entrepreneurs in the UK. The contribution of mixed embeddedness is important, but scope remains to advance the perspective, particularly by: more comparative research; foregrounding racism; an intersectional stance; and acknowledging the social function of migrant businesses.