Shifts in Intergenerational Mobility of Indian Immigrant Entrepreneurs
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12303 |
| Author | Meena Chavan,Lucy Taksa |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
Shifts in Intergenerational Mobility of Indian
Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Meena Chavan* and Lucy Taksa*
ABSTRACT
The objective of this article is to examine the shift in the intergenerational mobility of Indian
immigrant entrepreneurs in Australia. Based on a qualitative methodology, this article reports
on the differences in the entrepreneurial attitudes of push and pull and the aptitudes of social
and human capital between pre 2000 and post 2000 immigrant entrepreneurs. The findings
suggest that the post 2000 Indian migrant entrepreneurs in Australia are mostly pull motivated,
have higher qualifications than the pre 2000 arrivals, speak better English, have professional
educational qualifications relevant to their business, and operate predominantly in the service
sector. They take fewer years to get into business and are less dependent on immigrant social
capital resources than pre 2000 arrivals. The study proposes that, compared with social capital
resources, human capital resource have a greater impact on entrepreneurial propensity in the
case of second generation Indian migrant entrepreneurs in Australia.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
•This research has implication for Australian immigration policy, labour laws and settlement
services of migrants. It recommends successful implementation of policies and durable
solutions for Indian immigrants in the labour market in Australia.
•The Australian Government will be assisted in examining and identifying future options for the
intake of temporary and permanent migrants that improve the inco me, wealth and living stan-
dards of Australian citizens, improve the budgets and balance sheets of Australian governments,
minimize administration and compliance costs associated with immigration, and provide path-
ways both for Australian citizens to be altruistic towards foreigners, and for Australia’sinterna-
tional responsibilities and obligations to foreign residents to be met. Improvements in the labour
laws would promote the effective integration of Indian immigrants into society.
•Further, Indians in the USA have contributed immensely to the entrepreneurial spirit due
to the government support for migrant SMEs and the small business venture funds. The
Australian government can replicate this policy, reduce restriction on employment opportu-
nities and enhance entrepreneurship for all migrants.
INTRODUCTION
Globalization has seen the rise of international migration, to over 200 million, (Goldin, Cameron
and Balarajan, 011: 213). Migrants from several countries around the world enter Australia every
day. Australia is a multicultural country, with incoming migrants from more than 200 countries
* Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia
doi: 10.1111/imig.12303
©2016 The Authors
International Migration ©2016 IOM
International Migration Vol. 55 (1) 2017
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
across the world. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2016) states that the Australian popula-
tion has grown to more than 24 million. At present, data shows that almost 27 per cent of the pop-
ulation are first generation migrants and 20 per cent are second generation migrants (ABS, 2016).
The configuration of the Australian immigrant intake has become considerable diverse since the
post war period, with Asian immigrants dominating the intake in the past thirty years (Collins and
Shin, 2014). Indian citizens in particular are flocking to Australia to work, beating the once-domi-
nant British expats. Australia’s Migration Programme has seen a significant increase, with
40,100 India citizens applying to migrate, while China had 27,300 applications and the United
Kingdom 21,700 in 2012.
A recent study has identified that new international immigrants are even moving to rural areas
because of the natural beauty, lifestyle and community spirit despite the remoteness and isolation
(Krivokapic-Skoko and Collins, 2016). The labour market in Australia, however, is unable to
absorb this workforce and many of these migrants move into self employment.
It has been observed that self-employment has been a primary factor in reducing unemployment
among immigrants (Andersson and Hammarstedt, 2010). There are several theories on migrant self-
employment, and no theory can explain the phenomenon on its own. The theoretical frameworks
provide direction in investigating the different entrepreneurial behaviours between the migrant
groups and focus on the different strategies and paths they follow.
The international literature on immigrant entrepreneurship is extensive (Collins & Shin, 2014;
Kloosterman and Rath, 2003; Light and Gold, 2000; Light and Rosenstein, 1995; Rath, 2000; Wal-
dinger et al., 1990). The study of immigrant self employment has been a significant topic in the
labour market research in most developed countries. Immigrants are excessively engaged in self-
employment, as compared with the locals, and it is apparent in the United States (Borjas, 1986;
Lofstrom, 2002), Sweden (Hammarstedt, 2001), Denmark (Andersson and Wadensj€
o, 2004), and
Canada (Li, 1997).
Although the immigrant entrepreneurship sector is strong in Australia, it is a relatively unex-
plored dimension of the Australian economy and there are relatively few research studies conducted
in this area (Lever Tracy, Ip, Kitay, Phillips, and Tracy, 1991, Selvarajah & Masli, 2011; Strahan
and Williams, 1988). Collins (2002, 2003, and 2005) has conducted extensive research on the Chi-
nese, Greeks, Korean, Italians and the Lebanese in Australia, exploring the emergence of ethnic
small businesses in Australia as part of the global process of change which found that these
migrants relied heavily on ethnic resources such as the support of their local community networks
to promote their businesses to their customer base. The Koreans too relied on their community eth-
nic funds and pre-existing networks for starting and running a business. (Song, 2013)
Selvarajah and Masli (2011) studied the Chinese in Australia; so did Lever-Tracy et al. (1991)
who studied the Chinese and the Indian communities in Brisbane and Sydney. Their research out-
comes showed that these migrant groups had niche businesses which served primarily their own
co-ethnic customers, and relied heavily on ethnic resources and networks to start and succeed in
their small business operations. Some other research studies on immigrant self employment were
Vietnamese in Australia (Lever-Tracy, 1991). Peter de Vries (2012) studied the Indians in New
Zealand, but to date, despite the contribution made by Indian entrepreneurs to the Australian econ-
omy, their entrepreneurial activity has received minimal attention from scholars and there has not
been adequate research on this individual immigrant community, and on the experiences, motiva-
tions, outcomes, strengths and resources which led them to the creation and apparent success of
their enterprises. No study has been conducted exclusively on Indian migrant entrepreneurs in Aus-
tralia over generations.
While the emergent research on this topic highlights the crucial role of self-employment for
immigrants’economic integration, most studies have been conducted on first-generation immi-
grants. There is scant research on what motivates the offspring of immigrants to become entrepre-
neurs and whether they do so for the same reasons as their parents. The study is a resource based
©2016 The Authors. International Migration ©2016 IOM
100 Chavan and Taksa
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