BEYOND SOCIAL NETWORKS: A MIXED EMBEDDEDNESS PERSPECTIVE ON THE LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES OF PAKISTANI MIGRANT RETAILERS IN SABAH, MALAYSIA

Abstract

Research on migrant entrepreneurship has consistently highlighted the importance of social networks in supporting migrants' business activities and economic integration. However, growing evidence suggests that social networks alone cannot fully explain differences in entrepreneurial outcomes, as these are also shaped by the economic, institutional, and regulatory environments of host societies. Drawing on the Mixed Embeddedness perspective, this paper reviews the literature on Pakistani migrant retailers in Sabah, Malaysia, to examine how social resources interact with local opportunity structures in shaping migrants' livelihood strategies. Although migration research in Malaysia has largely focused on Indonesian and Filipino migrants, Pakistani migrants remain relatively underrepresented, particularly in studies of entrepreneurship in East Malaysia. Existing research has primarily examined their socio-economic adaptation and the role of kinship and ethnic networks in business development, while paying limited attention to the institutional and market conditions that influence entrepreneurial opportunities and business sustainability. This paper synthesises literature on international migration, migrant entrepreneurship, social networks, livelihood strategies, and Mixed Embeddedness to identify key theoretical developments and research gaps. It argues that Pakistani migrant retailers' livelihood strategies are best understood through the interaction between social capital and the opportunity structures embedded within the host society, rather than through social networks alone. By applying the Mixed Embeddedness framework to the underexplored context of Pakistani retailers in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, this review offers a more comprehensive conceptual foundation for analysing migrant entrepreneurship in East Malaysia. In doing so, it contributes to the broader migrant entrepreneurship literature while providing a framework to guide future empirical research on Pakistani migrants' business experiences and livelihood strategies.