Title: Jewish diaspora entrepreneurs - the impact of religion on opportunity exploration and exploitation

Authors: Maria Elo; Erez Katz Volovelsky

Addresses: Turku School of Economics, FI-20014 University of Turku, Finland; Institute of Migration, Eerikinkatu 34 20100 Turku, Finland ' Tel Hai College, Upper Galilee 1220800, Israel

Abstract: Jewish diaspora history is rich with examples of entrepreneurship. Research on diaspora entrepreneurs has mostly concentrated on their foreign activities and certain ethnic attributes. Less attention has been paid to the common social capital provided by religion and religious activities and organisations. However, opportunity exploration and exploitation rely heavily on social capital and ties that permit recognition of novel information and access to supporting resources. The purposes of this study are to explore the influence of religion on Jewish diaspora entrepreneurship and to examine whether religion can create a springboard effect for international opportunity exploration and exploitation. This qualitative study focuses on Jewish entrepreneurs and the nascent phase of their venturing in China.

Keywords: Jewish diaspora entrepreneurship; religion; venturing; opportunity exploration; opportunity exploitation; China.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2017.084090

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2017 Vol.31 No.2, pp.244 - 269

Received: 01 Dec 2015
Accepted: 29 Jan 2016
Published online: 10 May 2017 *

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