Explaining differences in entrepreneurial activity between immigrants and natives: moderating roles of economic, sociocultural and institutional factors
International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research
ISSN: 1355-2554
Article publication date: 14 June 2022
Issue publication date: 12 August 2022
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the differential likelihood of being an entrepreneur among immigrants to and natives of a country. Using a mixed embeddedness perspective, the authors outline how economic, sociocultural, and institutional embeddedness influence the likelihood of entrepreneurial activity exhibited by immigrant and native residents.
Design/methodology/approach
The tests of the hypotheses rely on a multilevel cross-country research design that uses secondary data from different sources.
Findings
Compared with their native counterparts, immigrants are more likely to start and run their own businesses, and an array of environmental factors influences this likelihood. The level of economic development and equality laws increase it; the abundance of market opportunities in an economy, entrepreneurship culture and cultural collectivism diminish it.
Practical implications
The findings provide policy makers and stakeholders with valuable insights into pertinent environmental factors that determine the differential propensities of immigrant and native residents to become entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
This study provides an expanded understanding of the connection between being an immigrant and entrepreneurial activity, by explicating the influences of country-level conditions.
Keywords
Citation
Morales, C., Brieger, S.A., De Clercq, D. and Martin, F.J. (2022), "Explaining differences in entrepreneurial activity between immigrants and natives: moderating roles of economic, sociocultural and institutional factors", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 1609-1630. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-06-2021-0465
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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