Vol. 4 No. 3 (2018)
5th AIB-CEE 2018 Conference Proceedings | 9th ENTRE 2018 Conference Proceedings (Special Issue)

Articles

Theoretical analysis of migrant motivations to entrepreneurship

Published 2018-09-12

  • Eugene Terungwa Agoh
    • ,
  • Vilmante Kumpikaite-Valiuniene

Eugene Terungwa Agoh
Kaunas University of Technology

Vilmante Kumpikaite-Valiuniene
Kaunas University of Technology

Abstract

This paper is formulated based on prior studies on migrant entrepreneurs while taking into account their motivation to become entrepreneurs in the host country.  The analysis shows a diverse research nature of migrant entrepreneur’s motivations to engage in entrepreneurship in the host countries mostly coming from emerging markets specifically Asian countries and in particular south-east Asia, countries such as India, Bangladesh, China, Sri-Lanka, and Pakistan to settle in Australia, New Zealand, The UAE, The U.S, Canada  the UK, and Germany and the Netherlands. We also found that most of their reasons for venturing in entrepreneurship were lack of job opportunities that fit their skill sets, discrimination in workplaces, skills, and ease for starting online businesses and talent to exploit business opportunities in the host country. At the end, we presented the results in form of a theoretical model, illustrating the motivational factors for migrant entrepreneurs to engage in entrepreneurship in the studied host countries.

Keywords

Migrants, Migrant entrepreneurs, Migrants’ motivation, entrepreneur-ship

PDF

References

  1. Adenutsi, D. E. (2011). Financial development, international migrant remittances and endogenous growth in Ghana. Studies in Economics and Finance, 28(1), 68-89.
  2. Agozino, B. (Ed.). (2000). Theoretical and methodological issues in migration research: interdisci-plinary, intergenerational and international perspectives. Ashgate Pub Ltd.
  3. Ahmed, Z. U., Zgheib, P. W., Kowatly, A. K., & Rhetts, P. (2012). The history of overseas Lebanese entrepreneurs operating worldwide. Journal of Management History, 18(3), 295-311. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511341211236237
  4. Andrejuk, K. (2017). Self-employed migrants from EU Member States in Poland: differentiated professional trajectories and explanations of entrepreneurial success. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(4), 560-577.
  5. Anwar, M. N., & Daniel, E. (2016). Entrepreneurial marketing in online businesses. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 19(3), 310–338. https://doi.org/10.1108/QMR-04-2015-0029
  6. Anwar, M. N., & Daniel, E. M. (2014). Online home based businesses: systematic literature review and future research agenda.
  7. Azam, M. (2015). The role of migrant workers remittances in fostering economic growth: The four Asian developing countries’ experiences. International Journal of Social Economics, 42(8), 690-705.
  8. Azmat, F., & Fujimoto, Y. (2016). Family embeddedness and entrepreneurship experience: A study of Indian migrant women entrepreneurs in Australia. Entrepreneurship & Regional Develop-ment, 28(9-10), 630-656.
  9. Azmat, F., & Zutshi, A. (2012). Perceptions of corporate social responsibility amongst immigrant entrepreneurs. Social Responsibility Journal, 8(1), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1108/17471111211196575
  10. Barai, M. K. (2012). Development dynamics of remittances in Bangladesh. Sage Open, 2(1), 2158244012439073.
  11. Billore, S. (2011). Female immigrant entrepreneurship. International Journal of Gender and Entre-preneurship, 3(1), 38–55. https://doi.org/10.1108/17566261111114971
  12. Bloch, A., & McKay, S. (2015). Employment, social networks and undocumented migrants: The employer perspective. Sociology, 49(1), 38-55.
  13. Bodolica, V., & Spraggon, M. (2008). Work experiences of Moldovan women in Italy: bearing the double identity strangeness. Equal Opportunities International, 27(6), 537–558. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150810897291
  14. Borjas, G. J. (1980). The relationship between wages and weekly hours of work: The role of divi-sion bias. The Journal of Human Resources, 15(3), 409-423.
  15. Borjas, G. J. (1990). Friends or strangers: the impact of immigrants on the US economy.
  16. Ceccagno, A. (2003), ‘‘New Chinese migrants in Italy’’, International Migration, Vol. 41, pp. 187-213.
  17. Chavan, M., & Taksa, L. (2017). Shifts in Intergenerational Mobility of Indian Immigrant Entrepre-neurs. International Migration, 55(1), 99-127.
  18. Chen, H. and Chen, T.J. (1998), ‘‘Network linkages and location choice in foreign direct invest-ment’’, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 445-68.
  19. Chu, N. (2018). The paradoxes of creativity in Guangzhou, China’s wholesale market for fast fash-ion. Culture, Theory and Critique, 1-15.
  20. Collier, P. 2013. Exodus: How Migration Is Changing Our World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  21. Collins, J. (2008), “Immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia: regulations and responses”, Migrações, No. 3, pp. 39-59.
  22. Collins, J. and Low, A. (2010), “Asian female immigrant entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized businesses in Australia”, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, Vol. 22, pp. 97-111.
  23. Dana, L.P. and Morris, M. (2007), “Towards a synthesis: a model of immigrant and ethnic entre-preneurship”, in Dana, L.P. (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, MA, pp. 803-810.
  24. Dannecker, P., & Cakir, A. (2016). Female migrant entrepreneurs in Vienna: Mobility and its em-beddedness. Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 41(1), 97-113.
  25. de Vries, H. P. (2012). Do Indian immigrant entrepreneurs residing in different host countries display the same behavioural patterns? Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 6(2), 138–153. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506201211228949
  26. DeJong, G. F., & Fawcett, J. (1981). Multidisciplinary frameworks and models of migration deci-sion making. Migration Decision Making: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Microlevel Studies in Developed and Developing Countries, eds. GF De Jong and RW Gardner, 13-58.
  27. Eimermann, M., & Kordel, S. (2018). International lifestyle migrant entrepreneurs in two New Immigration Destinations: Understanding their evolving mix of embeddedness. Journal of Ru-ral Studies.
  28. Elo, M., & Vemuri, S. (2016). Organizing mobility: a case study of Bukharian Jewish diaspo-ra. Diaspora Studies, 9(2), 179-193.
  29. Fee, L. K., & Rahman, M. M. (2014). From Workers to Entrepreneurs: Development of Bangladeshi Migrant Businesses in The Republic of Korea. International Migration, 52(2), 122-139.
  30. Figueira, C., Caselli, G., & Theodorakopoulos, N. (2016). Migrant entrepreneurs as cosmopolitan change agents. Society and Business Review, 11(3), 297–312. https://doi.org/10.1108/SBR-10-2015-0064
  31. Giese, K. (2003), ‘‘New Chinese migration to Germany: historical consistencies and new patterns of diversification within a globalized migration regime’’, in Pieke, F. and Malle, H. (Eds), In-ternal and International Migration: Chinese Perspectives, Curzon Press, Richmond, pp. 199-214.
  32. Harney, N. (2006). Rumour, migrants, and the informal economies of Naples, Italy. International journal of sociology and social policy, 26(9/10), 374-384.
  33. Harris, J. R., & Todaro, M. P. (1970). Migration, unemployment and development: a two-sector analysis. The American economic review, pp. 126-142
  34. Husam Omar, (2011) "Arab American entrepreneurs in San Antonio, Texas: motivation for entry into self‐ employment", Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Is-sues, Vol. 4 Issue: 1, pp.33-42, https://doi.org/10.1108/17537981111111256
  35. International Organization for Migration (IOM), (2011). Definition of migration.
  36. Ioannou Panayiotopoulos, P. (2008). Turkish immigrant entrepreneurs in the European Union: a political‐institutional approach. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 14(6), 395–413. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550810910979
  37. Kalleberg, A. L., & Sorensen, A. B. (1979). The sociology of labor markets. Annual review of sociol-ogy, 5(1), 351-379.
  38. Kim, W. B. (2004). Migration of foreign workers into South Korea: from periphery to semi-periphery in the global labor market. Asian Survey, 44(2), 316-335.
  39. Kloosterman, R., Van Der Leun, J., & Rath, J. (1999). Mixed embeddedness:(in) formal economic activities and immigrant businesses in the Netherlands. International journal of urban and re-gional research, 23(2), 252-266.
  40. Lewis, W. A. (1954). Economic development with unlimited supplies of labour. The manchester school, 22(2), 139-191.
  41. Liu, J. (2011). Human capital, migration and rural entrepreneurship in China. Indian Growth and Development Review, 4(2), 100–122. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538251111172023
  42. Logan, J. R., Alba, R. D., & Stults, B. J. (2003). Enclaves and Entrepreneurs: Assessing the Payoff for Immigrants and Minorities1. International Migration Review, 37(2), 344-388.
  43. Morawska, E. (2004). Immigrant transnational entrepreneurs in New York. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 10(5), 325–348. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550410554311.
  44. Munkejord, M. C. (2017). Immigrant entrepreneurship contextualised. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 11(2), 258–276. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-05-2015-0029.
  45. Murphy, R. (1999). Return migrant entrepreneurs and economic diversification in two counties in south Jiangxi, China. Journal of International Development: The Journal of the Development Studies Association, 11(4), 661-672.
  46. Musah-Surugu, I. J., Ahenkan, A., Bawole, J. N., & Darkwah, S. A. (2018). Migrants’ remittances: A complementary source of financing adaptation to climate change at the local level in Gha-na. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 10(1), 178-196.
  47. Nicolas Mirabaud, (2009) "Migrants' remittances and mobile transfer in emerging markets", International Journal of Emerging Markets, Vol. 4 Issue: 2, pp.108-118, https://doi.org/10.1108/17468800910945756.
  48. OECD (2008a), “Defining Entrepreneurial Activity: Definitions Supporting Frameworks for Data Collection”, in N. Ahmad and R.G. Seymour (eds.), OECD Publishing, Paris.
  49. OECD (2010) Government policies to support high-growth enter- prises, in High-Growth Enterpris-es: What Governments Can Do to Make a Difference. Paris: OECD Publishing. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264048782-5-en (accessed 12 January 2017).
  50. Omar, H. (2011). Arab American entrepreneurs in San Antonio, Texas: Motivation for entry into self-employment. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 4(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.1108/17537981111111256
  51. Pechlaner, H., Dal Bò, G., & Volgger, M. (2012). What makes tourism an attractive industry for new minority entrepreneurs: results from an exploratory qualitative study. Tourism Review, 67(1), 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1108/16605371211216332
  52. Peters, Nonja. "Mixed embeddedness: does it really explain immigrant enterprise in Western Australia (WA)?." International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research8.1/2 (2002): 32-53.
  53. Pettersson, K. and Hedberg, C. (2013), “Moving our of ‘their places’? Immigrant women care en-trepreneurs in Sweden”, International Journal in Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 19, pp. 345-361.
  54. Phizacklea, A. and Ram, M. (1996), “Being yourownboss: ethnic minority entrepreneurs in compar-ative perspective”, Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 10, pp. 319-339.
  55. Pio, E. (2007), “Ethnic entrepreneurship among Indian women in New Zealand: a bittersweet process”, Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 14, pp. 409-432.
  56. Piore, M. J. (1979). Birds of passage: migrant labor and industrial societies.
  57. Piper, N. (2004). Rights of foreign workers and the politics of migration in South‐East and East Asia. International migration, 42(5), 71-97.
  58. Portes, A. and Jensen, L. (1989), “The enclave and the entrants: Patterns of ethnic enterprise in Miami before and after Mariel”, American Sociological Review, Vol. 54, pp. 929-949.
  59. Portes, A., & Zhou, M. (1996). Self-employment and the earnings of immigrants. American Socio-logical Review, 219-230.
  60. Ram, M. (1997), “Ethnic minority enterprise: an overview and research agenda”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 3, pp. 149-156.
  61. Ramadani, V. (2015), “The woman entrepreneur in Albania: en exploratory study on motivation, problems and success factors”, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 17, pp. 204-221.
  62. Ramadani, V., Hisrich, R.D. and Gerguri-Rashiti, S. (2015), “Female entrepreneurs in transition economies: insights from Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo”, World Review of Entrepreneur-ship, Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11, pp. 391-413.
  63. Rametse, N., Moremong‐Nganunu, T., Ding, M. J., & Arenius, P. (2018). Entrepreneurial Motiva-tions and Capabilities of Migrant Entrepreneurs in Australia. International Migration.
  64. Razin, E. (2002). Conclusion The economic context, embeddedness and immigrant entrepreneurs. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 8(1/2), 162–167. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552550210428061
  65. Ren, N., & Liu, H. (2015). Traversing between transnationalism and integration: Dual embeddedness of new Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Singapore. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 24(3), 298-326.
  66. Renzulli LA, Aldrich H and Moody J (2000) Family matters: Gender, family, and entrepreneurial outcomes. Social Forces 79(2): 523–46
  67. Rogerson, C. M. (2014). Informal sector business tourism and pro-poor tourism: Africa’s migrant entrepreneurs. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(16), 153.
  68. Samaratunge, R., Barrett, R., & Rajapakse, T. (2015). Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in Australia: chance or choice?. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 22(4), 782-796.
  69. Segu Zuhair, Guneratne Wickremasinghe, Riccardo Natoli, (2015) "Migrants and self-reported financial literacy: Insights from a case study of newly arrived CALD migrants", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 42 Issue: 4, pp.368-386, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-09-2013-0203.
  70. Shane, S. (2000). Prior knowledge and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Organization science, 11(4), 448-469.
  71. Shane, S., & Venkataraman, S. (2000). The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of re-search. Academy of management review, 25(1), 217-226.
  72. Shin, K.-H. (2014). Korean entrepreneurs in Kansas City metropolitan area. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 8(4), 287–299. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-11-2013-0034
  73. Simard, M. and Jentch, B. (2009), “Introduction: key issues in contemporary rural immigration”, in Jentsch, B. and Simard, M. (Eds), International Migration and Rural Areas: Cross-National Comparative Perspectives, Ashgate, Farnham, Burlington, pp. 1-16.
  74. Sjaastad, L. A. (1962). The costs and returns of human migration. Journal of political Econo-my, 70(5, Part 2), 80-93.
  75. Song, C. (2013). Ethnic entrepreneurship of Korean New Zealanders: Restaurant business as self-employment practice.
  76. Stark, O. (Ed.). (1984). Migration decision making. New York: Pergamon
  77. Tamang, T. (2015). Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Finland: Motivations, Challenges and Supports Case: Nepalese Entrepreneurs.
  78. Tolciu, A. (2011). Migrant entrepreneurs and social capital: a revised perspective. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, 17(4), 409–427. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552551111139647
  79. Tung, R. L. 2008. “Brain Circulation, Diaspora, and International Competitiveness.” European Man-agement Journal 26 (5): 298–304.
  80. Ullah, F., Rahman, M. Z., Smith, R., & Beloucif, A. (2016). What influences ethnic entrepreneurs’ decision to start-up. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 23(4), 1081–1103. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-12-2015-0182
  81. UNCTAD (1998), World Investment Report 1998: Trends and Determinants, United Nations Con-ference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva.
  82. United Nations (UN), 2015. International Migration Report 2017.
  83. United Nations (UN), 2017. International Migration Report 2017. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2017_Highlights.pdf
  84. Van Gelderen, M.V., Sayers, J. and Keen, C. (2008), “Home-based internet businesses as drivers of variety”, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 162-177.
  85. Volery, T. (2007), “Ethnic entrepreneurship: a theoretical framework”, in Dana, L.P. (Ed.), Hand-book of Research on Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurship, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, MA, pp. 30-41.
  86. Welter, F. (2011), “Contextualizing entrepreneurship – conceptual challenges and ways forward”, Entrepreneurship, Theory & Practice, Vol. 35, pp. 165-184.
  87. Williams, N., & Krasniqi, B. A. (2018). Coming out of conflict: How migrant entrepreneurs utilise human and social capital. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 16(2), 301-323.
  88. Wilson, K. L., & Portes, A. (1980). Immigrant enclaves: An analysis of the labor market experiences of Cubans in Miami. American journal of sociology, 86(2), 295-319.
  89. Wong, L., & Primecz, H. (2011). Chinese migrant entrepreneurs in Budapest: changing entrepre-neurial effects and forms. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 5(1), 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1108/15587891111100804.
  90. Zhou, M., Xu, T., & Shenasi, S. (2016). Entrepreneurship and interracial dynamics: a case study of self-employed Africans and Chinese in Guangzhou, China. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(9), 1566-1586.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 70

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.