Inter-Organisational Entanglements in Migrant Support Ecologies: Action and Collaboration Supporting Labour Market Integration

Abstract

This paper examines inter-organisational behaviours in what we call ‘migrant support ecologies’ – shared physical and abstract spaces where multiple organisations work to help migrants access and transition within the labour market. Drawing on composite data generated through studies conducted in the UK and Brazil, we argue that actors and organisations in such environments operate in ‘common goal domains’, in which objectives are related but not necessarily integrated or coordinated, and they consequently adopt diverse interactional practices. We distinguish between four ideal types of migrant support organisation based on their activity scope and stakeholder focus before outlining how different organisations and their constituent actors engage in tactical and strategic coupling practices, reflecting shorter and more episodic interactions alongside complex, multithreaded ones. The findings show how different forms of cooperative arrangements may be pursued based on organisations’ capacities, focus and the types of value they seek to create for organisations, migrants and wider societies.

Enacting “Bottom-up” Solidarity in Labor Market Integration for Refugees in England

“…However, it is important to stress that "street level bureaucrats" refers to state actors (Lipsky 2010), while support for refugees, especially for labor market integration, relies on collaborative arrangements with actors from commercial and third sector organizations (İçduygu and Diker 2017;Lugosi et al 2022;Siviş 2021). Th ese actors enact interrelated practices and are, arguably, proxy actors of the state, but they do not have the same resources; nor are they bound to state institutional arrangements in the same way as government ones (Bagavos and Kourachanis 2022;Lugosi et al 2022;Üstübici 2022). Th eir support service oft en goes beyond narrowly defi ned institutional roles or practices (Strokosch and Osborne 2016).…”

“…Despite the abundance of studies on refugee access to the labor market, there have been calls for research exploring diff erent aspects of labor market integration, including cross-sector partnerships, successful forms of engagement, and collaborative eff orts between diff erent actors (Lee et al 2020;Lugosi et al 2022). Th e bottom-up solidarity concept adopted in this study responds to these calls, focusing on the role of the TSOs, and is consistent with the spirit of the local governance literature.…”

“…Critics have argued that the state has increasingly functioned as an "enabler, " delegating some procedural functions to commercial service providers while also promoting the role of civil society organizations (Calò et al 2022;Haugh and Kitson 2007). Th e state's aim was to encourage greater levels of voluntarism with the involvement of charities, private enterprises, and social enterprises in the running of public services (Calò et al 2022: 873;Lugosi et al 2022). TSOs were considered as being "locally embedded or better able to articulate the needs of local communities" (Haugh and Kitson 2007: 983) and to thus better understand specifi c societal needs than many state actors.…”

“…Her refl ections illustrate how solidarity networks actively assisted in promoting English language services, voluntary work, and other forms of support to respond to the immediate needs of newly arrived refugees. Solidarity was thus more than service provision carried out exclusively by TSOs; it was resource integration for a common set of goals, which operated on the principles of co-production as diverse stakeholders mobilized their resources in pursuit of mutually desired outcomes (Strokosch and Osborne 2016;Lugosi et al 2022). Nevertheless, TSOs had key roles in these networks because of the reputational and social capital that they could mobilize.…”

“…in refugee settlement and integration, providing both emotional and instrumental support (Mayblin and James 2019). Previous work has highlighted the ongoing need to examine how TSOs mediate labor market transition for refugees (Lee et al 2020), particularly as the fl ows and profi les of refugees and the policy dynamics of receiving countries are constantly evolving (Lugosi et al 2022). Studies have also pointed to the importance of recognizing variations between refugees, considering how their unique profi les and experiences may shape their engagement with TSOs and, consequently, how TSO practices address their distinct needs (Garkisch et al 2017).…”