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Ethnicity and the role of the founders' human and social capital in technology-based ventures

Muhammed Abu Nasra (Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel)
Amalya Oliver (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel)

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research

ISSN: 1355-2554

Article publication date: 1 June 2022

Issue publication date: 12 August 2022

2368

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the social and human capital of successful Arab and Jewish technological entrepreneurs in Israel, and explores how human and social capital differ between technology-based industries.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative study was conducted using a sample of 1,184 technology-based ventures from two technology-based industries—life science (LS) and information technology (IT)—that were founded by Jewish and Arab entrepreneurs.

Findings

The results show that in the LS industry, successful Arab entrepreneurs possess higher human and social capital compared with Jewish entrepreneurs. However, in the IT industry, the Jewish entrepreneurs possess higher human and social capital. These findings reflect the deeper entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities regarding ethnic entrepreneurs' ability to break through technology-based industries. Future research directions are provided.

Originality/value

This study makes two contributions to the theoretical understanding of ethnic entrepreneurship and technology-based ventures. First, this study focuses on the impact of human and social capital on economic growth in the context of technological entrepreneurship in technology-based industries, since the ethnic entrepreneurship literature has mainly focused on traditional industries. Second, this study examines the effect of the founders' ethnicity, and explores how human and social capital factors vary across industries due to their specific contextual characteristics.

Keywords

Citation

Abu Nasra, M. and Oliver, A. (2022), "Ethnicity and the role of the founders' human and social capital in technology-based ventures", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 1508-1531. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-03-2021-0225

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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