Immigrant entrepreneurs and their cross-cultural capabilities: A study of Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia

Abstract

The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of immigrant entrepreneurs’ cross-cultural capabilities for international business. Based on 30 interviews with Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia, we found that cross-cultural capabilities include the capability of psychological adaptation (emotion management and positive mindset) and socio-cultural adaptation (cultural learning, language skills, and bicultural flexibility). A combination of capabilities is necessary for immigrant entrepreneurs to deal with acculturative stress and adapt to the new culture in international business context. Moreover, by leveraging bicultural flexibility, immigrant entrepreneurs create competitive advantage in international markets. We interpret this evidence by using progressive entrepreneurial activity focusing on theory development in the immigrant entrepreneurship context. This study contributes to immigrant entrepreneurship literature by identifying the need to employ a cross-capability lens with regard to the psychological adaptation and socio-cultural adaptation for cross-border business success.