The determinants of transnational entrepreneurship and transnational ties’ dynamics among immigrant entrepreneurs in ICT sector in Italy
| Author | Aleksander Surdej,Jan Brzozowski,Marco Cucculelli |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12335 |
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
| Published date | 01 June 2017 |
The determinants of transnational
entrepreneurship and transnational ties’
dynamics among immigrant entrepreneurs in
ICT sector in Italy
Jan Brzozowski*, Marco Cucculelli** and Aleksander Surdej*
ABSTRACT
This article contributes to the rapidly growing literature on transnational immigrant
entrepreneurship by analyzing the determinants of transnational entrepreneurial engagement
among immigrants in the ICT sector in Italy. We investigate which factors influence the rise
or decline of transnational entrepreneurial involvement with a home country. Our results indi-
cate that longer residence in Italy is associated with smaller propensity to become a transna-
tional entrepreneur. Moreover, we find that the type of transnational ties and the network size
have a substantial impact on the dynamics of transnational entrepreneurial engagement.
INTRODUCTION
Transnational immigrant entrepreneurship has become an increasingly important area of investiga-
tion. It has been found that some immigrants are able to conduct their businesses across interna-
tional borders, developing activities in both socio-economic fields: at home and in the host country.
It can be expected that due to the globalization process, such forms of economic transnational
involvement should become more widespread and more intense in the nearest future (Drori, Honig
and Wright, 2009). Moreover, recent studies indicate that transnational involvement might be asso-
ciated with the improved economic performance of immigrant-owned enterprises, although home-
country socio-economic and entrepreneurial characteristics might play a moderating role in this
respect (Brzozowski, Cucculelli and Surdej, 2014).
Despite the great attention from the recent empirical literature (Solano, 2015; Elo & Jokela,
2015; Mayer, Harima & Freiling, 2015), the research on transnational immigrant entrepreneurship
still has some drawbacks and underexplored areas. Firstly, as most of the research is based on case
studies (e.g. Mustafa and Chen, 2010; Katila, and Wahlbeck, 2012; Guarnizo, Portes and Haller,
2003), relatively less is known about the aggregate frequency of transnational entrepreneurship
among immigrant populations, as the statistical information on this type of ventures is not available
(Solano, 2015). The evidence from quantitative surveys can partly offset the risk of over-emphasiz-
ing the importance of transnational businesses found in case study approaches, and also makes the
generalization on this topic more feasible (Riddle, Hrivnak and Nielsen, 2010; Mustafa and Chen,
* Department of European Studies, Cracow University of Economics, Rakowicka 27, 31-510 Krakow, Poland
** Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Universit
a Politecnica delle Marche, Piazzale Martelli, 8, 60100
Ancona, Italy
doi: 10.1111/imig.12335
©2017 The Authors
International Migration ©2017 IOM
International Migration Vol. 55 (3) 2017
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
2010). Secondly, the relatively rare quantitative research on transnational entrepreneurship has indi-
cated that the share of immigrants involved in transnational entrepreneurship might be substantial,
as it ranges from 37.5 to 78.5 percent of immigrant entrepreneurs - depending on the location and
the ethnic group surveyed (Portes et al., 2002). The evidence for the US (Ibid) and Canada (Lin
and Tao, 2012) shows that, compared with non-transnational ones,
1
transnational immigrant entre-
preneurs have a longer residence experience in the host country, better education and faster occupa-
tional advancement. More generally, they seem to be better integrated in socioeconomic terms than
non-transnational immigrant entrepreneurs from the same ethnic groups. Still, these initial findings
need a firmer confirmation in further empirical analyses, carried out in destinations other than the
US and Canada (with particular emphasis on the European Union Member States, as research in
these important destination countries is relatively scarce) and including a larger set of surveyed eth-
nic groups. Thirdly, very little is known about the dynamics of transnational entrepreneurship and
the evolution of their personal, institutional and business networks in particular (Harima, 2014).
The most popular definition of this phenomenon portrays transnational entrepreneurs as “individuals
who migrate from one country to another, concurrently maintaining business-related linkages with
their countries of origin and with their adopted countries and communities”(Drori, Honig and
Ginsberg 2010: 3), thus emphasizing the stability features of the relationship, over its inherent
dynamics. Fourthly, very little is known about the temporal transformation of this form of
entrepreneurship and the sustainability of the transnational networks. Thus, fundamental questions
remain unanswered: what is the incidence of transnational immigrant entrepreneurs among immi-
grant entrepreneurs in specific sectors? How transnational entrepreneurs differ from non-transna-
tional immigrant ones? Can the transnational entrepreneurship be sustained or even strengthened
over time, or is it bound to lose intensity and disappear due to the gradual economic (but also
socio-cultural) integration of the migrant(s) in the host country? What is the importance of the ties’
characteristics for the dynamics of transnational entrepreneurship?
Our article seeks to address some of the abovementioned questions using the results of a survey
on transnational entrepreneurs operating in the ICT sector in Italy. The aim of our study is two-
fold. First, we investigate which factors contribute to the propensity of transnational immigrant
entrepreneurship (TE) by comparing the transnational entrepreneurs with non-transnational (or
domestic) ones, i.e. those immigrant entrepreneurs who run business activities only in the destina-
tion country. Second, we analyse the determinants of TE evolution over time or, to be more pre-
cise, the factors that drive the expansion or decline of transnational entrepreneurial engagement of
the immigrant entrepreneur in his/her home country. To determine the real magnitude of immigrant
entrepreneurs’transnational engagement, the article adopts a quantitative approach that exploits data
and information collected on a large sample of migrant entrepreneurs engaged in business activity
in both the host and the home country.
Our focus on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector is due to the rele-
vance of external ties in the competitive dynamics of ICT firms, a sectoral feature that makes this
industry particularly suitable for analysis of potential transnational behavior of immigrant entrepre-
neurs. Using a representative sample of immigrant entrepreneurs from developing and emerging
market economies, we first contrast non-transnational immigrant entrepreneurs to transnational
immigrant entrepreneurs in their decisions about the use of ties and international networks. After
finding out that older migrants –and migrants with shorter residence in Italy –who have access to
the ethnic network are more likely to become transnational entrepreneurs, we shift our focus on TE
to assess which factors influence the expansion or decline of transnational ties. Specifically, we
investigate whether the characteristics of the transnational networks, in addition to their size, have
an impact on transnational involvement dynamics. We find strong evidence that the usage of net-
works which serve to maintain personal business contacts, as well as ties that provide technology
and business information, contribute significantly to strengthen the transnational involvement of the
firm.
106 Brzozowski, Cucculelli and Surdej
©2017 The Authors. International Migration ©2017 IOM
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