Shifting landscapes of immigrant entrepreneurship

Abstract

Immigrant entrepreneurship still comprises smalls stores confined to the lower segment of markets. Nowadays, however, immigrant entrepreneurs are becoming visible also in high-value activities which characterise advanced urban economies. This transformation was partly the result of the increasing level of educational attainment of many immigrants and members of ethnic minorities, but it was also driven by the shifts in the structure from industrial to post-industrial economies, which occurred in the last two decades. The potential of self-employment to open up avenues of upward social mobility has, thus, further increased. The qualitative shift from low-value to high-value added business occurring among parts of the immigrant population, moreover, has emphasised the potential significance of immigrant entrepreneurs for the national and, in particular, the local economies in the countries of settlement. Given its strategic importance for, on one hand, the integration of immigrants in the countries of settlement, and, on the other, the potentially significant contribution to the economies of these countries, immigrant entrepreneurship scores high on policy makers' agendas across the OECD member states.

The financial ambidexterity of the immigrant entrepreneurs: a conceptualization

“…Finally, immigrant entrepreneurship has been deemed to be highly dependent on context (Dheer, 2018;Kloosterman and Rath, 2010;Ram et al, 2017). Namely, the IEs are known to pursue economic opportunities over different structures that are situated in the coethnic or in the mainstream boundaries in host countries (Ram et al, 2017).…”

“…Finally, immigrant entrepreneurship has been deemed to be highly dependent on context (Dheer, 2018; Kloosterman and Rath, 2010; Ram et al. , 2017).…”

“…The immigrant entrepreneurship phenomenon is receiving increased attention from scholars, experts and policymakers worldwide (e.g. Dheer, 2018; Kloosterman and Rath, 2010). The importance of this phenomenon stems from several facts, like, first , the immigrant entrepreneurs' (IEs) substantial contribution to the host economies.…”