Beyond networks – reconceptualizing over-embeddedness in the case of Turkish retailers in Germany

This study reconceptualises over-embeddedness by moving beyond its conventional interpretation as excessive reliance on inter-firm networks and explores its negative aspects in the context of Turkish grocery retailers operating in the German retail market since the late 1960s. Existing literature often conceptualises over-embeddedness through a narrow structural lens, focusing primarily on network size and density, while neglecting the territorial and societal dimensions. Drawing on Hess's (2004) "'Spatial' Relationships? Towards a Reconceptualization of Embeddedness." Progress in Human Geography 28 (2): 165–186. tripartite typology and engaging with recent revisions of the mixed embeddedness approach, this study proposes a framework that incorporates territorial, societal, and network over-embeddedness as analytically distinct but interrelated forms. Rather than relying on the ambiguous notion of a threshold, we develop a set of empirically grounded indicators to identify over-embeddedness as a gradual and context-specific process. Our findings demonstrate how different types of over-embeddedness can constrain innovation, reinforce path dependencies, and limit entrepreneurial adaptation and growth. By applying this expanded conceptual lens to ethnic business relations, the study not only addresses the overlooked risks of territorial and societal over-embeddedness but also contributes to a more nuanced understanding of embeddedness dynamics in migrant entrepreneurship.