Entrepreneurship, family and migration: a systematic literature review on Vietnamese migrant entrepreneurship

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to systematically review the literature on the intersections among family, migration and entrepreneurship in the context of Vietnam. This paper aims to shed light on the current state of knowledge of the research field by highlighting some key bibliographic trends among existing literature, mapping existing knowledge in the field of research and recommending future research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a systematic literature review approach with five steps. A list of 24 papers that are extracted from a pool of 643 papers in the Core Collection of Web of Science and Scopus were selected as the most relevant to the research questions used for further in-depth analysis.

Findings

Bibliometric analysis indicates that this research field is considered an infant research stream that is dominated by qualitative empirical studies. Content analysis reveals how Vietnamese migrant families mobilize and use various kinds of cultural, social, human and financial capital for entrepreneurship. They also generate resources to develop family-owned enterprises that are expected to be continued over generations. Five research gaps for future research are identified: functions of family, downsides of networks, the role of transnational and returnee entrepreneurs, gender and methodology.

Research limitations/implications

The choice of a limited number of keywords and access to only two databases (Web of Science and Scopus) are limitations of this study. Furthermore, the selection of the articles for content analysis is subjective although research triangulation is applied in this review.

Originality/value

This research is a pioneering systematic literature review that sheds light on the interconnectedness of family, migration and entrepreneurship in the case of Vietnamese migrant entrepreneurs.

Citation

Nguyen Quoc, A., Nguyen Van, D. and Nguyen, N.N.A. (2023), "Entrepreneurship, family and migration: a systematic literature review on Vietnamese migrant entrepreneurship", Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 125-157. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-03-2020-0042