Expanding understanding of family social capital in crowdfunding of migrant entrepreneurial ventures

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the role of the migrant entrepreneur’s social capital and specifically their family social capital in the success of their crowdfunding ventures. Design/methodology/approach This paper develops an exploratory single case study of the Persu Bag started by a Chinese migrant entrepreneur in the USA, which was documented through in-depth interviews, email communication, social media interactions and secondary documents publicly available. This paper draws on crowdfunding and social capital literature to fulfil the purpose and adopt the perspective of the migrant entrepreneur in the study. Findings The study shows that the crowdfunding migrant entrepreneur’s family network contributes with their operand and operant resources from both the country of residence and country of origin. Besides having financial capacity, institutional knowledge and experience from both the host and home countries, the family network in both countries make the crowdfunding immigrant entrepreneur’s families more resourceful, providing additional benefits to the crowdfunding migrant entrepreneurs in the development of the campaign and crowdfunded venture. Originality/value This study broadens the understanding of the ways migrant entrepreneurs can rely on their family social capital for building financial capacity and starting a crowdfunded venture.

Guest editorial: Migrant entrepreneurship and the roles of family beyond place and space: towards a family resourcefulness across borders perspective

“…For instance, as the entrepreneurs develop an idea, they might call for financial help in establishing the venture. Migrants rely on the contribution of their nuclear and extended families from both countries of residence and origin (Arshad and Berndt, 2021). Studies show that family is prominent and contributes to migrant entrepreneurship in different ways and at different moments of a venture (Evansluong and Ramirez Pasillas, 2021; Ram et al , 2008; Sanders and Nee, 1996).…”

“…The seventh article, "Expanding understanding of family social capital in crowdfunding of migrant entrepreneurial ventures" by Arshad and Berndt (2021), studies the role of migrant family social capital in the success of crowdfunding ventures using a single case study of a Chinese migrant entrepreneur in the USA. The study shows that the migrant entrepreneur's family network contributes to the success of the migrant's crowdfunding ventures by providing the entrepreneurs operand and operant resources from both the country of residence and country of origin.…”

“…Entrepreneurs generate resources to develop Vietnamese family-owned enterprises that are expected to be passed on to the next generation Zehra and Usmani (2021) Contributes to conceptualising the field of refugee family entrepreneurship anchored in horizontal and vertical family social capital. Relying on the case of Afghan refugee entrepreneurs in Pakistan, the article shows an economic integration process that occurs in three stages (entry in labour market, gradual integration and gradual submerging in country of residence's society) by which entrepreneurs rely on and build family social capital Arshad and Berndt (2021) Contribution opens a research agenda at the interface of family migrant entrepreneurship and crowdfunding. The study shows that the crowdfunding migrant entrepreneur's family network provides operand and operant resources from both the country of residence (the USA) and country of origin (China).…”

Female immigrant entrepreneurship – predicted by women’s empowerment in host country

“…As the existing immigrant entrepreneurship literature is highly contextual, locale-specific and ungeneralisable to a great extent (Dabi c et al, 2020), with immigrant entrepreneurship in Europe (Arshad and Berndt, 2023;Garc ıa-Cabrera et al, 2020;Vershinina et al, 2019) being under-researched, the paper focuses on female immigrant entrepreneurship from the European perspective of member countries of the European Union (EU), in order to achieve more generalisable results. Such a research attitude is justified as the EU provides similar institutional roots to member countries.…”

“…When discussing female entrepreneurship, both gender-neutral and female-specific predictors among these individual and external predictors are discussed, with the division of factors related to home and host countries in the case of female immigrants undertaking entrepreneurship (Damelang and Ebensperger, 2020;Deng et al, 2021;H€ agg et al, 2023;Knappert et al, 2018;Ritchie, 2018). All of these complex predictors can be necessity-driven factors that act as negative motivators, or opportunity-driven factors that act as positive enablers (Wang, 2019;Arshad and Berndt, 2023;Duan et al, 2022).…”