Internationalization of immigrant-owned SMEs: The role of language

Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

“…Compared to native-born, monolingual Americans, immigrant and transnational entrepreneurs are more likely to start export-oriented businesses; however, language does not affect global imports (Light et al 2002). More than a decade later, a study of immigrant entrepreneurs reports similar findings: Canada's French and Allophone speakers are more likely to start ventures that export to global markets (Sui et al 2015).…”

The Importance of Cross-Cultural Capabilities for Chinese Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Australia

“…The thesis found that there are a set of skills related to psychological adaptation and sociocultural adaptation that are important for immigrant entrepreneurs to undertake business in the host country. This extends the current literature that focuses on immigrant entrepreneurs' language skill (e.g., Azmat & Fujimoto, 2016;Sui et al, 2015). Furthermore, to the researcher's knowledge, this thesis may be the first research that identifies three distinct intergenerational cohorts in terms of their age of arrival (Rumbaut, 2004) among the first generation immigrant entrepreneurs whose cross-cultural capabilities are adapted differently.…”

“…Linguistic distance is an important element of psychic distance, and it has separate and complex influences on modes of entry (Cuypers, Ertug, & Hennart, 2015). Essentially, language skills have been identified by several researchers as an important capability for immigrant entrepreneurs to start up businesses (Brenner, Menzies, Dionne, & Filion, 2010;Mora & Dávila, 2005), move from ethnic markets into the mainstream market (Arrighetti, Bolzani, & Lasagni, 2014), and enter global markets (Sui et al, 2015). With large psychic distance and cultural distance, immigrant entrepreneurs are likely to require greater capability to adapt to culture.…”

“…In recent years, research highlighting the importance of a specific skill, such as language, has grown (e.g., Azmat & Fujimoto, 2016;Kolb et al, 2001;Sui et al, 2015). However, aside from language skills, there are other humancultural capital that are also important and require further investigation (Nee & Sanders, 2001).…”

“…As a result, entrepreneurs' capabilities are crucial for positive business outcomes. This is particularly the case for immigrant entrepreneurs, as these individuals have to convert their innate capability to enhanced international operation of their businesses (Sui et al, 2015), especially the human-cultural capabilities that are acquired in the host country for certain business outcomes (Kanas, Van Tubergen, & Van der Lippe, 2009;Nee & Sanders, 2001). The main proposition is that immigrants are endowed with certain cultural traits of their home country (Aliaga-Isla & Rialp, 2013), and have experience being exposed to a second culture, which helps build capabilities for transitioning between cultures.…”