Towards a Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda for Immigrant Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprises

Abstract

This study aims to contribute to the rapidly growing literature on immigrant entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs, enterprises (IEEE) by conceptually exploring the key impacting factors and their components from an entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective. The concept of the immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystem is developed as a research approach for studying the relationship between immigrant firms and their business environments. By examining the relationship between IEEE and the dual (host- and home-country) entrepreneurial ecosystem (immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystem), it is proposed that the immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystem framework is an important tool for IEEE research. This study contends that immigrant entrepreneurs' motivation, execution, and evolution are determined by their immigrant entrepreneurial ecosystem embeddedness. By identifying factors and their components that influence IEEE, this research proposed a conceptual framework and research agenda for IEEE. The results will contribute to IEEE literature.