Immigrant entrepreneurs’ influence on the career paths of their children

Abstract

There is a gap in the research describing how the entrepreneurial spirit of parents who have successfully immigrated can be imprinted onto their children and influence their career paths. The objective of this study is to bridge these two points and examine how these entrepreneurs have guided the career paths of their first-generation children, from the child’s perception. This study aims to benefit society by documenting how first-generation Canadians perceive their parents to have contributed to their future career paths. A survey will be administered to 15 undergraduate students that are born in Canada with at least one parent born outside of Canada that owns and operates a business. The survey assesses each participant on externally validated surveys of entrepreneurial personality aspects (risk aversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) to normalize participants on a scale of entrepreneurial orientation. Participants will then be interviewed about their career aspirations, their parent(s’) career(s), expectations from their parent(s), and their parent(s’) encouragement or discouragement of following the same parental career. The principal goal is to develop a theory of entrepreneurial transfer from parent to child that will involve (i) the effect their parents’ journey had on their choices and opinions towards entrepreneurship, (ii) the extent of the child’s desire or lack thereof to follow the career path most approved by their immigrant parents, and (iii) their underlying reasons for the acceptance or rejection of their parents’ desires for their careers.