Imitation in immigrant entrepreneurship: an analytical framework

Abstract

PurposeThe phenomenon of imitation has attracted immense attention in studies of big companies, but it has been largely neglected in the immigrant entrepreneurship research thus far. The purpose of this paper is to address that gap by proposing a theoretical framework for studying immigrant entrepreneurship imitation decisions.Design/methodology/approachThe framework is based on a review of relevant literature covering the issue of imitation within three perspectives: institutional, heuristics of judgement and organisational learning. We validate the framework by juxtaposing it with existing studies on immigrant entrepreneurship, where imitation practices were directly and indirectly referred to. The framework is also initially validated with data from three qualitative studies performed by the authors.FindingsThe literature-derived framework consists of three major building blocks (i.e. causes, target and content of imitation) while immigrant-entrepreneurship specificity (ethnic groups and clusters, ethnic identity, generation, and resources) constitutes the context of the framework. The authors formulate 12 propositions on which the framework is based. The specific character of immigrant entrepreneurs' imitation decision is discussed, and differences in that regard between immigrant entrepreneurs and established local businesses are highlighted.Research limitations/implicationsA more diversified sample and quantitative studies are needed to further verify the proposed framework and propositions.Social implicationsThe framework is intended to expedite future research on immigrant entrepreneurs' imitative decisions and facilitate better-adjusted public policy to support immigrant entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThis paper drives attention to a widely used, yet understudied phenomenon of imitation, provides an analytical framework for the study of imitation in immigrant entrepreneurship, provides a preliminary validation of the framework and contributes to a better understanding of immigrant behaviour.

Migrant entrepreneurship in Europe: a systematic literature review

“…Some of the literature refers to migrant entrepreneurship (Berntsen et al, 2021;Hagos, Izak, and Scott, 2019;Sinkovics and Reuber, 2021;Solano, 2021;Szczygiel, Nunes, and Ramos, 2020), while some refers to immigrant entrepreneurship. (Abbasian and Yazdanfar, 2015a;Bolzani and Boari, 2018;Glinka and Hensel, 2020;Murphy, Bogue, and O'Flaherty, 2020;Širec and Tominc, 2017;Yazdanfar and Abbasian, 2013). For this paper, both 'migrant' and 'immigrant' literature are suitable, if the condition of foreign-born is met.…”

“…In a review of the literature on self-employment and entrepreneurship, Szaban and Skrzek-Lubasi nska (2018) position self-employment within the entrepreneurship paradigm. Amongst authors included in our review, definitions of entrepreneur include creating or establishing a business (Glinka and Hensel, 2020;Širec and Tominc, 2017;Solano, 2021), owning a business (Abbasian and Yazdanfar, 2015;Yazdanfar, Abbasian, and Brouder, 2015), managing one's one business (Szczygiel et al, 2020), and having an aim to succeed at business (Hagos et al, 2019). Given that migrants who are just getting started in their host countries and seeking support from government entrepreneurship initiatives may not have established a business yet, the broader definition by Hagos et al, (2019) seems the most comprehensive for this study.…”

Guest editorial

“…Based on a fuzzy set analysis of more than 500 entrepreneurs, the study found three different pathways for entrepreneurial decision-making during crisis: crisis conditions, enterprising operations and focus, and enterprising capabilities. The next paper titled "Imitation in immigrant entrepreneurship: an analytical framework" (Glinka & Hensel, 2020) tackle another timely and prominent issue in the world, that of immigration and entrepreneurship. The paper proposes a theoretical framework for studying immigrant entrepreneurship imitation decisions, which offers 12 propositions and identifies a research agenda for future studies.…”

“…The next paper titled "Imitation in immigrant entrepreneurship: an analytical framework" (Glinka and Hensel, 2020) tackle another timely and prominent issue in the world, that of immigration and entrepreneurship. The paper proposes a theoretical framework for studying immigrant entrepreneurship imitation decisions, which offers 12 propositions and identifies a research agenda for future studies.…”

Transnational Entrepreneurship: The Case of Poland

“…Migrant entrepreneurship has been the subject of research carried both in Poland and abroad, resulting in a growing number of publications (see e.g. Andrejuk, 2017;Brzozowski, 2019;Glinka, 2013Glinka, , 2018Glinka and Hensel, 2020;Glinka and Jelonek, 2020;Wysieńska, 2012).…”