Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2022-2
Immigrant founder chief executive officers,firm innovation,and performance: The role of cultural distance and top management team and board social capital
Drawing upon social cognitive and learning theories and social embeddedness perspective, we develop a conceptual framework for exploring the impact of immigrant founder chief executive officers on firm performance through firm innovation. We propose that immigrant founder chief executive officers are more likely to lead their firm with an innovative mentality due to their biculturalism, thus enhancing firm innovation and performance. We suggest that the impact of immigrant founder chief executive officers on firm innovation is moderated by cultural distance such that moderate cultural distance results in greater innovation, and ultimately, performance. We also indicate that top management team and board members’ local social capital, as well as immigrant founder chief executive officers’ foreign social capital, enhance the proposed relationships. A discussion of the relationships, limitations, and future research directions is provided.
AbebeMALiPAcharyaK, et al. (2020) The founder chief executive officer: A review of current insights and directions for future research. Corporate Governance: An International Review28(6): 406–436.
2.
AbrishamkarMMAbubakarYAMitraJ (2020) The influence of workforce agility on high-growth firms: The mediating role of innovation. The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1177/1465750320973896
3.
AlbaumGTseDK (2001) Adaptation of international marketing strategy components, competitive advantage, and firm performance: A study of Hong Kong exporters. Journal of International Marketing9(4): 59–81.
4.
AllenRBusseE (2016) The social side of ethnic entrepreneur breakout: Evidence from Latino immigrant business owners. Ethnic and Racial Studies39(4): 653–670.
5.
BanduraA (1986) Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
6.
BanduraA (1989) Social cognitive theory. In: VastaR (ed) Annals of Child Development: Vol. 6. Six Theories of Child Development. Greenwich: JAI Press, pp. 1–60.
7.
BarneyJ (1991) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management17(1): 99–120.
8.
Benet-MartínezVLeeVFLeuJ (2006) Biculturalism and cognitive complexity: Expertise in cultural representations. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology37(4): 386–407.
9.
BerryJKimUMindeT, et al. (1987) Comparative studies of acculturative stress. International Migration Review21(3): 491–511.
10.
OgbuJMatute-BianchiM (1986) Understanding sociocultural factors: Knowledge, identity, and social adjustment. In: California State Department of Education and Bilingual Education Office (eds) Beyond Language: Social and Cultural Factors in Schooling. Sacramento: California State University—Los Angeles, Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, pp. 73–142.
11.
Bolívar-CruzABatista-CaninoRMHormigaE (2014) Differences in the perception and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities by immigrants. Journal of Business Venturing Insights1–2: 31–36.
12.
BorgattiSHalginD (2011) On network theory. Organization Science22(5): 1168–1181.
13.
BourdieuP (1985) The forms of capital. In: RichardsonJ (ed) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood, pp. 241–258.
14.
BowerG (1975) Cognitive psychology: An introduction. In: EstesW (ed) Handbook of Learning and Cognition. New Jersey: Erlbaum, pp. 25–80.
15.
BurlesonBCaplanS (1998) Cognitive complexity. In: McCroskeyJDalyJMartinM (eds) Communication and Personality: Trait Perspectives. New Jersey: Hampton, pp. 230–286.
16.
CairnsR (1979) The Analysis of Social Interactions: Methods, Issues, and Illustrations. New Jersey: Erlbaum.
17.
CarmeliAHaleviMY (2009) How top management team behavioral integration and behavioral complexity enable organizational ambidexterity: The moderating role of contextual ambidexterity. The Leadership Quarterly20(2): 207–218.
18.
CarpenterMWestphalJ (2001) The strategic context of external network ties: Examining the impact of director appointments on board involvement in strategic decision making. Academy of Management Journal44(4): 639–660.
19.
CastaniasRHelfatC (1991) Managerial resources and rents. Journal of Management17(1): 155–171.
20.
ChandMGhorbaniM (2011) National culture, networks and ethnic entrepreneurship: A comparison of the Indian and Chinese immigrants in the US. International Business Review20(6): 593–606.
21.
ChildJ (1972) Organizational structure, environment and performance: The role of strategic choice. Sociology6(1): 1–22.
22.
ChungHFTungRL (2013) Immigrant social networks and foreign entry: Australia and New Zealand firms in the European Union and Greater China. International Business Review22(1): 18–31.
23.
ColemanJS (1988) Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology94: S95–S120.
24.
CrickDJonesM (2000) Small high-technology firms and international high-technology markets. Journal of International Marketing8(2): 63–85.
25.
DabićMVlačićBPaulJ, et al. (2020) Immigrant entrepreneurship: A review and research agenda. Journal of Business Research113: 25–38.
26.
DawsonCFuller-LoveNSinnottE, et al. (2011) Entrepreneurs’ perceptions of business networks: Does gender matter?The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation12(4): 271–281.
DheerR (2018) Entrepreneurship by immigrants: A review of existing literature and directions for future research. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal14(3): 555–614.
29.
DheerRLenartowiczT (2018) Multiculturalism and entrepreneurial intentions: Understanding the mediating role of cognitions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice42(3): 426–466.
30.
DoughertyDHardyC (1996) Sustained product innovation in large, mature organizations: Overcoming innovation-to-organization problems. Academy of Management Journal39(5): 1120–1153.
31.
DubiniPAldrichH (1991) Personal and extended networks are central to the entrepreneurial process. Journal of Business Venturing6(5): 305–313.
32.
EaglyAChaikenS (1993) The Psychology of Attitudes. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
33.
EfendicNAnderssonFWennbergK (2016) Growth in first-and second-generation immigrant firms in Sweden. International Small Business Journal34(8): 1028–1052.
34.
EisenhardtK (1989) Agency theory: An assessment and review. Academy of Management Review14(1): 57–74.
35.
FairlieRWFossenFM (2018) Opportunity versus necessity entrepreneurship: two components of business creation. CESifo Working Paper Series No. 6854.
36.
FamaE (1980) Agency problems and the theory of the firm. Journal of Political Economy88(2): 288–307.
37.
FamaEJensenM (1983a) Agency problems and residual claims. The Journal of Law and Economics26(2): 327–349.
38.
FamaEJensenM (1983b) Separation of ownership and control. The Journal of Law and Economics26(2): 301–325.
39.
FestingerL (1957) A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
40.
FlorinJLubatkinMSchulzeW (2003) A social capital model of high-growth ventures. Academy of Management Journal46(3): 374–384.
41.
FrederkingLC (2004) A cross-national study of culture, organization and entrepreneurship in three neighbourhoods. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development16(3): 197–215.
42.
GalunicCRodanS (1998) Resource recombinations in the firm: Knowledge structures and the potential for Schumpeterian innovation. Strategic Management Journal19(12): 1193–1201.
43.
GreenMVisserPTetlockP (2000) Coping with accountability cross-pressures: Low-effort evasive tactics and high-effort quests for complex compromises. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin26(11): 1380–1391.
44.
HambrickDMasonP (1984) Upper echelons: The organization as a reflection of its top managers. Academy of Management Review9(2): 193–206.
45.
Harmon-JonesEAmodioDHarmon-JonesC (2009) Action-based model of dissonance: A review, integration, and expansion of conceptions of cognitive conflict. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology41: 119–166.
46.
HatchNDyerJ (2004) Human capital and learning as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal25(12): 1155–1178.
47.
HaywardMHambrickD (1997) Explaining the premiums paid for large acquisitions: Evidence of CEO hubris. Administrative Science Quarterly42: 103–127.
48.
HernandezE (2014) Finding a home away from home: Immigrants and firm internationalization. Administrative Science Quarterly59(1): 73–108.
49.
HernandezEKulchinaE (2020) Immigrants and foreign firm performance. Organization Science31(4): 797–820.
50.
HinojosaAGardnerWWalkerJ, et al. (2017) A review of cognitive dissonance theory in management research: Opportunities for further development. Journal of Management43(1): 170–199.
51.
HittMIrelandDHoskissonR (2017) Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. Boston: Cengage.
52.
HofstedeG (1980) Motivation, leadership, and organization: Do American theories apply abroad?Organizational Dynamics9(1): 42–63.
53.
HofstedeG (2001) Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
54.
Hoshino-BrowneEZannaASpencerS, et al. (2005) On the cultural guises of cognitive dissonance: The case of Easterners and Westerners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology89(3): 294–310.
55.
KarraNTraceyPPhillipsN (2006) Altruism and agency in the family firm: Exploring the role of family, kinship, and ethnicity. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice30(6): 861–877.
56.
KauttoD (2019) Social influences in cross-border entrepreneurial migration policy. Journal of International Business Policy2(4): 397–412.
57.
KimKCHurhWM (1985) Ethnic resources utilization of Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in the Chicago minority area. International Migration Review19(1): 82–111.
58.
KimY (1988) Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation: An Integrative Theory. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
59.
KloostermanRVan der LeunJRathJ (1998) Across the border: Immigrants’ economic opportunities, social capital and informal business activities. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies24(2): 249–268.
60.
KloostermanRVan der LeunJRathJ (1999) Mixed embeddedness:(in) formal economic activities and immigrant businesses in the Netherlands. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research23(2): 252–266.
61.
KoburtayTRefaiDHaloubR (2020) The role of cultural pressures and group favouritism in shaping Syrian refugees’ identity in the Jordanian work environment. International Journal of Intercultural Relations79: 24–35.
62.
LaFromboiseTColemanHGertonJ (1993) Psychological impact of biculturalism: Evidence and theory. Psychological Bulletin114(3): 395–412.
63.
LewisMRosenblumL (1974) The Effect of the Infant on its Caregiver. New York: Wiley.
64.
LiCIsidorRDauLA, et al. (2018) The more the merrier? Immigrant share and entrepreneurial activities. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice42(5): 698–733.
65.
LiDLiuJ (2014) Dynamic capabilities, environmental dynamism, and competitive advantage: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research67(1): 2793–2799.
66.
LinN (1999) Building a network theory of social capital. Connections22: 28–51.
67.
LinN (2002) Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
68.
LinYWuL (2014) Exploring the role of dynamic capabilities in firm performance under the resource-based view framework. Journal of Business Research67(3): 407–413.
69.
LippmanSRumeltR (1982) Uncertain imitability: An analysis of interfirm differences in efficiency under competition. The Bell Journal of Economics13(2): 418–438.
70.
LumpkinTDessG (1996) Clarifying the entrepreneurial orientation construct and linking it to performance. Academy of Management Review21(1): 135–172.
71.
MataJAlvesC (2018) The survival of firms founded by immigrants: Institutional distance between home and host country, and experience in the host country. Strategic Management Journal39(11): 2965–2991.
72.
MaurerIEbersM (2006) Dynamics of social capital and their performance implications: Lessons from biotechnology start-ups. Administrative Science Quarterly51(2): 262–292.
73.
MehraA (1996) Resource and market based determinants of performance in the US banking industry. Strategic Management Journal17(4): 307–322.
74.
MillsJ (1999) Improving the 1957 version of dissonance theory. In: Harmon-JonesEMillsJ (eds) Cognitive Dissonance—Progress on a Pivotal Theory in Social Psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association, 25–42.
75.
MorrisMSchindehutteM (2005) Entrepreneurial values and the ethnic enterprise: An examination of six subcultures. Journal of Small Business Management43(4): 453–479.
76.
NeeVDrouhotLG (2020) Immigration, opportunity, and assimilation in a technology economy. Theory and Society49(5): 965–990.
77.
NeisserU (1976) Cognition and Reality: Principles and Implications of Cognitive Psychology. San Francisco: Freeman.
78.
NevilleFOrserBRidingA, et al. (2014) Do young firms owned by recent immigrants outperform other young firms?Journal of Business Venturing29(1): 55–71.
79.
NewbertS (2008) Value, rareness, competitive advantage, and performance: A conceptual-level empirical investigation of the resource-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal29(7): 745–768.
80.
PeterafM (1993) The cornerstones of competitive advantage: A resource-based view. Strategic Management Journal14(3): 179–191.
81.
PiagetJ (1936) Origins of Intelligence in the Child. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
82.
PiagetJ (1955) The Child’s Construction of Reality. London: Routledge.
83.
PortesA (1998) Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology24(1): 1–24.
84.
PortesAJensenL (1989) The enclave and the entrants: Patterns of ethnic enterprise in Miami before and after Mariel. American Sociological Review54(6): 929–949.
85.
RanftAO’NeillH (2001) Board composition and high-flying founders: Hints of trouble to come?Academy of Management Perspectives15(1): 126–138.
86.
RivaELucchiniM (2015) The effect of the country of birth of the owner on business survival. Evidence from Milan metropolitan area, Italy. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies41(11): 1794–1814.
87.
RumeltR (1984) Towards a strategic theory of the firm. Competitive Strategic Management26(3): 556–570.
88.
SaeidiSPSofianSSaeidiP, et al. (2015) How does corporate social responsibility contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of competitive advantage, reputation, and customer satisfaction. Journal of Business Research68(2): 341–350.
89.
SchumpeterJ (1942) Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper and Brothers.
90.
ShenkarO (2001) Cultural distance revisited: Towards a more rigorous conceptualization and measurement of cultural differences. Journal of International Business Studies32(3): 519–535.
91.
ShinnarRSYoungCA (2008) Hispanic immigrant entrepreneurs in the Las Vegas metropolitan area: Motivations for entry into and outcomes of self-employment. Journal of Small Business Management46(2): 242–262.
92.
SmitherR (1982) Human migration and the acculturation of minorities. Human Relations35(1): 57–68.
93.
SodaGSteaDPedersenT (2019) Network structure, collaborative context, and individual creativity. Journal of Management45(4): 1739–1765.
94.
SrinivasanSHanssensD (2009) Marketing and firm value: Metrics, methods, findings, and future directions. Journal of Marketing Research46(3): 293–312.
95.
TadmorCTetlockP (2006) Biculturalism: A model of the effects of second-culture exposure on acculturation and integrative complexity. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology37(2): 173–190.
96.
TataJPrasadS (2015) Immigrant family businesses: Social capital, network benefits and business performance. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior and Research21(6): 842–866.
97.
TellisGPrabhuJChandyR (2009) Radical innovation across nations: The preeminence of corporate culture. Journal of Marketing73(1): 3–23.
98.
TetlockP (1986) A value pluralism model of ideological reasoning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology50(4): 819–827.
99.
TetlockPPetersonRLernerJ (1996) Revising the value pluralism model: Incorporating social content and context postulates. In: SeligmanCOlsonJZannaM (eds) The Psychology of Values: The Ontario Symposium. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 25–49.
100.
TihanyiLGriffithDRussellC (2005) The effect of cultural distance on entry mode choice, international diversification, and MNE performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of International Business Studies36(3): 270–283.
101.
TriandisHBrislinRHuiCH (1988) Cross-cultural training across the individualism-collectivism divide. International Journal of Intercultural Relations12(3): 269–289.
102.
VaalerPM (2011) Immigrant remittances and the venture investment environment of developing countries. Journal of International Business Studies42(9): 1121–1149.
WangD (2014) Activating cross-border brokerage interorganizational knowledge transfer through skilled return migration. Administrative Science Quarterly60(1): 133–176.
105.
ZaheerS (1995) Overcoming the liability of foreignness. Academy of Management Journal38(2): 341–363.
106.
ZaheerSLaminASubramaniM (2009) Cluster capabilities or ethnic ties? Location choice by foreign and domestic entrants in the services offshoring industry in India. Journal of International Business Studies40(6): 944–968.
