Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Conforming to the host country versus being distinct to our home countries

Conforming to the host country versus being distinct to our home countries The purpose of this paper is to examine how ethnic migrant entrepreneurs (EMEs) utilise identity work to build legitimacy in a host country. According to optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT), legitimacy is achieved by balancing conformance and distinctiveness. This paper draws on ODT in the context of ethnic migrant entrepreneurship to examine how EMEs both fit in (conformance) and maintain their uniqueness (distinctiveness) in cross-cultural settings.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a qualitative approach utilising semi-structured interviews to examine the identity work of EMEs from three distinct countries (Indonesia, Pakistan and South Korea (henceforth Korea)) in one host country (Malaysia).FindingsThe results show that EMEs’ identity work incorporates both the blurring and strengthening of host-home country boundaries. Building on this study’s results, the authors develop a model of identity work and three propositions regarding legitimacy building through identity in the context of ethnic migrant entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThrough the model and propositions, this research contributes to the identity, international entrepreneurship and ethnic migrant entrepreneurship discourse by identifying the mechanisms, focus and key features of identity work for entrepreneurs operating in cross-cultural settings. In so doing, this research also offers an alternative interpretation on the apparent divergent views around identity work in the fields of organisation (advocate isomorphism) and entrepreneurship (advocate uniqueness). http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research Emerald Publishing

Conforming to the host country versus being distinct to our home countries

Download PDF
17 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/conforming-to-the-host-country-versus-being-distinct-to-our-home-HOmAR0RbSW
Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
1355-2554
DOI
10.1108/ijebr-02-2018-0097
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine how ethnic migrant entrepreneurs (EMEs) utilise identity work to build legitimacy in a host country. According to optimal distinctiveness theory (ODT), legitimacy is achieved by balancing conformance and distinctiveness. This paper draws on ODT in the context of ethnic migrant entrepreneurship to examine how EMEs both fit in (conformance) and maintain their uniqueness (distinctiveness) in cross-cultural settings.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a qualitative approach utilising semi-structured interviews to examine the identity work of EMEs from three distinct countries (Indonesia, Pakistan and South Korea (henceforth Korea)) in one host country (Malaysia).FindingsThe results show that EMEs’ identity work incorporates both the blurring and strengthening of host-home country boundaries. Building on this study’s results, the authors develop a model of identity work and three propositions regarding legitimacy building through identity in the context of ethnic migrant entrepreneurship.Originality/valueThrough the model and propositions, this research contributes to the identity, international entrepreneurship and ethnic migrant entrepreneurship discourse by identifying the mechanisms, focus and key features of identity work for entrepreneurs operating in cross-cultural settings. In so doing, this research also offers an alternative interpretation on the apparent divergent views around identity work in the fields of organisation (advocate isomorphism) and entrepreneurship (advocate uniqueness).

Journal

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research – Emerald Publishing

Published: Aug 5, 2019

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Immigrants; International entrepreneurship; Identity

References

  • Ethnic migrant entrepreneurs’ opportunity exploitation and cultural distance: a classification through a matrix of opportunities
    Abd Hamid, H.; Everett, A.M.; O’Kane, C.
  • Malaysia’s My Second Home (MM2H) programme: an examination of Malaysia as a destination for international retirees
    Abdul-Aziz, A.-R.; Loh, C.-L.; Jaafar, M.
  • Fools rush in? The institutional context of industry creation
    Aldrich, H.E.; Fiol, M.C.
  • Systematic review of immigrant entrepreneurship literature: previous findings and ways forward
    Aliaga-Isla, R.; Rialp, A.
  • West meets East: new concepts and theories
    Barkema, H.; Chen, X.-P.; George, G.; Luo, Y.; Tsui, A.
  • The social self: on being the same and different at the same time
    Brewer, M.
  • Identities in organization studies
    Brown, A.D.
  • Identity work and legitimacy
    Brown, A.D.; Toyoki, S.
  • Institutional theory and entrepreneurship: where are we now and where do we need to move in the future?
    Bruton, G.D.; Ahlstrom, D.; Li, H.L.
  • Ethnic-immigrants in founding teams: effects on prospector strategy and performance in new Internet ventures
    Chaganti, R.S.; Watts, A.D.; Chaganti, R.; Zimmerman-Treichel, M.
  • When entrepreneurial identity meets multiple social identities: interplays and identity work of women entrepreneurs
    Chasserio, S.; Pailot, P.; Poroli, C.
  • Sensegiving in entrepreneurial contexts: the use of metaphors in speech and gesture to gain and sustain support for novel business ventures
    Cornelissen, J.P.; Clarke, J.S.; Cienki, A.
  • Exploring the evolution of ethnic entrepreneurship: the case of Brazilian immigrants in Florida
    Cruz, E.P.; Falcao, R.P.Q.; Barreto, C.R.
  • An examination of differences between organizational legitimacy and organizational reputation
    Deephouse, D.L.; Carter, S.M.
  • What is a case study and what is it good for?
    Gerring, J.
  • Disadvantage, ethnic niching or pursuit of a vision? Motives of immigrant women care entrepreneurs in the ageing Swedish society
    Hedberg, C.; Pettersson, K.
  • Identity as narrative: prevalence, effectiveness, and consequences of narrative identity work in macro work role transitions
    Ibarra, H.; Barbulescu, R.
  • Identity work of science-based entrepreneurs in Finland and in Russia
    Karhunen, P.; Olimpieva, I.; Hytti, U.
  • The double-edged sword of legitimacy in base-of-the-pyramid markets
    Kistruck, G.M.; Webb, J.W.; Sutter, C.J.; Bailey, A.V.G.
  • Matching opportunities with resources: a framework for analysing (migrant) entrepreneurship from a mixed embeddedness perspective
    Kloosterman, R.C.
  • Mixed embeddedness: (in)formal economic activities and immigrant businesses in the Netherlands
    Kloosterman, R.C.; van der Leun, J.; Rath, J.
  • A path to value creation for foreign entrepreneurs
    Kulchina, E.
  • Navigating between home, host, and global: consequences of multicultural team members’ identity configurations
    Lee, Y.-T.; Masuda, A.D.; Fu, X.; Reiche, B.S.
  • Identity, identity formation and identity work in entrepreneurship: conceptual developments and empirical applications
    Leitch, C.M.; Harrison, R.T.
  • Cultural entrepreneurship: stories, legitimacy, and the acquisition of resources
    Lounsbury, M.; Glynn, M.A.
  • Incubation or induction? Gendered identity work in the context of technology business incubation
    Marlow, S.; McAdam, M.
  • Legitimate distinctiveness and the entrepreneurial identity: influence on investor judgments of new venture plausibility
    Navis, C.; Glynn, M.
  • Immigrant entrepreneurs, the ethnic enclave strategy, and venture performance
    Ndofor, H.A.; Priem, R.L.
  • University technology transfer offices: the search for identity to build legitimacy
    O’Kane, C.; Mangematin, V.; Geoghegan, W.; Fitzgerald, C.
  • Balancing ‘what matters to me’ with ‘what matters to them’: exploring the legitimation process of environmental entrepreneurs
    O’Neil, I.; Ucbasaran, D.
  • Economic incentive, embeddedness, and social support: a study of Korean–owned nail salon workers’ rotating credit associations
    Oh, J.-H.
  • Birds of a feather don’t always flock together: identity management in entrepreneurship
    Shepherd, D.A.; Haynie, J.M.
  • A tropological theory of institutionalization
    Sillince, J.A.A.; Barker, J.R.
  • Legitimacy
    Suddaby, R.; Bitektine, A.; Haack, P.
  • Forms of capital, intra-ethnic variation and Polish entrepreneurs in Leicester
    Vershinina, N.; Barrett, R.; Meyer, M.
  • Multiculturalism from above and below: analysing a political discourse
    Werbner, P.
  • Entrepreneurial passions and identities in different contexts: a comparison between high-tech and social entrepreneurs
    Yitshaki, R.; Kropp, F.
  • Optimal distinctiveness: broadening the interface between institutional theory and strategic management
    Zhao, E.Y.; Fisher, G.; Lounsbury, M.; Miller, D.
  • Beyond survival: achieving new venture growth by building legitimacy
    Zimmerman, M.A.; Zeitz, G.J.