From the liability to the advantage of refugeeness

We analyze how refugees can contribute to resettlement countries by becoming innovative employees. Refugees are individuals forced to migrate to another country in search of safety, in a hurry, and with few resources. As a result, they suffer from destitution and discrimination in the resettlement country, which we refer to as their “liability of refugeeness.” However, building on insights from case studies, we argue and explain how their liability of refugeeness may become an advantage of refugeeness that enables them to become innovative employees through a human capital upgrading process. Specifically, we first propose that refugees upgrade their human capital via three psychological drivers: courage, perseverance, and resilience. We then suggest that these three drivers are facilitated by the interaction between the support and mentoring received in the early years of resettlement when the liability of refugeeness is most pronounced. This results in four types of refugees with varying success in their human capital upgrading: supported-and-mentored, mentored, supported, and not-supported-and-not-mentored. Finally, we argue that combining their upgraded human capital with the frugal mindset developed from their experiences as refugees helps them to become innovative employees, thus turning the liability of refugeeness into an advantage of refugeeness.