Transnational migrant entrepreneurship, gender and family business

Abstract

Despite increased academic attention paid to migration flows in Europe, the gendered nature of transnational migrant entrepreneurial journeys within the context of a family business remains under‐researched. We address this gap by investigating how transnational spaces allow women to challenge dominant ideas about their roles, and to claim legitimacy by opening branches of their family business abroad. With extensive longitudinal evidence collected over a seven‐year period, we showcase four biographical narratives of women operating transnational family businesses in the UK that had originated in Eastern Europe. Adopting this novel longitudinal approach, we provide insights into how these transnational migrant women entrepreneurs exercise individual agency to overcome structural constraints by developing strategies that prioritize their own business aspirations without fully sacrificing their family ties.

Bridging locality and internationalization – A research agenda on the sustainable development of family firms

“…Entrepreneurial families may be pushed or pulled towards going global, and in so doing, may have to balance family and business objectives influencing either their expansion into both local and international markets, or the creation or acquisition of ventures gradually forming a portfolio of businesses or business group (Michael-Tsabari, Labaki, and Zachary 2014;Rosa, Howorth, and Discua Cruz 2014;Ramírez-Pasillas, Lundberg, and Nordqvist 2021). Recent studies suggest that some families create global firms supported by a migrant/diaspora heritage, transnational networks, and ethnic resources as well as developing local roots in a host country (Vershinina et al 2019;Elo et al 2019). Moreover, we need to better understand to what extent the international expansion of family firms follows the principles of environmental stewardship or positive long-term impact on climate change, sustainable production, and responsible use of natural resources (Blodgett, Dumas, and Zanzi 2011).…”

Entrepreneurial migrants from/in emerging economies: breaking taboos and stereotypes

“…Despite recent large flows of migrants, the gendered nature of how men and women experience migrant entrepreneurial journeys remains under-researched (Chreim et al, 2018). To contribute to this academic debate, we encourage future researchers to incite the discussion on building theory or/an evidencing about (i) the lived experiences of transnational migrant entrepreneurs setting up enterprises outside of their host country context (Vershinina et al, 2019); (ii) the rarely discussed form of symbolic capital understood as the prestige, status and positive reputation individuals possess in the eyes of others; and (iii) the multifaceted and often gendered nature of forms of cultivated symbolic (Afreh et al, 2019;Spark et al, 2019).…”

Global Migration, Entrepreneurship and Society

“…Some of the contributions that are being published in this volume are aligned to the growing strand of literature on critical entrepreneurship (Anderson, Dodd, & Jack, 2010), which call for the recognition of the everyday (Johannisson, 2011;Welter, Baker, Audretsch, & Gartner, 2017) and mundane nature (Rehn & Taalas, 2004) of varied forms of entrepreneurship. Embracing the desire within the 'European tradition' of entrepreneurship (Down, 2013;Gartner, 2013;McKeever, Anderson, & Jack, 2014) to look beyond the 'mainstream' has led to scholarly enquiry into the 'other' entrepreneurial individuals (Gartner, 2013) and into the practices of living taking place on the edges and margins of our societies (Imas, Wilson, & Weston, 2012;Vershinina, Rodgers, McAdam, & Clinton, 2019;Watson, 2013).…”