Transnational entrepreneurs: Characteristics, drivers, and success factors

Abstract

Recent literature considers the significance and determinants of transnational entrepreneurship arising from the immigrant communities. However, empirical evidence remains fragmented, largely due to the contextual diversity of the phenomenon. Using data collected from the Chinese Canadian community, the current study examines the transnational entrepreneurs’ characteristics, drivers, and factors affecting their successes. The results portray a typical transnational entrepreneur as a 45-year-old or older man who is married with one child, has completed Master’s or higher education programmes, and does not have a full-time job. For these transnational entrepreneurs, seeking business opportunities is an important reason for their migration to Canada in the first place and, subsequently, business expansion by drawing resources from dual locations becomes the primary driver toward a transnational mode of economic adaptation. The findings highlight the importance of context-specific determinants of transnational entrepreneurship and provide important implications for practice and policy making.