Immigrant entrepreneurs and community social capital: an exploration of motivations and agency

Abstract

PurposeThe social capital used to access ethnic community resources is widely recognized in the literature as being important for immigrant entrepreneurship. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the extent to which immigrant entrepreneurs' agency, specifically their motivations, influence their use of, and contributions to, their ethnic social capital. In this paper, the authors explore this relationship.Design/methodology/approachBased on a qualitative approach, this research utilizes semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to identify the motivations, sources and effects of ethnic social capital.FindingsThis research indicates that immigrant entrepreneurs have mixed motives when engaging with their ethnic communities. The findings suggest that the immigrant entrepreneurs' social capital–mediated interactions within their ethnic community are driven not only by the social structure but that their agency, specifically their motivations, play an important role in them. While entrepreneurs hold mixed motives, they recognize the importance of business success. Thus, they make concessions to their ethnic community and utilize its resources if doing so benefits their business.Research limitations/implicationsThis research explores the role that immigrant entrepreneurs' motivations play in how they use and contribute to immigrant community social capital. By doing so, this study brings agency to the forefront of the discussion on immigrant entrepreneurship and social capital.Practical implicationsThis study provides insight into the connection between the extent to which immigrant entrepreneurs utilize and contribute to their ethnic community's social capital, their motivations for doing so and the effect that these factors have on the businesses as well as their ethnic communities. This understanding might be useful for organizations seeking to foster immigrant entrepreneurship as well as for entrepreneurs themselves.Originality/valueIndividuals' motivations as they relate to social capital involve a variable that is rarely, if ever, considered – that is, individual agency. Thus, this research contributes this perspective to the immigrant entrepreneurship literature but also more broadly to the social capital and entrepreneurship fields. This research can be extended to understand the impact of entrepreneurs' motivations on the communities in which they are embedded.