Multicultural Migrant Firms : Evidence from Italy

• Autorzy: Alessandro Arrighetti , Andrea Lasagni , Renata Semenza
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Objective: The article aims to show the emergence of a multicultural migrant firm (MMF) model on the market. The empirical analysis of the composition of human capital and economic strategies outlines a new type of migrant firm, which is losing its monocultural character in favour of multicultural heterogeneity. MMFs have reached a large diffusion in migrant entrepreneurship and they play an important role in the processes of integration between actors of different cultures and nationalities. Through three research questions, we investigated how this model differs from the conventional migrant firm one. Firstly, we studied how relevant are family and community ties still. Secondly how much does the propensity for innovation and differentiation of products or services change? And thirdly what is the level of internal diversification that distinguishes MMF from the migrant firm?
Research Design & Methods: We employed a qualitative, interpretative approach to obtain original empirical evidence on the characteristics of MMFs. We based our research methodology on 36 semi-structured in-depth face-to-face interviews with MMFs-owners or partners operating in Italy. Next, we analysed the transcripts from the interviews using a manual approach.
Findings: The research highlights, firstly, how much the diffusion of the firms studied derives precisely from the social and professional ties accumulated over time in the host country; relationships built locally, of a mixed ethnic/nationality nature and not coming exclusively from the pre-existent background, limited to one's geographical origin. In Granovetter's terminology, 'weak ties' gain importance over 'strong ties.' Secondly, the article demonstrates how MMFs are associated with processes of innovation and the identification of market spaces for hybrid products and services. Thirdly, we found that well far from being homogeneous, as the dominant monoethnic model claims, there is a variety of MMFs.
Implications & Recommendations: Because MMFs are highly heterogeneous in terms of economic objectives and values pursued, institutional support has to be as varied and differentiated as the set of target companies. Moreover, policies designed for MMFs must consider adequate consultancy tools (i.e. specific mentoring programmes and projects) regarding managerial practices, strategic decisions, and the planning of workforce training.
Contribution & Value Added: The article contributes to the current debate on the relationship between migration and entrepreneurship highlighting the importance and specificity of MMFs, which is a relevant underresearched segment of migrant entrepreneurship. Our work shows how the boundaries between native and immigrant entrepreneurship are much more blurred than the literature claims. (original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Entrepreneurship; Immigrant entrepreneurship; Multicultural; Migration

PL

Przedsiębiorczość; Przedsiębiorczość imigrantów; Wielokulturowość; Migracja

• Czasopismo: Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review
• Rocznik: 2023
• Tom: 11
• Numer: nr 4
• Strony: 7--24

Twórcy

autor

Alessandro Arrighetti

• University of Parma

autor

Andrea Lasagni

• University of Parma

autor

Renata Semenza

• University of Milan

Bibliografia

• Aldrich, H., & Waldinger, R. (1990). Ethnicity and entrepreneurship. Annual Review of Sociology, 16, 111-35. https://doi:org//10.1146/annurev.so.16.080190.000551
• Aliaga-Isla, R., & Rialp, A. (2013). Systematic review of immigrant entrepreneurship literature: previous findings and ways forward. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 25(9-10), 819-844. https://doi:org//10.1080/08985626.2013.845694
• Ambrosini, M. (2011). Sociologia delle migrazioni. Bologna, Il Mulino.
• Appadurai A. (1996). Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimension of Globalization. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.
• Arrighetti, A., Bolzani, D., & Lasagni, A. (2012). Imprese etniche: competenze, strategie e mercati. Working Paper Dipartimento di Economia, Università di Parma, EP08.
• Arrighetti, A., Bolzani, D., & Lasagni, A. (2014). Beyond the Enclave? Break-outs into Mainstream Markets & Multicultural Hybridism in Ethnic Firms. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 26(9-10), 753-777. https://doi:org//10.1080/08985626.2014.992374
• Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120.
• Bates, T. (1997). Financing small business creation: the case of Chinese and Korean immigrant entrepreneurs. Journal of Business Venturing, 12(2), 109-124. https://doi:org//10.1016/S0883-9026(96)00054-7
• Basu, A., & Goswami, A. (1999). Determinants of South Asian entrepreneurial growth in Britain: a multivariate analysis. Small Business Economics, 13(1), 57-70. https://doi:org//10.1023/A:1008025628570
• Basu, A. (2011). From 'break out' to 'breakthrough': successful market strategies of immigrant entrepreneurs in the UK. International Journal of Entrepreneurship, 14 (1), 59-81.
• Bonacich, E. (1973). A theory of Middleman Minorities. American Sociological Review, 38(5), 583-594. https://doi:org//10.2307/2094409
• Bonacich, E. (1993). The Other Side of Ethnic Entrepreneurship: Dialogue with Waldinger. International Migration Review, 27(3), 685-692. https://doi:org//10.1177/019791839302700324
• Bolzani, D. (2020). The Role of Firm-level Resources for Migrant Entrepreneurs: New Research Suggestions from Management Theories. In Migrant Entrepreneurship (pp. 55-70). Emerald Publishing Limited.
• Brett, J., Behfar, K., & Kern, M.C. (2011). Managing multicultural teams. In M. L. Di Domenico, S. Vangen, N. Winchester, D. K. Boojihawon, & J. Mordaunt (Ed.), Organizational collaboration: themes and issues (pp. 155- 164), London: Routledge.
• Brzozowski, J., Cucculelli, M., & Surdej, A. (2014). Transnational ties and performance of immigrant entrepreneurs: the role of home-country conditions. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 26(7-8), 546-573.
• Canello, J. (2016). Migrant entrepreneurs and local networks in industrial districts. Research Policy, 45(10), 1953- 1964. https://doi:org//10.1016/j.respol.2016.05.006
• Chaganti, R.R.S., Watts, A.D., Chaganti, R., & Zimmerman-Treichel, M. (2008). Ethnic- immigrants in founding teams: Effects on prospector strategy and performance in new Internet ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 23, 113-139. https://doi:org//10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.07.004
• Clark, K., & Drinkwater, S. (2000). Pushed out or pulled in? Self-employment among ethnic minorities in England and Wales. Labour Economics, 7, 603-628. https://doi:org//10.1016/S0927-5371(00)00015-4
• Clark, K., Drinkwater, S., & Robinson, C., (2015). Self-employment amongst migrant groups in England and Wales: new evidence from Census Microdata. Institute for the Study of Labor, Discussion Paper No. 9539.
• Cox Jr, T. (1991). The multicultural organization. Academy of Management Perspectives, 5(2), 34-47. https://doi:org//10.5465/ame.1991.4274675
• Cox Jr, T. (1994). Cultural diversity in organizations: Theory, research and practice. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
• Dabić, M., Vlačić, B., Paul, J., Dana, L.P., Sahasranamam, S., & Glinka, B. (2020). Immigrant entrepreneurship: A review and research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 113, 25-38. https://doi:org//10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.03.013
• Deakins, D., & Scott, J.M. (2021). Entrepreneurship: a contemporary and global approach. London: Sage Publications.
• Dheer, R.J. (2018). Entrepreneurship by immigrants: a review of existing literature and directions for future research. International Entrepreneurship & Management Journal, 14(3), 555-614. https://doi:org//10.1007/s11365-018-0506-7
• Earley, C.P., & Mosakowski, E. (2000). Creating hybrid team cultures: An empirical test of transnational team functioning. Academy of Management Journal, 43(1), 26-49. https://doi:org//10.2307/1556384
• Edwards, P., Ram, M., Jones, T., & Doldor, S. (2016). New migrant businesses and their workers: developing, but not transforming, the ethnic economy. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(9), 1587-1617. https://doi:org//10.1080/01419870.2015.1116702
• Engelen, E. (2001). 'Breaking in' and 'breaking out': A Weberian approach to entrepreneurial opportunities. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 27(2), 203-223. https://doi:org//10.1080/13691830020041570
• Glinkowska, B. (2016). Managing Teams in the Multicultural Organizations. Journal of Intercultural Management, 8(2), 55-69. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=727623
• Granovetter, M. (1973). The Strength of Weak Ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78, 1360-80. https://doi:org//10.1086/225469
• Haq, M., Johanson M., Davies, J., Ng, W., & Dana, L. (2023). Bourdieusian and resource-based perspectives on ethnic minority microbusinesses: The construction of a culture-induced entrepreneurship model. Journal of Small Business Management, https://doi:org//10.1080/00472778.2023.2192760
• International Organization for Migration. (2020). Merging Competencies, Valuing Diversity: The Multicultural Enterprise as an Emerging Model. Le Grand-Saconnex: International Organization for Migration (full text Retrieved from https://publications.iom.int/books/merging-competencies-valuing-diversity-multicultural-enterpriseemerging-model) on April 2, 2023.
• Jenkins, R. (1984). Divisions over the international division of labour. Capital & Class, 22, 28-57. https://doi:org//10.1177/030981688402200103
• Jones, T., Barrett, G. & McEvoy, D. (2000). Market potential as a decisive influence on the performance of ethnic minority business, in: J. Rath and R. Kloosterman (Eds) Immigrant Business: The Economic, Political and Social Environment (pp. 3-53). London: Macmillan.
• Kloosterman, R. (2000). Immigrant entrepreneurship and the institutional context: A theoretical exploration, in Immigrant Businesses. In J. Rath (Ed.) The Economic, Political & Social Environment. Macmillan, Basingstoke: 90-106.
• Kloosterman, R. C. (2010). Matching opportunities with resources: A framework for analysing (migrant) entrepreneurship from a mixed embeddedness perspective. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 22(1), 25- 45. https://doi:org//10.1080/08985620903220488
• Kloosterman, R. C., K. Rusinovic, & Yeboah, D. (2016). Super-diverse migrants-similar trajectories? Ghanaian entrepreneurship in the Netherlands seen from a Mixed Embeddedness perspective. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 42(6), 913-932. https://doi:org//10.1080/1369183X.2015.1126091
• Kushnirovich, N. (2015). Economic integration of immigrant entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, 3(3), 9-27. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=305119.
• Lazear, E. P. (1999). Culture and language. Journal of Political Economy, 107(6), 95-126. https://doi:org//10.1086/250105
• Leung, M.W.H. (2001). Get IT Going: New Ethnic Chinese Business. The Case of Taiwanese-owned Computer Firms in Hamburg. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 27(2), 277-294. https://doi:org//10.1080/13691830020041615
• Levent, B. T., E. Masurel, & P. Nijkamp. (2003). Diversity in Entrepreneurship: Ethnic and Female Roles in Urban Economic Life. International Journal of Social Economics, 30(11), 1131-1161. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068290310497495
• Li, P. S. (1997). Self-employment and its economic return for visible minorities in Canada. New Approaches to Employee Management, 2, 181-199.
• Light, I. (1979). Disadvantaged minorities in self-employment. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 20, 31-55.
• Light I. (1984). Immigrant and ethnic enterprise in North America. Ethnic & Racial Studies, 17,195-216. https://doi:org//10.1080/01419870.1984.9993441
• Light I., G. Sabagh, Bozorgmehr, M., & Der-Martirosian, C. (1994). Beyond the ethnic enclave economy. Social Problems, 41(1), 65-80.
• Marra, C. (2011). Esperienze di imprenditori migranti in Emilia-Romagna. Mondi Migranti, 2, 125-139.
• Malerba, R. C., & Ferreira, J. J. (2020). Immigrant entrepreneurship and strategy: a systematic literature review. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 33(2), 183-217. https://doi:org//10.1080/08276331.2020.1804714
• Maher, C., Hadfield, M., Hutchings, M., & Eyto, A. (2018). Ensuring Rigor in Qualitative Data Analysis: A Design Research Approach to Coding Combining NVivo with Traditional Material Methods. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17, 1-13. https://doi:org//10.1177/1609406918786362
• Masurel, E., P. Nijkamp, M. Tastan, & Vindigni, G. (2002). Motivations and Performance Conditions for Ethnic Entrepreneurship. Growth & Change, 33(2), 238-260. https://doi:org//10.1111/0017-4815.00189
• Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Sage.
• Mushaben, J. M. (2006). Thinking globally, integrating locally: Gender, entrepreneurship & urban citizenship in Germany. Citizenship Studies, 10(2), 203-227.
• Nathan, M., & Lee, N. (2013). Cultural Diversity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship: Firm-level Evidence from London. Economic Geography, 89(4), 367-394. https://doi:org//10.1111/ecge.12016
• Ndofor, H.A., & Priem, P. (2011). Immigrant Entrepreneurs, the Ethnic Enclave Strategy, and Venture Performance. Journal of Management, 37(3), 790-818. https://doi:org//10.1177/0149206309345020
• Nee, V., Sanders, J., & Sernau, S., (1994). Job transitions in an immigrant metropolis: ethnic boundaries and the mixed economy. American Sociological Review, 59(6), 849872. https://doi:org//10.2307/2096372
• Pécoud, A. (2004a). Entrepreneurship and identity, cosmopolitanism and cultural competencies among GermanTurkish businesspeople in Berlin. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 30(1), 3-20.
• Pécoud, A. (2004b). Do immigrants have a business culture? The political epistemology of fieldwork in Berlin's Turkish economy. Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Europe, 4(2), 19-25.
• Pécoud, A. (2010) What is ethnic in an ethnic economy?. International Review of Sociology, 20(1), 59-76, DOI: 10.1080/0390670090352567
• Piore, M. J. (1979). Migrant labor and industrial societies. Cambridge Unversity Press.
• Portes, A., W. Haller, & Guarnizo, L. (2002). Transnational entrepreneurs, an alternative form of immigrant economic adaptation. American Sociological Review, 67(2), 278-298. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088896
• Reiche, B. S., Tenzer, H., & Harzing, A. W. (2018). International human resource management. International Human Resource Management, 1-640.
• Rinaldi, R., Arrighetti, A., Lasagni, A., & Canello, J. (2023). Immigrant entrepreneurship in Europe: a comparative empirical approach, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, Kiel, Hamburg.
• Rusinovic, K. (2007). Moving Between Markets? Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Different Markets. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, 14(6),440-454. https://doi:org//10.1108/13552550810910997
• Rusinovic, K. (2008). Transnational Embeddedness, Transnational Activities and Networks among First- and SecondGeneration Immigrant Entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. Journal of Ethnic and migration Studies, 34(3), 431-451.
• Saxenian, A. (2002). Transnational communities and the evolution of global production networks, The cases of Taiwan, China and India. Industry and Innovation, 9(3), 183-202. https://doi:org//10.1080/1366271022000034453
• Sequeira, J. M., & Rasheed, A. A. (2006). Start-up and growth of immigrant small businesses: The impact of social and human capital. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 11(04), 357-375. https://doi:org//10.1142/S1084946706000490
• Shinnie, X., T. Domboka, & Carey, C. (2019). From Ethnic Exceptionalism to Multicultural Hybridism, Rethink Ethnic Culture in Migrant Entrepreneurship. In BAM 2019 Conference Proceedings, BAM British Academy of Management.
• Shore, L. M., Randel, A. E., Chung, B. G., Dean, M. A., Holcombe Ehrhart, K., & Singh, G. (2011). Inclusion and diversity in work groups: A review and model for future research. Journal of management, 37(4), 1262-1289. https://doi:org//10.1177/0149206310385943
• Sinkovics, N., & Reuber, A. R. (2021). Beyond disciplinary silos, A systematic analysis of the migrant entrepreneurship literature. Journal of World Business, 56(4), 101-223. https://doi:org//10.1016/j.jwb.2021.101223
• Tsukashima, R. (1991). Cultural Endowment, Disadvantaged Status and Economic Niche, The Development of an Ethnic Trade. International Migration Review, 25(2), 333-354. https://doi:org//10.1177/019791839102500204
• Unioncamere Emilia-Romagna. (2019). Imprese attive straniere, retrieved from https://www.ucer.camcom.it/studi-e-statistica/bd/registro/imprese-attive-straniere on January 20th, 2020.
• Vershinina, N. & Rodionova, Y. (2011). Methodological issues in studying hidden populations operating in informal economy. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 31(11/12), 697-716. https://doi:org//10.1108/01443331111177887
• Vershinina, N., P. Rodgers, M. Xheneti, J. Brzozowski, & P. Lassalle, (Eds.) (2021). Global Migration, Entrepreneurship and Society. Emerald Group Publishing.
• Wadhwa, V., A. Saxenian, B. Rissing, & Gereffi, G. (2008). Skilled immigration and economic growth. Applied Research in Economic Development, 5(1), 6-14.
• Waldinger, R. (2000). The Economic Theory of Ethnic Conflict, A Critique and Reformulation. In Immigrant Business, The Economic, Political and Social Environment (pp. 124-141), edited by J. Rath. Basingstoke, Macmillan.
• Waldinger, R., H. Aldrich, & Ward, R. (1990). Ethnic Entrepreneurship, Immigrant Business in industrial Societies. London: Sage.
• Wang, Y., & Warn, J. (2019). Break-out strategies of Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research, 25(2), 217-242. https://doi:org//10.1108/IJEBR-03-2017-0108
• Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5(2), 171-180. https://doi:org//10.1002/smj.4250050207
• Wilson, K. L., Portes, A. (1980). Immigrant enclaves: an analysis of the labor market experiences of Cubans in Miami. The American Journal of Sociology, 862, 295-319. https://doi:org//10.1086/227240
• Yuniarto, P. (2015). Culture, Structure, and Co-Ethnic Relations of Indonesians Migrant Entrepreneurship in Taiwan. Asia-Pacific Social Science Review, 15(2); 56-74.
• Xu, K., J. Drennan, & Mathews, S. (2019). Immigrant entrepreneurs and their cross-cultural capabilities, A study of Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 17(4), 520-557. https://doi:org//10.1007/s10843-019-00261-4
• Zhou, M. (2014). Revisiting Ethnic Entrepreneurship, Convergencies, Controversies, and Conceptual Advancements. International Migration Review, 38(3), 1040-1074. https://doi:org//10.1111/j.1747- 7379.2004.tb00228.x
• Zolin R., Chang A., Yang X., & Ho E.Y.H. (2015) Social capital or ethnic enclave location? A multilevel explanation of immigrant business growth. Thunderbird International Business Review, 58(5), 453-463. https://doi:org//10.1002/tie.21754
• Zubair, M., & Brzozowski, J. (2018). Entrepreneurs from recent migrant communities and their business sustainability. Sociologica, 12(2), 57-72. https://doi:org//10.6092/ISSN.1971-8853/8622

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.15678/EBER.2023.110401