This study argues that first- and second-generation immigrant entrepreneurs’ endowments of economic, human, and social capital, together with their degrees of social identification with their ethnic community, affect their elemental strategic choice to pursue a venture strategy focused either on their ethnic enclave or the dominant market. The authors then propose that this choice affects venture performance indirectly, depending on how well the entrepreneur’s capital endowment allows the chosen strategy to be executed. The authors test these ideas via a field study of 103 first- and second-generation immigrant-owned ventures in a U.S. Midwest state. The findings indicate that immigrant entrepreneurs’ capital endowments and social identities influence their choice of an enclave versus dominant market venture strategy. Moreover, it is the particular alignment of entrepreneurial capital and strategy that ultimately shapes venture performance.
Adler, P., & Kwon, S.2002. Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy of Management Review, 27: 17-41.
2.
Aldrich, H., & Waldinger, R.1990. Ethnicity and entrepreneurship. Annual Review of Sociology, 16: 111-135.
3.
Alesina, A., & La Ferrara, E.2005. Ethnic diversity and economic performance. Journal of Economic Literature, 43: 721-761.
4.
Allen, D.2000. Social networks and self-employment. Journal of Socio-Economics, 29: 487-502.
5.
Anderson, S., & Platzer, M.2006. The impact of immigrant entrepreneurs and professionals on U.S. competitiveness. Study sponsored by the National Venture Capital Association. Retrieved July 28, 2009, from www.nvca.org/pdf/AmericanMade_study.pdf
6.
Autio, E., Sapienza, H.J., & Almeida, J.G.2000. Effects of age at entry, knowledge intensity, and imitability on international growth. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 909-924.
7.
Axtell, R.L.2001. Zipf distribution of U.S. firm sizes. Science, 293: 1818-1820.
8.
Bates, T.1985. Entrepreneur human capital endowments and minority business viability. Journal of Human Resource Management, 20: 540-554
9.
Bates, T.1990. Entrepreneur human capital inputs and small business longevity . Review of Economics and Statistics, 72: 551-560.
10.
Baum, J., Locke, E., & Smith, K.2001. A multidimensional model of venture growth. Academy of Management Journal, 22: 292-303.
11.
Becker, G.1964. Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. National Bureau of Economic Research. New York: Columbia University Press.
12.
Becker, G.1993. Nobel lecture: The economic way of looking at behavior . Journal of Political Economy, 101: 385-410.
13.
Bourdieu, P.1986. The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education: 241-258. New York: Greenwood.
14.
Brislin, R.W., Lonner, W.J., & Thorndike, R.M.1973. Cross-cultural research methods . New York: Wiley.
15.
Bruce, W.G.1922. History ofMilwaukee. Chicago: S. J. Clarke.
16.
Butler, J.S., & Greene, P.G.1997. Ethnic entrepreneurship: The continuous rebirth of American enterprise. In D. L. Sexton & R. W. Smilor (Eds.), The state of the art of entrepreneurship: 267-290. Chicago: Upstart.
17.
Cameron, J.E.2003. A three-factor model of social identity. Self and Identity, 3: 239-262.
18.
Cameron, J.E., & Lalonde, R.N.2001. Social identification and gender-related ideology. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40: 59-77.
19.
Carsrud, A., & Johnson, R.1989. Entrepreneurship: A social psychological perspective. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 1: 21-31.
20.
Chaganti, R.S., Watts, A., Chaganti, R., & Zimmerman-Treichel, M.2008. Ethnic-immigrants in founding teams: Effects on prospector strategy and performance in new internet ventures . Journal of Business Venturing, 23: 113-139.
21.
Chrisman, J.J., Bauerschmidt, A., & Hofer, C.W.1998. The determinants of new venture performance: An extended model. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23: 5-29.
22.
Dess, G.G., & Robinson, R.B.1984. Measuring organization performance in the absence of objective measures: The case of the privately-held firm and the conglomerate business unit. Strategic Management Journal , 5: 265-273.
23.
DiMaggio, P., & Powell, W.1991. The new institutionalism in organization analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
24.
Doty, D.H., Glick, W.H., & Huber, G.P.1993. Fit, effectiveness, and equifinality: A test of two configurational theories. Academy of Management Journal, 36: 1196-1250.
25.
Drazin, R., & Van de Ven, A.1985. Alternate forms of fit in contingency theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, 30: 514-539.
26.
Dunn, T., & Holtz-Eakin, D.2000. Financial capital, human capital, and the transition to self-employment: Evidence from intergenerational links. Journal of Labor Economics, 18: 282-305
27.
Echikson, W.2000, February 28. Unsung heroes: Europe’s immigrant entrepreneurs are creating thriving businesses-and thousands of jobs. Business Week: 20.
28.
Eisenhardt, K.M., & Schoonhoven, C.B.1990. Organizational growth: Linking founding team, strategy, environment, and growth among U.S. semiconductor ventures, 1978-1988. Administrative Science Quarterly, 35: 504-529.
29.
Ellemers, N., & Van Rijswijk, W.1997. Bias in intergroup perceptions: Balancing group identity with social reality. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23: 186-198.
30.
Fiske, D.W.1982. Convergent-discriminant validation in measurements of research strategies. In D. Brinberg & L. Kidder (Eds.), New directions for methodology of social and behavioral science: Forms of validity in research, Vol. 12: 77-92. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
31.
Gil, R., & Hartman, W.R.2006. Airing your dirty laundry: Social networks, reputational capital and vertical integration (Working paper). Santa CruzUniversity of California, Santa Cruz.
32.
Gimeno, J., Folta, T., Cooper, A., & Woo, C.1997. Survival of the fittest? Entrepreneurial human capital and the persistence of underperforming firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42: 750-783.
33.
Gompers, P.A., Lerner, J., & Scharfstein, D.S.2005. Entrepreneurial spawning: Public corporations and the formation of new ventures, 1986-1999. Journal of Finance, 60: 577-614.
34.
Granovetter, M.S.1973. The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78: 1360-1380.
35.
Greene, P.1997. Ethnic sponsorship of business activities: A resource based approach. Journal of Small Business Management, 35: 58-71.
36.
Greene, W.H.1997. Econometric analysis (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
37.
Gresov, C.1989. Exploring fit and misfit with multiple contingencies. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34: 431-453.
Gurda, J.2006. The Making of Milwaukee (2nd ed.). Milwaukee: Milwaukee County Historical Society.
40.
Hakimzadeh, S., & Cohn, D.2007. English usage among Hispanics in the United States. Pew Hispanic Center Research Report. Retrieved July 28, 2009 , from http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/82.pdf
41.
Heckman, J.1979. Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica, 47: 153-161.
42.
Hofstede, G.1997. Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival . New York: McGraw-Hill.
43.
Jackson, L., & Sullivan, L.1987. The ingroup favorability bias in the minimal group’s situation. Journal of Social Psychology, 125: 461-473.
44.
Kalnins, A., & Chung, W.2006. Social capital, geography, and survival: Gujarati immigrant entrepreneurs in the U.S. lodging industry. Management Science , 52: 233-247.
45.
Katz, D., & Kahn, R.L.1966. The social psychology of organizations. New York: Wiley.
Lee, J.1999. Retail niche domination among African American, Jewish and Korean entrepreneurs. The American Behavioral Scientist , 42: 1398-1416.
48.
Light, I.1972. Ethnic enterprise in America: Business and welfare among Chinese, Japanese, and Blacks. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
49.
Lofstrom, M.2002. Labor market assimilation and the self-employment decision of immigrant entrepreneurs. Journal of Population Economics , 15: 83-114.
50.
Masurel, E., Nijkamp, P., Tastan, M., & Vindigni, G.2002. Motivations and performance conditions for ethnic entrepreneurship . Growth and Change, 33: 238-261.
51.
McKinney, K.D.1966. Constructive typology and social theory. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
52.
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S.1998. Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23: 242-266.
53.
Nee, V., & Sanders, J.2001. Understanding the diversity of immigrant incorporation: A forms-of-capital model. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 24: 386-411.
54.
Penrose, E.1959. The theory of growth of the firm. New York: Wiley.
55.
Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B., Lee, J.Y., & Podsakoff, N.P.2003. Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88: 879-903.
56.
Porter, J.R., & Washington, R.E.1993. Minority identity and self-esteem . Annual Review of Sociology, 19: 139-152.
57.
Porter, M.E.1990. The competitive advantage of nations. New York: Free Press.
58.
Portes, A.1981. Modes of structural incorporation and present theories of immigration. In M. Kritz, C. Keely, & S. Tomasi (Eds.), Global trends in migration: 279-297. Staten Island, NY: CMS Press.
59.
Portes, A., & Shafer, S.2007. Revisiting the enclave hypothesis: Miami twenty-five years later. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 25: 157-190.
60.
Portes, A., & Zhou, M.1992. Gaining the upper hand: Economic mobility among immigrant and domestic minorities. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 15: 491-522.
61.
Reuber, A.R., Dyke, L.S., & Fischer, E.M.1990. Experientially acquired knowledge and entrepreneurial venture success. Academy of Management Proceedings, 69-73.
62.
Sandberg, W.R.1986. New venture performance: The role of strategy and industry structure. Lexington, MA: Heath .
63.
Sandefur, R.L., & Laumann, E.O.1998. A paradigm for social capital. Rationality and Society, 10: 481-501.
64.
Saxenian, A.2002. Silicon Valley’s new immigrant high-growth entrepreneurs . Economic Development Quarterly, 16: 20-31.
65.
Schachter, J.2003. Migration by race and Hispanic origin: 1995-2000. Census 2000 Special Reports. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
66.
Schoenecker, T., & Cooper, A.1998. The role of firm resources and organizational attributes in determining entry timing: A cross-industry study. Strategic Management Journal, 19: 1127-1143.
67.
Sequeira, J., & Rasheed, A.2004. The role of social and human capital in the start-up and growth of immigrant businesses. In C. Stiles , & C. Galbraith (Eds.), Ethnic entrepreneurship: Structure and process: 77-94. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
68.
Shane, S., & Stuart, T.2002. Organizational endowments and the performance of university start-ups. Management Science, 48: 154-171.
69.
Spears, R., Doosje, B., & Ellemers, N.1997. Self-stereotyping in the face of threats to group status and distinctiveness: The role of group identification. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23: 538-553.
70.
Tajfel, H.1978. Interindividual behaviour and intergroup behaviour. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations . London: Academic Press.
71.
Uzzi, B.1997. Social structure and competition in interfirm networks: The paradox of embeddedness. Administrative Science Quarterly , 42: 35-68.
72.
Van de Ven, A., Hudson, R., & Schroeder, D.1984. Designing new business startups: Entrepreneurial, organizational, and ecological considerations. Journal of Management, 10: 87-108.
73.
Venkatraman, N.1989. The concept of fit in strategy research: Toward verbal and statistical correspondence. Academy of Management Review , 14: 423-444.
74.
Venkatraman, N., & Ramanujam, V.1986. Measurement of business performance in strategy research: A comparison of approaches. Academy of Management Review, 11: 801-814.
75.
Venkataraman, S., Van de Ven, A., Buckeye, A., & Hudson, J.1990. Starting up in a turbulent environment: A process model of failure among firms with high customer dependence. Journal of Business Venturing, 5: 277-296.
76.
Wadhwa, V., Saxenian, A., Rissing, B., & Gereffi, G.2007a. America’s new immigrant entrepreneurs: Part I (Working paper). Retrieved July 28, 2009, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=990152
77.
Wadhwa, V., Rissing, B., Saxenian, A., & Gereffi, G.2007b. Education, entrepreneurship and immigration: America’s new immigrant entrepreneurs: Part II (Working paper) Retrieved July 28, 2009, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=991327
78.
Wilson, K.L., & Portes, A.1980. Immigrant enclaves: An analysis of the labor market experiences of Cubans in Miami. American Journal of Sociology, 86: 295-319.
79.
Zahra, S., & Bogner, W.C.2000. Technology strategy and software new ventures’ performance: Exploring the moderating effect of the competitive environment. Journal of Business Venturing, 15: 135-173.
