Title: Exporting by migrants and indigenous entrepreneurs: contingent on gender and education

Authors: Shayegheh Ashourizadeh; Thomas Schøtt; Ece Pişkinsüt Şengüler; Yi Wang

Addresses: Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, University of Southern Denmark, 6000 Kolding, Denmark ' Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, University of Southern Denmark, 6000 Kolding, Denmark ' Department of International Trade and Logistics, Atılım University, Kızılcaşar Mah, 06836, İncek-Ankara, Turkey ' Department of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, China

Abstract: Migrants may become entrepreneurs in their host countries. They may utilise their dual embeddedness in both the home country and the host country, and also use transnational links to gain a competitive advantage in exporting compared to indigenous entrepreneurs. Migrant entrepreneurs' advantage may, however, be contingent on attributes such as gender and education, especially among the first generation of migrants, in that being male and educated is more advantageous for migrants than for indigenous entrepreneurs. A representative sample of 50,371 entrepreneurs establishing or operating enterprises around the world was surveyed in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, which reports on migration and exporting. Hierarchical linear modelling shows that migrant entrepreneurs export more than indigenous entrepreneurs, especially in the first generation, and especially among educated and male migrants. These findings can be generalised to migrant and indigenous entrepreneurs worldwide to enhance knowledge about the entrepreneurial benefits of migration, albeit contingent on gender and education.

Keywords: migrants; migrant entrepreneurs; indigenous entrepreneurs; exports; gender; education level; exporting; entrepreneurship; migration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2016.075736

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2016 Vol.16 No.3, pp.264 - 283

Received: 21 Apr 2015
Accepted: 13 Jul 2015
Published online: 01 Apr 2016 *

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