Financial Ambidexterity of the Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Boundary Work and Behavioral Complexity

Abstract

A considerable amount of research describes the limited financing choices of Immigrant entrepreneurs (IEs) in hosting countries, and the various challenges they face in accessing the necessary resources out of their co-ethnic networks. However, little is known about how IEs, at their startup level, make it to survive these financing challenges in hosting countries. Therefore, this paper theoretically argues IEs to acquire certain level of financial ambidexterity in order to overcome their financing struggle in hosting countries. Namely, their ability to flexibly switch their exploration and exploitation for formal and informal financing between the multiple contexts where they are embedded. Thus, the paper proposes four mechanisms to derive the IEs’ financial ambidexterity, and argues boundary work and acquisitions of a behavioral complexity to be the decisive driver for the IEs’ financial ambidexterity. Finally, the paper discusses different theoretical contributions, in addition to empirical and practical implications for future research.