Immigrant-owned Businesses Research Articles

How Immigrant Shopkeepers in Johannesburg Townships Succeed: A Customer's Eye View

In the face of struggling native-owned informal grocery businesses, immigrant-owned shops in Johannesburg townships have demonstrated remarkable success. While research on this topic has been primarily informed by shopkeeper data, this article explores the phenomenon from the viewpoint of customers. Given that customers play a significant role in facilitating the success of businesses, the dearth of a customer perspective of the success of immigrant shopkeepers presents a gap in knowledge. This study addresses this gap by investigating the interaction between shopkeepers and customers from the perspective of customers. Drawing on the theories of customer value and customer satisfaction, the author proposes that customers prefer to patronize immigrant shopkeepers due to the considerable value they provide. The study was conducted in the Johannesburg township of Alexandra and involved the collection of cross-sectional quantitative data from 400 households. The findings indicate that customers patronize immigrant-owned businesses due to the superior value they receive, thereby enabling their success. This research highlights the importance of providing value to attract customers and contributes to the literature on the role of customers in informal business performance. Furthermore, the study sheds light on the contribution of customer reciprocation of shopkeeper value and has important implications for policymakers, business owners, and scholars alike. It underscores the need for a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics underlying the success of immigrant entrepreneurs in South Africa's informal retail sector.

Perceived Benefits and Barriers to Implementing Occupational Health Recommendations Among Immigrant-Owned Nail Salons in the Greater Philadelphia Region.

Introduction. Immigrant nail salon owners and employees face multiple barriers to accessing occupational health training and services. We formed an academic-community-based organization-business owner partnership-unique in that all partners were culturally congruent-to develop a pilot intervention program for the nail salon community. Methods. Eighteen individuals (nine salon owners and nine employees) from the Greater Philadelphia region received the training in their native language and provided feedback through in-depth qualitative interviews. Interview guide was developed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Themes of perceived benefits and barriers were identified and aligned with relevant CFIR constructs to gain better understanding of the implementation challenges. Results. Reported benefits of program were improved knowledge of the workplace hazards and safety practices, and the potential to attract more customers and retain employees. Perceived barriers to implementing recommended practices were limited availability of safer products and high cost, challenges communicating with customers, lack of engagement from some owners, organizational management practices affecting employees' motivation, and limited partnership with local government to assist small immigrant-owned businesses. Conclusions. Our study revealed multiple factors that pit long-term health protection of nail salon workers against the economic viability of the businesses that employ them. Our research highlights the need to (1) advocate for federal policies making safer products to be more accessible to the masses, (2) establish local policy and culturally appropriate technical support programs that engage community-based organizations, and (3) develop economic opportunities and mentorship for immigrant entrepreneurs to operate profitable healthy salons.

The Rise of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Canada: From Immigrant to Influencer

This study aims to examine the influence of Chinese immigrants on Canadian business culture and the role of Chinese business associations in shaping the Canadian business landscape. A qualitative research design was used to explore the topic, and semi-structured interviews were conducted as the primary method of data collection. 25 participants were selected for the study through purposive sampling, including Chinese immigrant business owners, employees of Chinese-owned businesses, and members of Chinese business associations in Canada. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data collected through the interviews and identify patterns and themes that emerged from the participants’ responses. The study found that Chinese immigrants have had a significant influence on Canadian business culture and that Chinese business associations play an important role in promoting business cooperation between different cultural groups. The results also suggest that embracing cultural diversity in the business environment has both benefits and challenges, and businesses must effectively manage cultural diversity in the workplace to promote cooperation between different cultural groups. This study provides valuable insights into the ways in which Chinese immigrants have shaped the Canadian business landscape and the importance of embracing cultural diversity in the business environment.

COVID-19 bailout nationalism: a predicament in saving small immigrant-owned businesses in South Africa

The small business sector has been identified as an essential component of the global economy, especially in developing economies, where it plays a significant role in addressing job creation and poverty. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant lockdown restrictions have brought untold devastation to the sector forcing many out of operation, crippling business operations and financial viability. We seek to identify the role and impact of government relief measures in helping immigrant-owned businesses in South Africa to deal with the impact of the pandemic on their businesses. Primary data was collected using an electronic questionnaire administered to 260 foreign business owners in South Africa. The data was cleaned and statistically analysed using IBM SPSS version 27. We interpreted and discussed the results using the realistic conflict theory. Though a vast majority of the businesses (89%) reported that the pandemic had a very severe impact on their financial sustainability and liquidity, none of them reported that they benefitted from any of the South African government business support packages during the pandemic.

The Business Ownership Patterns of Undocumented Immigrants in the United States: An Exploratory Study

When debating the effect of undocumented immigrants on the economy, scholars often presume that undocumented immigrants are wage laborers rather than business owners. This study imputes the legal status of Mexican and Central American immigrants (MCAs) in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) between 1996 and 2008 to evaluate how legal status affects business ownership patterns. From 1996 to 2008, the SIPP asked a series of questions about business ownership and migration history that make it uniquely suited to an investigation of undocumented MCA business owners. Instrumental variables regressions reveal that undocumented immigrants had a lower likelihood of owning a business than documented immigrants, but undocumented and documented business owners derived similar incomes from their businesses. A lack of legal status may hold back potential entrepreneurs. MCA business owners of both legal statuses clustered into similar low-paying, low-growth industries, however, so regardless of legal status, there are likely limits to how much business ownership can promote economic mobility among MCAs. All told, scholars should do more to acknowledge the existence of undocumented immigrant business owners, measure their impact on the economy, and examine their influence on immigrant incorporation patterns.

Does Self-Employment Contribute to Immigrants’ Economic Integration? Examining Patterns of Self-Employment Exit in Belgium

This article assesses whether self-employment can help immigrants overcome some of the ongoing challenges they face in highly segmented labor markets, by investigating the reasons behind native-immigrant differences in exit from self-employment. While a considerable literature examines the factors influencing immigrants’ decision to become self-employed, surprisingly few studies address the factors that shape exit from self-employment. This article studies native-immigrant differences in self-employment exit, drawing on longitudinal data (2008–2017) for Belgium, and adds to previous research on immigrant self-employment by considering second-generation and female immigrant business owners. Results show that immigrants were much more likely than natives to become unemployed or leave the labor force after a period in self-employment, supporting the idea that immigrants are pushed out of self-employment. Second-generation immigrants generally had better self-employment outcomes than first-generation immigrants, whereas female immigrants sometimes experienced a “double disadvantage.” Weaker attachment to the labor market preceding self-employment entry helps explain why immigrants had worse self-employment outcomes than natives in Belgium. Hence, self-employment may not provide an independent path to economic integration that allows immigrants to overcome the hurdles they face in the labor market. Instead, how people fared in the labor market before becoming self-employed strongly influenced their success as self-employed workers. This article highlights the policy complexity of immigrants’ labor market integration in Western European labor markets. As it shows, it is not enough to promote self-employment as an easy way out of immigrants’ labor market exclusion. Instead, more is needed to counteract immigrants’ problematic labor market outcomes.

How Do Employers Belonging to Marginalized Communities Respond to Minimum Wage Increases? The Case of Immigrant-Owned Businesses in Seattle.

Minimum wage opponents often argue that businesses owned by marginalized communities, which include woman-owned, Black-owned, and immigrant-owned businesses, are exceptionally vulnerable to minimum wage increases. Little research has investigated this claim. Using a unique survey of Seattle businesses that includes owners' nativity status and was administered while the city began to phase in its $15 minimum wage ordinance, the authors find that immigrant-owned businesses respond to the higher minimum wage in ways that largely conform to the responses of other businesses. Nevertheless, immigrant-owned franchises are less likely than other franchises to fire employees, reduce employees' hours, or lower the wages of employees earning more than $15 per hour. Evidence suggests that immigrant franchisees have a lower likelihood of passing the increased labor costs onto employees because they use fewer employees and rely more heavily on family labor compared to other franchisees. The authors' findings suggest that firms owned by marginalized and nonmarginalized groups respond to municipal-level minimum wage increases in comparable ways. Nevertheless, marginalized status may matter more in certain sectors of the economy than in others.

Resisting to spatial exclusion and fighting for economic inclusion: African immigrant traders in the public commercial spaces of the City of Cape Town, South Africa

Around South Africa, the major cities are being narrated around entrepreneurialism, which emphasises competitiveness, innovation and partnership between local government and private corporates in the marketing of the city within and beyond the national borders. A large fraction of the population living in those cities is made up of immigrants from other African countries, who are frequently subjected to economic-driven xenophobic violent attacks by local citizens. African immigrants mostly operate in the informal sector and largely remain on the fringes of the city mainstream economy and social fabric. This article interrogates the extent to which the interventions implemented in the City of Cape Town in South Africa by the authorities, within the framework of reimagining the city as a world city, contribute either to the spatial inclusion or the exclusion of African immigrants’ petty trade activities in the design of urban development. The central argument to the article is that, in the pursuit of the entrepreneurial strategy advocated by the City of Cape Town, there are strong indications that some of these interventions are constraining and repressive, exacerbating the economic and social exclusion of African immigrants. Besides, these interventions have tended to increase the social hostility toward immigrants. Against the repressive law enforcement measures for regulating the urban space, there has been, however, a somewhat progressive public shift toward more accommodating efforts that have benefitted African immigrant business owners. The article is informed by the theoretical perspective on entrepreneurial urban governance and data from empirical sources are used in support of the arguments. The results reported show that in the city of Cape Town, the occupancy of any space for trading purpose is restrained by a bundle of by-laws. In responses to the variety of interventions, business owners have displayed different reactions ranging from compliance to subversive acts including resistance or negotiated arrangements have been at time used to influence the direction of other interventions.

Immigrant-owned small businesses' participation in diaspora philanthropy: a case study during the COVID-19 outbreak

PurposeThe concept of diaspora philanthropy contains the following two components: diasporas, who are individuals who live outside of their homelands but maintain a sense of identity with their home countries, and charitable giving provided by these diasporas to causes related to their hometowns. Often diaspora philanthropy happens through intermediary organizations such as hometown associations, internet-based philanthropic platforms and faith-based groups. Little research explores immigrant-owned small businesses as intermediary organizations for diaspora philanthropy. In the literature of social entrepreneurship, the theory of opportunity recognition provides insights on how do businesses identify opportunities for fulfilling social missions. However, it is uncertain whether this major theory can be applied to a specific context such as immigrant-owned small businesses. In this research, I aim to understand immigrant-owned small businesses' participation in social entrepreneurship through diaspora philanthropy, especially in responding to natural disasters. Specifically, three research questions were proposed: What role do small businesses play? What mechanisms do they use to partake in diaspora philanthropy? Moreover, what motivates them to participate?Design/methodology/approachThis research uses an in-depth case study that focuses on a specific diaspora philanthropy behavior in responding to a natural disaster in the diaspora's hometown. The subject of this work is a small business owned by an immigrant in New York City, the US. To collect data on this case, the author utilized a mixed-methods design, which involves two types of qualitative data: document analysis and interview. Giving the purpose of this study, the author used thematic coding for both newspaper article data and interview data following a deductive approach.FindingsThe result shows that small businesses have an inherent advantage in building close interpersonal relationships with their customers and serve as the connector between their customers and larger philanthropic organizations. Because of their limitations on resources, small businesses collaborate with larger nonprofit organizations to do complicated philanthropic work for improved capacity. When diaspora philanthropy happens due to natural disasters in homelands, diasporas experience some level of guilt since they are not there with the people of their homeland in solidarity facing the difficulties. This guilt, which is related to cultural influences, is one of the motivations that make diasporas give to their homelands. The findings also show that the opportunity recognition theory fits well into explaining the altruistic behaviors of small businesses owned by immigrants.Originality/valueA lot remains unknown about immigrant-owned small businesses, including their altruistic behaviors and participation in social entrepreneurship. This research expands the current knowledge on diaspora philanthropy by identifying the roles of small businesses, the mechanisms used by small businesses and the motivations of giving during natural disasters. This research also validates the opportunity recognition theory of social entrepreneurship in a specific context.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Business Owners: The First Three Months after Social-Distancing Restrictions

Social distancing restrictions and health- and economic-driven demand shifts from COVID-19 are expected to shutter many small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures, but there is very little early evidence on impacts. This paper provides the first analysis of impacts of the pandemic on the number of active small businesses in the United States using nationally representative data from the April 2020 CPS – the first month fully capturing early effects. The number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million or 22 percent over the crucial two-month window from February to April 2020. The drop in active business owners was the largest on record, and losses to business activity were felt across nearly all industries. African-American businesses were hit especially hard experiencing a 41 percent drop in business activity. Latinx business owner activity fell by 32 percent, and Asian business owner activity dropped by 26 percent. Simulations indicate that industry compositions partly placed these groups at a higher risk of business activity losses. Immigrant business owners experienced substantial losses in business activity of 36 percent. Female business owners were also disproportionately affected (25 percent drop in business activity). Continuing the analysis in May and June, the number of active business owners remained low – down by 15 percent and 8 percent, respectively. The continued losses in May and June, and partial rebounds from April were felt across all demographic groups and most industries. These findings of early-stage losses to small business activity have important implications for policy, income losses, and future economic inequality.

Sociological factors influencing the success of African immigrant-owned micro businesses in South Africa

The sociological imbalance of African immigrant-entrepreneur hampers the growth and progress of their businesses. Therefore, the need to investigate the sociological factors influencing the success of African immigrant-owned micro businesses in Durban, South Africa. The research approach adopted was a cross-sectional field survey with a total of 364 questionnaires distributed to African immigrant-entrepreneurs in Durban with the use of cluster sampling technique. The results of the study revealed that there was a significant strong positive relationship between sociological factors and the success of foreign-owned micro-businesses in Durban. It is therefore recommended that the government should creating an enabling business environment for African Immigrant-Owned Businesses, including the protection of the lives and property of the African immigrants and their micro businesses in Durban and country wide.

The impact of COVID-19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social-distancing restrictions.

Social‐distancing restrictions and health‐ and economic‐driven demand shifts from COVID‐19 are expected to shutter many small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures, but there is very little early evidence on impacts. This paper provides the first analysis of impacts of the pandemic on the number of active small businesses in the United States using nationally representative data from the April 2020 Current Population Survey—the first month fully capturing early effects. The number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million or 22% over the crucial 2‐month window from February to April 2020. The drop in active business owners was the largest on record, and losses to business activity were felt across nearly all industries. African‐American businesses were hit especially hard experiencing a 41% drop in business activity. Latinx business owner activity fell by 32%, and Asian business owner activity dropped by 26%. Simulations indicate that industry compositions partly placed these groups at a higher risk of business activity losses. Immigrant business owners experienced substantial losses in business activity of 36%. Female business owners were also disproportionately affected (25% drop in business activity). Continuing the analysis in May and June, the number of active business owners remained low—down by 15% and 8%, respectively. The continued losses in May and June, and partial rebounds from April were felt across all demographic groups and most industries. These findings of early‐stage losses to small business activity have important implications for policy, income losses, and future economic inequality.

Responsible entrepreneurship: is there scope for its adoption by immigrant-owned businesses in South African townships?

Concerns about their business practices have precipitated the recent wave of attacks on immigrants in South African Townships. Besides claims that they take away jobs, business opportunities, the locals accuse the immigrants of unfair and irresponsible business practices. All this speaks powerfully to the issue of social legitimacy. Against this backdrop, this paper gauged the business practices of immigrant-owned spaza shops in the hope that the adoption of responsible business practices could act as an intervention strategy for easing the tension between natives and foreign immigrants. The paper followed a quantitative research approach that made use of questionnaires to solicit data from subjects that were purposively selected. The study suggests that immigrant entrepreneurs are treating CSR programmes selectively as issues like training and education, donating to the local communities and employment of natives failed to gain a significant acknowledgement. This, further proves that the CSR ideology has been partially received by the immigrant entrepreneur in the local Townships and thus making it challenging to manage multi-dimensional stakeholder relationships, as issues around credence remain pending. Leaning on the stakeholders and legitimacy theories, this paper advances the case for adoption of CSR by informal businesses and particularly as a possible antidote to the xenophobia that is driven by unfair competitive advantage and unfair business practices by South African township entrepreneurs.

Transnational Activities of Immigrant-Owned Firms and Their Performances in the United States

Using microdata from the U.S. Survey of Business Owners (SBO) released in 2012, this study examines transnational activities of immigrant-owned businesses in three aspects: whether they export, outsource jobs, and have overseas establishments. Results show that immigrant-owned firms have significantly higher tendency to be involved in transnational economic activities when compared to non-immigrant owned firms. Immigrant firms without transnational activities have significantly smaller size of employees, annual total sales and total payrolls than non-immigrant firms. However, immigrant owned firms with transnational activities fare significantly better than non-immigrant owned firms without transnational activities. These findings speak directly to the long-debated issues concerning different motivations and performance outcomes of immigrant business ownership.

The Impact of Covid-19 on Small Business Owners: Evidence of Early-Stage Losses from the April 2020 Current Population Survey

Social distancing restrictions and demand shifts from COVID-19 are expected to shutter many small businesses, but there is very little early evidence on impacts. This paper provides the first analysis of impacts of the pandemic on the number of active small businesses in the United States using nationally representative data from the April 2020 CPS – the first month fully capturing early effects from the pandemic. The number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million or 22 percent over the crucial two-month window from February to April 2020. The drop in business owners was the largest on record, and losses were felt across nearly all industries and even for incorporated businesses. African-American businesses were hit especially hard experiencing a 41 percent drop. Latinx business owners fell by 32 percent, and Asian business owners dropped by 26 percent. Simulations indicate that industry compositions partly placed these groups at a higher risk of losses. Immigrant business owners experienced substantial losses of 36 percent. Female-owned businesses were also disproportionately hit by 25 percent. These findings of early-stage losses to small businesses have important policy implications and may portend longer-term ramifications for job losses and economic inequality.

The Impact of Covid-19 on Small Business Owners: The First Three Months after Social-Distancing Restrictions

Social distancing restrictions and health- and economic-driven demand shifts from COVID-19 are expected to shutter many small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures, but there is very little early evidence on impacts. This paper provides the first analysis of impacts of the pandemic on the number of active small businesses in the United States using nationally representative data from the April 2020 CPS – the first month fully capturing early effects. The number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million or 22 percent over the crucial two-month window from February to April 2020. The drop in active business owners was the largest on record, and losses to business activity were felt across nearly all industries. African-American businesses were hit especially hard experiencing a 41 percent drop in business activity. Latinx business owner activity fell by 32 percent, and Asian business owner activity dropped by 26 percent. Simulations indicate that industry compositions partly placed these groups at a higher risk of business activity losses. Immigrant business owners experienced substantial losses in business activity of 36 percent. Female business owners were also disproportionately affected (25 percent drop in business activity). Continuing the analysis in May and June, the number of active business owners remained low – down by 15 percent and 8 percent, respectively. The continued losses in May and June, and partial rebounds from April were felt across all demographic groups and most industries. These findings of early-stage losses to small business activity have important implications for policy, income losses, and future economic inequality.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Business Owners: The First Three Months after Social-Distancing Restrictions

Social distancing restrictions and health- and economic-driven demand shifts from COVID-19 are expected to shutter many small businesses and entrepreneurial ventures, but there is very little early evidence on impacts. This paper provides the first analysis of impacts of the pandemic on the number of active small businesses in the United States using nationally representative data from the April 2020 CPS – the first month fully capturing early effects. The number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million or 22 percent over the crucial two-month window from February to April 2020. The drop in active business owners was the largest on record, and losses to business activity were felt across nearly all industries. African-American businesses were hit especially hard experiencing a 41 percent drop in business activity. Latinx business owner activity fell by 32 percent, and Asian business owner activity dropped by 26 percent. Simulations indicate that industry compositions partly placed these groups at a higher risk of business activity losses. Immigrant business owners experienced substantial losses in business activity of 36 percent. Female business owners were also disproportionately affected (25 percent drop in business activity). Continuing the analysis in May and June, the number of active business owners remained low – down by 15 percent and 8 percent, respectively. The continued losses in May and June, and partial rebounds from April were felt across all demographic groups and most industries. These findings of early-stage losses to small business activity have important implications for policy, income losses, and future economic inequality.

Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Economic Development

Problem, research strategy, and findings: A growing number of cities, especially those outside traditional immigrant gateways, have sought to leverage immigrant resources to promote local economic development in recent years. Although some cities have explicitly included immigrant entrepreneurship as a focal area in their plans, we know little about the breadth and depth of such strategies. In this research we explore the current landscape of local small business development policies toward immigrant entrepreneurship. We conduct a detailed review of the program documents of 16 selected welcoming cities and derive 20 specific programs across five broad types: information, language, business service, financial support, and place-based approaches. Their popularity, however, varies among the case cities given the number of adoptions. For example, all 16 cities adopted information hub–related strategies, whereas only 2 considered immigrant-friendly financing programs. In comparing these policies with immigrant entrepreneurs’ needs and barriers, we find their service gaps are addressed to different extents.Takeaway for practice: Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of current local government policies that aim at tapping into immigrants’ entrepreneurial potential for community and economic development and their adoption levels across cities. Existing policies are able to address immigrants’ information and language needs but are less targeted at developing their business skills and facilitating their access to financial capital. Place-based approaches may serve to connect immigrant-owned businesses to customers and market in the mainstream economy and thus expand their scope beyond ethnic neighborhoods. Because these programs require different levels of resources, planners and policymakers considering this agenda can assess their relative fit with local population demand in designing appropriate policies.

Guanxi and risk-taking propensity in Chinese immigrants’ businesses

This paper studies the determinants of the risk-taking propensity in immigrant-owned businesses. The paper has a particular focus on first-generation Chinese immigrants and the effect of the so-called “guanxi”, a specific form of social capital for Chinese communities. The empirical research is based on a survey conducted in 2012 on Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs in Andalusia (Spain). An ordinal logistic regression specification was employed to test the hypotheses. The results show that the Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs with better “guanxi” run businesses with a higher risk-taking propensity. Furthermore, those Chinese immigrant entrepreneurs who have other business owners in their families and undertake business planning and control activities are more prompted to take risks in the management of their companies. The risk-taking propensity of immigrant-owned businesses increases over time starting from the immigrant entrepreneurs’ arrival to Spain. In contrast, the education levels of Chinese entrepreneurs’ bear no significant effect on the risk-taking propensity of their businesses.

Surviving suburban redevelopment: Resisting the displacement of immigrant-owned small businesses in Wheaton, Maryland

ABSTRACT In the past several decades, the suburbs of many U.S. metropolitan regions have seen rising levels of poverty, immigration, and racial and ethnic diversity. At the same time, suburban redevelopment has led to more “urban-like” development patterns and struggles over gentrification and displacement. In a case study of Wheaton, Maryland, this article explores how redevelopment impacted suburban immigrants and small businesses and how they fought back. Using interviews with key stakeholders and secondary documents about Wheaton’s redevelopment, it shows several challenges to advancing equitable development in suburbs, including the capacity of community-based organizations, political representation, and limited government policies and programs. However, grassroots activists and grasstops policymakers have slowly built the capacity of communities to balance the scales of development. As suburbs redevelop, the article offers lessons about the consequences for socially and economically vulnerable groups and the political and community-based structures and support needed to advance equitable outcomes.